 |
 |
 |
John Milton, a poet who was completely blind in 1651 wrote "Sonnet XIX"
in 1652; this sonnet is his response to his loss of sight. The theme of the
sonnet is the loss and regain of primacy of experience. Milton offers his
philosophical view on animism and God. Furthermore, "Sonnet XIX" explores
Milton's faith and relationship with God. "Sonnet XIX" suggests that man was
created to work and not rest. The supportive details, structure, form, and
richness of context embodies the theme. The sonnet goes through two phases: the
first phase is Milton's question addressed to God, "Why me?" he asked. Then,
the second phase offers a resolution to Milton's dilemma. Moreover, the sonnet
acts as a self-poem to Milton, himself.
In the beginning of the sonnet, Milton suggests that his primacy of
experience have been deferred when he became blind. The words, "dark", "death",
and "useless" (lines 2-4) describe the emotional state of Milton. His blindness
created a shrouded clarity within his mind. Line three, "And that one talent
which is death to hide" is an allusion to the biblical context of the bible.
Line three refers to the story of Matthew XXV, 14-30 where a servant of the lord
buried his single talent instead of investing it. At the lord's return, he cast
the servant into the "outer darkness" and deprived all he had. Hence, Milton
devoted his life in writing; however, his blindness raped his God's gift away.
A tremendous cloud casted over him and darkened his reality of life and the
world. Like the servant, Milton was flung into the darkness.
Line seven, "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?" describes the
limitations and burdens of a person who has lost his sense of place in life.
Obviously, Milton is making a reference to his blindness in relation to line
seven. Line seven implies that once the usefulness of a man has diminished,
then is man doomed to wasting the rest of his remaining days. In other words,
has Milton's handicap made him into an obsolete machine? The quote "To be or
not to be,'", (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene1) runs through Milton's mind. Shall he
struggle and fight in the webs of darkness, or shall he accept defeat. A sense
of "dark clarity" - a sinister paradox occupies Milton's mind. His brain was
once clear, set, and on task; but now, it is clouded, unorganized, and
fragmented.
However, in the darkness, a new form of clarity arises. "That murmur.
Soon replies, God doth not need Either man's work or his own gifts;" (lines 9-
10) suggests that the willingness to try is good enough to satisfy God.
Milton's realization of the needs of God from man bought him to a higher
enlightenment. Therefore, the "dark clarity" renewed Milton's primacy of
experience. Like, Kenneth Rexroth, Milton broke away from the "beaten path" and
chose his own.
Perhaps, the struggle within the darkness guides the truth out of the
abyss. For example, if a person listens to Bach or Mozart, the musical
experience is different when the listener's eyes are closed. When the outer eye
is ...
All the world's a party And the people are merely guests They all have their ups and downs And the host can play many types of music Hoping that the guests will enjoy it The girls that think they're all that Are trying to get attention while faking intoxication While the jocks with their leather jackets Play beer pong while being loud and obno...
Couter-Attack is a poem of war, and it is in a soldiers viewpoint. It starts out with his army keeping the enemy away early in the morning. Everyone was unshaven and thirsty and blind from smoke but still everything seemed all right. They had certain guns set up in different places to keep them away. It shows alot of soldiers dead and just layin...
The seventeenth-century poet John Donne has gone down in the history of popular culture for three lines: 'No man is an island,' 'Ask not for whom the bell tolls -- it tolls for thee', and the opening of a poem called 'Death be not proud'. This last came from a collection of Donne's poems which came to be called the 'Holy Sonnets.' The name is possi...
Then two poets who are similar are Edwin Robinson and Paul Simon. They wrote about people of whom they were envious. This was their way of coping with their impoverished lives. Simon and Robinson were both unhappy with their socio-economic status. Examples of this can be found in both Simon's poem "Richard Cory" and Robinson's poem "Miniver Chee...
Stevie Smith's "Not Waving but Drowning" and Adrienne Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" are similar in that both poems' characters have lived their lives with regret and sorrow. Neither of their lives were lived to the fullest and as death approaches, the question of, "what could have been?" remains forever unanswered. Upon first reading, Stevie...
The original sin that led to humanity's fall in the Garden of Eden is by far the worst sin committed by humankind. It is this sin that led to future sins. This original sin must be emphasized by writers to depict the evil involved in it. In writing Paradise Lost, John Milton recognizes this fact and uses a variety of literary techniques to stre...
Edgar Allan is the epitome of American try. With his eloquent rhymes, and story-like poems, he paints a vivid picture of the world he wishes to immerse you in. was born in 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother died at a very young age, and his father walked out on the family. He lived with his pseudo-family, The Allans, whom never formally ad...
In Halliday poem, he often mentions the imagery of a library. This imagery is tell me how library can aid in our education, keeping us distracted from being a hapless ass. Generally when we?re in a library we are usually more focus on our works, able to learn a lot more. Education maybe different to everyone else, but to me, being able to learn new...
Take me away from the hood like a state penitentiary Take me away from the hood in the casket or a Bentley Take me away Like I overdosed on cocaine Or take me away like a bullet from Kurt Cobain Suicide (Suicide.. suicide..) I'm from a Windy City, like "Do or Die" From a block close to where Biggie was crucified That was Brooklyn's Jesus S...
In Maya Angelou's, "No Loser, No Weeper," one of her many poems, she describes the emotional state she endured growing up in the 1920's during the Depression, by using tone, diction, repetition, rhyme, and figurative language. Because of the suffering that she has endured as an African American Woman during the 1920's, Angelou's life made her far...
The Romantic period has numerous characteristics that help to distinguish it from other literary periods. A large majority of the pieces found in this period have at least one of the distinctive elements. Edgar Allan Poe uses a few of these elements to put a time frame on his short story, "The Black Cat". Poe begins his short story by saying th...
Odysseus took many different trips and experienced many adventures before arriving home. Out of all his wanderings, his worst choice was the land of the Cyclops. This is where Odysseus and his men were trapped in a Cyclops' cave, Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon. There, he lost a couple of his men by being eaten from Polyphemus. His plan to escape...
by Audre Lorde I am fourteen and my skin has betrayed me the boy I cannot live without still sucks his tumb in secret how come my knees are always so ashy what if I die before the morning comes and momma's in the bedroom with the door closed. I have to learn how to dance in time for the next party my room is too small for me suppose I de bef...
The Personification and Criticism of Death in John Donne's "Death Be Not "No poem of John Donne's is more widely read or more directly associated with Donne than the tenth of the Holy Sonnets, 'Death, be not proud.'" (Dr. Gerald McDaniel, lecture). In this sonnet, Donne personifies death in two ways, as rescuer and as punisher of even the most nob...
