“On His Blindness” By John Milton – Question Help Please?0

Question by xxMemoriesxx: “On His Blindness” By John Milton – Question Help Please?
Here is the poem:
When I consider how my light is spent
E’re half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide,
Lodg’d with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, least he returning chide,
Doth God exact day-labour, light deny’d,
I fondly ask; But patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts, who best
Bear his milde yoak, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’re Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and waite.

With close reference to the sonnet, how does John Milton express his feelings when faced with disaster?

Thanks

Best answer:

Answer by cloudisland
He rationalises them and successfully seeks solace and understanding of them through his Christian faith, telling himself that this life and the things of it are of no consequence in the larger scheme of God’s plan. All that matters in this life is seeking out God, understanding his ways and his plans. For Milton it meant accepting the blindness and seeing with his inner eyes and understanding that above all things God wants humble, willing hearts, people who look to him and rely on him for their strength and ability to cope a life with hardships and struggles.

I love the last line, “They also serve that only stand and wait.” The fact that Milton was blind and to all intents and purposes in his time and world as useless, but he came to understand that the fact that his heart and mind and soul were willing to serve was enough for God, just as good and commendable (and in fact better) than the acts of doing and active service that others were able to do.

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