"On His Blindness" John Milton

John Milton

On His Blindness

John Milton’s poem “On His Blindness” is a well known autobiographical sonnet. It is written in the style of Petrarchan sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets consist of 14 lines: the first 8 lines (octave) introduce a problem and the remaining 6 lines (sestet) find a solution. The poem differs from the Petrarchan sonnet in its theme. Generally Petrarchan sonnets deal with love where as this poem deals with spiritual/ physical pain of the writer. The poem is written in the first person narration, where the poet laments about his loss of sight. Milton lost his eyesight in 1652 when he was 44 years old. He wrote this poem in 1655 when he completely lost his vision.

          The poem begins with a subordinate class ‘When’ which leaves the readers in suspense.  The poet talks about his blindness. He has become blind in the middle of his life. He has to live in the dark and wide world for the rest of his life. He feels that God has gifted him with the greatest talent: writing poetry. He expresses his desire to serve God by using the ability which God has given him. Unfortunately he is unable to fulfill his wish to write because of his blindness. Due to the pain of being blind, Milton starts the poem in bitter tone.

          Milton feels that God might scold him for not using his talents. Milton asks whether God needs man’s service. He foolishly questions, If God wants man to serve him, why did God take away the light from his eyes? He wonders whether he will be able to produce great works being blind.

          As Milton laments about his blindness and God’s criticism, Patience, a guardian Angel, arrives with the reply that God never need man’s service. Whoever is ready to bear the burden of life will serve the God well. God has servants all over the world who are all the time serving him over the land and the ocean without any rest. The poet realises the fact that God does not need man’s service, and does not take away the talents He has given to man. He is the supreme power and has countless servants. The people who accept all the struggles of life without questioning God serve him the most. Thus the poem ends with a positive note. The Octave of the poem starts with the pain and the problem of blindness. The Sestet concludes with a positive note that accepting the entire struggle without lamenting is serving God. The poem describes Milton’s philosophy of life.

"I Remember I Remember" by Thomas Hood

The poem “I Remember I Remember” is written by Thomas Hood. The poem is in first person narration and it consists of four stanzas. In each stanza the poet compares his present adulthood life with his past childhood days. The poet thinks that his childhood life was a pleasant one when compared with the painful present one. His longing and desire to regain the childhood days are clearly seen from refrain “I remember I remember”.

                    

In the first stanza the poet talks about the house where he was born. His remembrances of the sun’s peeping through the window at morning, indicates his childish ignorance. The passing day from morning till night gives pleasure to the child. Hence the day does not either end early or prolong. However at present the poet wishes for the night to take away his breath. His desire to death indicates his painful life. The contrast between the past and the present is clear through the portrayal of sun and daytime which means brighter and happier part of his life. In the present he longs for the night that is darkness which means distress of life.

                    

The poet moves from his house into garden in the second stanza. In the garden as a child the poet looked at the variety of flowers like red and white roses, violets, lilies and lilacs. He believed that those flowers are heavenly blessed flowers. Later he talks about the laburnum which his brother has planted on his birthday. The line “The tree is living yet!” might convey two meanings. The first one is, the person, who has planted it, that is his brother, is no more where as the tree is living.  The second one is, the tree is living and growing but the poet is decaying.

                    

The third stanza talks about the swinging of the poet in his past. As a child, he was vital and energetic, who swings very fast to feel the rush of the fresh air. He was like feathers which fly quickly but now he is heavy. This stanza contrasts youthful physical feelings of vitality and ease with heaviness of the presence. This stanza also talks about his physical decline. Summer is cherished in the country in which the poet was born. Even such a wonderful summer could not heel his fever which might mean his sadness or physical sickness.

                    

In the fourth stanza the poet contrasts the child’s close relationship with heaven with the rational knowledge of the grownups who lost faith on spirituality. During his childhood days he imagined that the top of the dark and huge fir tree was close to the heaven. At present he understood it as childish ignorance. With such ignorance he lived happily in the past. Now the rational mind gives him no joy but makes him to feel that the heaven is in a long distance for him to reach.

                    

The poet’s looking at the past with nostalgia gives the impression that the present is painful.  The title of the poem signifies the act of remembering. The frequent usage of the word remembering in the poem indicates the dominant motive of the poem that is recollection of his past.