He Is not to Be Defeated—On His Blindness

顧文

【中圖分類號】I561 【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2015）36-0001-01

As a knowledgeable man of letters and polemical writer dedicated to the cause of freedom and liberation， John Milton had never ceased to write in support of the newborn Commonwealth of England at his time. In 1652， upon the accomplishment of A Defense of the English People， Milton was subjected to an unforeseen disaster that he completely lost his sight due to the physical overexertion. And On His Blindness was written at this time， when the poet was just in his prime， as the first two lines of the poem “When I consider how my light is spent/Ere half my days in this dark world and wide”（1990：82） indicate.

On His Blindness is written in the form of Petrarchan sonnet which consists of the octava and the sestet. The uniqueness and tactfulness lies firstly in the arrangement of the two parts， as the sestet works well in concert with the octava， in the process of which “a shift of emotion from irritation to some degree of resignation” （Slakey， 1960： 122） takes place. Generally speaking， the poem reveals that this physical disability makes Milton suffer from both bitterness and aimlessness， and therefore he sinks into discouragement and reconciliation to the fate， according to the critics. However， after further reading into the poem， I believe Miltons desire to serve is more intense than that to accept his fate and resign as expressed in this poem.

The first six lines “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/Lodgd with me useless， though my soul more bent/To sere there with my Maker， and present /My true account， lest he returning chide” （1990：82） reveal the psychological process and conflict of the poet. When the poet is deprived of the light， it seems he is reluctant but has to abandon the talent that is endowed， as he would not be able to serve the Maker any more， which results in a mixture of agony， befuddlement， melancholy as well as resent in the poets heart.

Consequently， the torture that his blindness brings is both physical and psychological， or to be exact， more psychological than physical. In the first line “When I consider how my light is spent” （1990：82）， “light” may refer to different connotations. In the first place， in accordance with the common sense， “light” is related to the eyesight， as the title indicates， the poet lost his sight. Furthermore， it can be used to imply the Divine Truth lying at the bottom of the poets heart， as written in his masterpiece Paradise Lost， “So much the rather thou celestial light/Shine inward” （1991：403）. To Milton who is a pure Puritan， the Devine Truth equals to the Bible， and therefore while “the spent light” deprives him of the ability to read forever， he would no longer be edified and cultivated by the sacred doctrine； at the same time， in Samson Agonistes， Milton wrote “Since light so necessary is to life/And almost life itself”（1991：675）. For the poets part， there is little difference between light and life， and to lose sight is as severe as to lose life. To sum up， different implications are interrelated to disclose the innermost suffering and helplessness of the poet after his blindness. Whats more， passive voice is adopted when the poet narrates his bereft sight and talent， thus highlights his passiveness. At the first two lines， readers sympathy for the author may have aroused and when they are aware that it is the god that “sends nuts to those who have no teeth” through further reading， this sympathy is intensified， which makes the poets bitterly posing the question in the following lines more understandable. In a way， the poets pain and resignation revealed in the first six lines are just for preparation for his awareness and reinvigoration in the end.

In this poem， one emphasis is placed on “talent”， which the poet is afraid to waste when he is blind. “In Church Government， Milton argues that a knowledge of the true good oppresses the mind because one understands ‘that God even to a strictnesse requires the improvement of these his entrusted gifts. Such knowledge is a ‘sorer burden of mind than any bodily toil or suffering because one must constantly ask himself ‘how and in what manner he shall dispose and employ those summes of knowledge and illumination， which God hath sent him into this world to trade with.”（Slakey， 1960：123）， thus he claims “And that one talent which is death to hide” in this poem. It is the talent that he cherishes all the more. And the practice of the talent is exclusively pressing for him， as T.S. Eliot claims in On Poetry and Poets， “The most important fact about Milton， for my purpose， is his blindness.… Had Milton be a man of very keen senses—I mean of all the five senses―his blindness would not have mattered so much. But for a man whose sensuousness， such as it was， had been withered early by book-learning…it mattered a great deal. It would seem a great deal” （1961：157-158）. Milton himself is not unaware of the urgent situation when he should fully put all his talent into practice with his limited physical ability， as “he fears ‘lest at my certaine account they be reckond to me many rather than few.” （Slakey， 1960：123）

As for the sestet， on the surface， it seems that Patiences response is of little help to solve the problem posed in the octave， as that God needs neither the mans work nor return upon the endowment sounds just ridiculous as he knows that to ignore the talent means death. However， actually， upon this question， more attention should not be paid on the abandon of talent， but on the “day-labor” when the endowment has become useless because of his blindness. Miltons will to sincerely serve God is beyond all doubt. According to William Tyndale， “he that hath a good heart toward the word of God， and a set purpose to fashion his deeds thereafter， and to garnish it with godly living， and to testify it to others， the same shall increase daily more and more in the grace of Christ.”（1898：472） And Milton belongs to the kind that “hath a good heart”. Although illness harasses him， his will to serve God has never changed and has strengthened instead. In fact， this strong desire has been reflected in the previous line “Lodgd with me useless， though my soul more bent”（1990：82）. Thus with regards to the last line “They also serve who only stand and wait”， the poet tends to focus more on ones hearts desire to serve and return to God rather than the real deeds. Consequently， as for Milton himself， although he may not perform as satisfactorily as before when he was still healthy， as long as his devout intention remains and his efforts never cease， a meaningful and fruitful life would remain as well， and therefore a promoted mentality arises in the end.

In brief， in spite of the bitterness and helplessness that a man may unavoidably involve himself in when he is encountered with such an unexpected disaster， Milton shows all the more his determination to exert himself in On His Blindness. In later days， he fulfills this determination as a number of his masterpieces are published.

References：

[1]Liu Peixian， A Students Edition of Milton， Beijing： The Commercial Press， 1990.

[2]Roger L. Slakey， “Miltons Sonnet ‘On His Blindness”， The Johns Hopkins University Press Jun， 1960.

[3]Stephen Orgel &Jonathan Goldberg， John Milton， New York： Oxford University Press， 1991.

[4]T.S. Eliot， On Poetry and Poets， New York： The Noonday Press，1961.