Form Structure in John Miltons When I Consider How My Light is Spent
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John Milton, "When I Consider How My Light is Spent" Essay
John Milton's traditional Italian sonnet, "When I consider how my light is spent"
captures the resulted emotion of Milton's blindness by it's unique structure and form.
Written as a response to Milton's blindness, the content of the poem is taken mostly from
his personal view on the purpose of God taking away a gift such as vision. By building the content around the poem's form, Milton is able to structure his thoughts smoothly into a beautiful sonnet. The form which Milton uses in "When I Consider How My Light is Spent" is developed and strengthened by the use of organization, figurative language and rhyme pattern.
The Organization plays a key role in fulfilling the effect in "When I consider how my light is spent" by the use and placement of words and the feelings they create. The topic of the poem is introduced in the first quatrain, where Milton creates a negative atmosphere by using such words as "dark", "death", "useless", and "bent". An example of Milton's distinct organization is displayed where the depressed and awkward thoughts which are initially molded into the reader's mind, create an almost permanent, continuous negative vibe on the poem as a whole. The next quatrain causes the reader to think more towards Milton's spirituality. "To serve therewith my Maker, and present/My true account, lest he returning chide; "Doth God exact day labor, light denied?/I fondly ask;but patience to prevent" (Lines 5-8) In Lines 5-8, Milton discusses his personal Maker and "fondly" asks God his reasoning for such a thing as blindness...