Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent
John Milton’s sonnet 19, “When I consider how my light is spent”, sometimes known as “On His Blindness”, was originally published in Milton's “1673 Poems”.
John Milton was born on 9 December 1608 in London, England, and he died on 8 November 1674 in London, England, at the age of 65.Milton was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem Paradise Lost is widely considered one of the great works of literature. Writing in English, Latin, and Italian, Milton developed his views from extensive reading, travel, and experience, beginning with his days as a student at Cambridge and continuing through the English Civil War. But by his mid-40s, Milton has become totally blind, and by the time of his death, he was impoverished and on the margins of English intellectual life, though still famous throughout Europe.
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When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, And that one Talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’er Land and Ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.”