Glorification through Gifts - John Milton

478 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Religion as a social phenomenon

"These abilities, wheresoever they be found, are the inspired gift of God, rarely bestowed, but yet to some (though most abuse) in every nation; and are of power, beside the office of a pulpit, to inbreed and cherish in a great people the seeds of virtue, and public civility, to allay the perturbations of the mind and set the affections in right tune; to celebrate in glorious and lofty hymns the throne and equipage of God's almightiness and what he works" (Milton 170). In the parable of the talents, Matthew tells the story of three servants who are given a specific number of talents reflecting their abilities. When their master returns, each of the servants reports back their earnings from the talents. Two of the three servants doubled their talents in the absence of their master, but one only buried his, fearing his master. Both of the servants who earned money were proudly received by their master, while the servant who had only buried his talent, was chided for his laziness (Matthew 25). This parable resonates through much of Milton's work including "Sonnet XVI" and "The Reason of Church Government." In each of these texts, the lessons learned from Matthew 25 serve as the foundation for their argument. Milton toys with the double meaning of talent as both money and ability as he retells this parable in a more subtle way. Along with retransmitting this parable, Milton uses both "Sonnet XVI" and "The Reason of Church Government" to relate his triumph over disabling blindness to still praise God. By explicitly choosing "talent", Milton unequivocally draws the parable of the talents into his sonnet. The direct metaphor of talent as money in the parable of the talents is immediately evoked in "Sonnet XVI" as Milton proclaims that burying the talent "is death to hide." (Milton 81 ln. 3). The servant who chose to hide his talent was thrown to the street and away from the master, facing a certain death. Milton again explores the waste of talent in "The Reason of Church Government" when he Here, Milton establishes the frame for the sonnet from which, Milton is able to translate the tale in the context of his blindness. His load becomes more difficult to bear due to his disability, and he makes that known in the sonnet. Although his world is "dark and wide", Milton still follows the call of the Lord without resignation (Milton 81 ln 2).

Show More
Related

  • Thou Blind Man's Mark

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Sir Philip Sidney’s sonnet, ‘Thou Blind Man’s Mark,’ he has a philosophy of desire that one might find to be filled with complexities. To convey this complex philosophy, Sidney employs a variety of poetic devices such as apostrophe, personification, metaphors, anaphora, and a paradox.

    Read More

  • Raymond Carver's Cathedral

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    The limitations that were holding the narrator back were abolished through a process from which a blind man, in some sense, cured a physically healthy man. The blind man cured the narrator of these limitations, and opened him up to a whole world of new possibilities. Robert enabled the narrator to view the world in a whole new way, a way without the heavy weights of prejudice, jealousy, and insecurity holding him down. The blind man shows the narrator how to see.

    Read More

  • humanizing Satin

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Milton’s Paradise Lost, Milton characterizes himself as a prophet in order to encourage us to listen to God’s order and turn away from our evil. As one becomes aware of Milton’s prophetic intentions, one recognizes how Milton uses Satan and his reaction to his downfall with God as a way to lead us to think of our own human sins and experience. Milton’s characterization of Satan’s envious, jealous, prideful and rebellious nature while battling God allows us to see Satan as mirror reflection of our own selves. By characterizing Satan, an evil icon, as a being with human flaws, Milton encourages us to see our own weaknesses in order to turn away from these sins.

    Read More

  • Lycidas: Poetry and Death

    3790 Words  | 8 Pages

    Living in a period of important religious and cultural flux, John Milton's poetry reflects the many influences he found both in history and in the contemporary world. With a vast knowledge of literature from the classical world of Greek and Roman culture, Milton often looked back to more ancient times as a means of enriching his works. At other times, however, he relies on his strong Christian beliefs for creating spiritually compelling themes and deeply religious imagery. Despite the seemingly conflicting nature of these two polarized sources of inspiration, Milton somehow found a way of bridging the gap between a pagan and a Christian world, often weaving them together into one overpowering story. The pastoral elegy Lycidas, written after the death of a fellow student at Cambridge, exemplifies this mastery over ancient and contemporary traditions in its transition from a pagan to a Christian context. Opening the poem in a setting rich with mythological figures and scenery, then deliberately moving into a distinctly Christian setting, Milton touches upon two personally relevant issues: poetry and Christian redemption. In this way, Lycidas both addresses the subject of being a poet in a life doomed by death and at the same time shows the triumphant glory of a Christian life, one in which even the demise of the poet himself holds brighter promises of eternal heavenly joy.

    Read More

  • Satiation in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and Margaret Cavendish’s Blazing World

    2795 Words  | 6 Pages

    Milton establishes himself as the legitimate teller of the tale – and this tale will take us beyond the mythology of the Greeks’Aonian Mount and inoculate us against Hell’s prodigiousness. He is taking us beyond mythological or explanatory pictures of ourselves, to an area where we may bask in a greater comfort:

    Read More

  • Analysis Of John Milton And Free Will

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    Scholar and writer John Milton believed in the enhancement of his nation both socially and politically. As a 17th century poet he portrayed his various thoughts on political ideals and the improvement for the United Kingdom during his time, through literature and poetry. Even with a brilliant mind and literary ethic, his ideas and influence garnered much criticism with the masses especially with authorities. Milton’s political ideals were contributing factors to some of his best writing and fortunately for him, it translated into his greatest poem to date, Paradise Lost where he emphasizes the issues amongst society and authority through the actions and mind processes of God and Satan.

