This is perhaps one of John Milton's most famous poetic
works after his epic Paradise Lost. One of the fascinating aspects
of his life is that he actually went blind in his middle age, and this is a sonnet that
considers this tragedy and tries to find a way of accepting what
happened.
The sonnet begins with the speaker grieving for
his lost sight and also expressing the fear that because of his blindness, he will never
be able to use his abilities as he had hoped. However, comfort is found in the idea that
patient endurance and bearing this difficulty with fortitude as he remains open to
serving God will advance the divine plan as much as achieving the exploits he had
imagined that he could have achieved with his sight. Note what he
says:
God doth not need
Either man's work or His own gifts. Who
best
Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him
best.
The sonnet thus ends on
a note of optimism and hope as the speaker becomes reconciled to his
state.
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