by p.smith

Created on: June 19, 2008   Last Updated: July 05, 2008

Pianists have careers cut short by arthritis. Body-builders grow muscle-bound. Musicians go deaf.A talent is given, then made useless. Does God expect those who become disabled from their field of expertise to continue to contribute to it?

John Milton,a poet, went blind. And he tried to make sense of his disability in a heartfelt sonnet, written around the year 1655. Sometimes Fate delivers a crippling and apparently targeted blow to a person, as happens in cases like those mentioned above. When the cook loses his sense of smell, the painter, his eyesight, and the sculptor, the use of his hands, it is a test of faith for the afflicted, challenging his belief in God's goodness. Milton's palpable agony is powerfully expressed in this work and its words draw our empathy for his plight.

Milton's generation saw affliction as chastisement from God. When mental or physical disabilities appeared, people attributed these to retribution for sin. So,to be afflicted with an undeniable disability was humiliating and sparked whispered debate as to why God had done this. Milton's poem deals with the further question of God's expectations of the afflicted party.

In Sonnet X1X, generally known by its first line, " When I consider how my light is spent," the poet contemplates his blindness. He considers whether his Maker expects him to live up to his writing potential, despite the handicapping effect of having to commit his work to paper through a secretary. This is a valid question, as the creative process is often a deeply personal one. The need for a secretary may have been a huge deterrent to Milton's creative process. Milton's question is one still frequently asked by believers in a divine, omnipotent Being. Milton's thoughts are not of the, "Why me?" variety, but more of the,"What now?" kind.

Milton asks, "Does God exact day-labor, light denied?" He accepts that God has blessed him with a priceless talent, and wonders if God expects him keep up his output in the face of a condition which reduces his ability to create poems in private, without an intermediary. He asks the question, and receives an answer, not from God, but from Patience. The answer implies that God has no need of Milton's work. Patience tells him that thousands of people are bent on doing God's will for Him. She also states that that those who are unable to create the wordly wonders made possible by God's gifts of talents " also serve." Milton's frustration at having to " stand and wait," must have been unbearable. His powerful faith allowed him to see his enforced " wait(ing)" as a worthy service to God.

As a Christian, his Biblical studies convinced him that he was God's creation.
In his poem, he laments that this disability has struck him before he has lived, "half (his) days in this dark world." Implied is his belief that God has sole responsibility for blinding him so soon. He struggles to find a way to accept God's treatment of him. He feels bewildered at being equipped with the tools to create great works for God's glory, only to have God stop him in this effort. Milton tries to find the reason and logic in his blindness. His struggle to remain stoic but intellectually and spiritually curious is an indication of the strength of his faith.

Milton's motivation in this poem is not to extract pity from the reader, but to pose one of life's eternal questions:-
" Why do bad things happen to good people?" He wants to know how much is expected of him , in his disabled state. He fears allowing his God-given talent to go unused.

This poem seeks to explore Gods motivation, and to determine whether disabilities reduce one's obligations, both temporal and spiritual.

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