Accepting Disabilities in On His Blindness by John Milton

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Recommended: Sonnet xviii analysis

The narrative poem “On his Blindness,” written by John Milton, is an Italian sonnet which reflects upon a religious man’s perspective of how to accept ones disabilities. The poet is effective in doing so, as he uses both figurative imagery and religious references to convey the struggle and challenges that the disabled endure. "On his Blindness," is a poem that reveals a religious man’s acceptance of his lack of vision through a conversation with “Patience”. Milton often refers to his inability to see by using figurative imagery to contrast light and dark images throughout the poem. This type of imagery helps in portraying his reflection on his past life, when he was not blind, to the different life he leads now. The positive and negative images allow for various interpretations of light and dark. Milton first professes his blindness by making a reference to his lack of light in stating that his, “…light is spent,” (1) establishing a connection between “light” and “talent”. In reference to his sight, using the word “spent” means that his eyesight has diminished and his days of...

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