    Read More

  • Charlotte Smith's On Being Cautioned against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because it was Frequented by a Lunatic

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    “On Being Cautioned against Walking on an Headland Overlooking the Sea, Because it was Frequented by a Lunatic,” Charlotte Smith’s sonnet, comments on the poet’s feelings toward this lunatic and the thought process he instigates in her mind. By using different syntax to describe her two characters, Smith draws the attention of the reader to the message in the sonnet instead of the scene on the surface. The structure of the English sonnet also lends to the poem’s power, giving Smith a perfect avenue to deliver her message.

    Read More

  • John Miltons's Paradise Lost: Is Satan a Villain or Hero?

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    Milton: Modern Essays in Criticism. Ed. Arthur E. Barker, b. 1875. New York: Oxford University Press, 1965. 205-217.

    Read More

  • The Scorned Lover of Sir Philip Sidney's "Sonnet 31"

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 31” might, at first glance, appear to be a man asking a series of questions to no real end. Closer examination, however, reveals that this is a work that delves deeply into its speaker’s—and perhaps the author’s—psyche, offering its readers as much insight into human nature today as it did when it was written in 1582. Astrophel, failing at effectively communicating to or winning the affection of his desired, seeks to better understand the circumstances of his existence. Perhaps too afraid to gaze into his own reflection and seek those answers from himself, Astrophel instead consults the moon, which promptly comes to embody the plight of the speaker and perhaps anyone who has gazed at the moon longingly searching for answers but finding none.

    Read More

  • Death, Be Not Proud by John Donne

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    In John Donne’s sonnet “Death, Be Not Proud” death is closely examined and Donne writes about his views on death and his belief that people should not live in fear of death, but embrace it. “Death, Be Not Proud” is a Shakespearean sonnet that consists of three quatrains and one concluding couplet, of which I individually analyzed each quatrain and the couplet to elucidate Donne’s arguments with death. Donne converses with death, and argues that death is not the universal destroyer of life. He elaborates on the conflict with death in each quatrain through the use of imagery, figurative language, and structure. These elements not only increase the power of Donne’s message, but also symbolize the meaning of hope of eternal life as the ultimate escape to death.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis of Jonh Milton's Sonnet 8

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    Milton returned to England about 1641 when the political and religious affairs were very disturbing to many. He started to apply his work in practice for that one great work like Paradise Lost when penning the Sonnets. Not every sonnet is identical but they can be difficult in interpretation, styles, word use, and so forth. The purpose of this paper is to analyze Milton’s Sonnet 8 (ca 1642), “Captain or Colonel.” This will be done by explaining the type of theme and then separating the sonnet into three sections: lines 1-4, 5-8, and 9-14 for a better understanding of how Milton used the development of ongoing events to present problems with a mystical resolution.

    Read More

  • Imagery in Lycidas

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    In "Lycidas" Milton speaks through many voices. From Greek Gods to Biblical figures, Milton shields his voice and personifies these figures who address the subject of death in a less worldly language. This method of writing not only demonstrates Milton's broad education, it also serves to lighten a heavy subject. Shielded by Mythology and motivated by the optimism of Christianity, one can approach the subject of mortality with hope and give meaning to life. Without hope this subject would most likely force the reader to spiral down into deep despair.

    Read More

  • Epic Characteristics of Milton's Paradise Lost

    3232 Words  | 7 Pages

    The regularity with which Milton frequently conforms to principles of epic structure make his occasional (but nevertheless fundamental) variations on the epic tradition all the more striking by contrast. The most important departures from epic decorum--the rejection of a martial theme, and the choice of an argument that emphasizes the hero's transgression and defeat instead of celebrating his virtues and triumphs--are paradoxically conditioned by concern for the ethical and religious decorum of the epic genre. On the whole, Milton has retained the formal motifs and devices of the heroic poem but has invested them with Christian matter and meaning. In this sense his epic is . . . something of a "pseudomorph"--retaining the form of classical epic but replacing its values and contents with Judeo-Christian correlatives. (Epic and Tragic Structure . . . 20)

    Read More

  • Fall of Man in John Milton’s Epic Poem, Paradise Lost

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, Paradise Lost can be seen through a historically contextual lens that allows us to see the parallels between Milton’s life and experiences during the reign of Charles I, and the predominant themes in his epic poem. Many of the themes in Paradise Lost, from the broader situational occurrences to the behavior of individual character’s and their attitudes toward the situations in which they find themselves can be seen as directly influenced by Milton’s time as a Parliamentarian in 17th century England.

    Read More

  • Christian Tragedy and Samson Agonistes

    1938 Words  | 4 Pages

    Guibbory, Achsah. "Milton and English Poetry." A Companion to Milton. Thomas N. Corns, ed. Blackwell Publishing, 2003.

    Read More

More about Glorification through Gifts - John Milton

Open Document