by Beth Szczepanski

Created on: June 29, 2008   Last Updated: December 29, 2011

John Milton's sonnet "When I Consider How my Light is Spent" asks whether or not an individual with a God-given talent should feel obligated to God to make full use of that talent, even if exercising that talent becomes physically impossible. In this poem, which is based on Milton's experience of going blind in his forties, the speaker asks if God demands he continue to exercise his God-given talent as the fading light, a metaphor for the poet's fading vision, renders such work difficult.

In the end, however, he realizes that God must not want him to produce as many great works as he possibly can, and that the loss of his light has been preordained. This idea brings up some interesting puzzles regarding the roles of God and free will in Christian doctrine.

The first six lines of this sonnet express the poet's frustration that his light, or vision, has been used up before he reaches middle age. "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 my Maker therewith, and present / My true account, lest he returning chide." The poet fears his talent will be wasted as a result of the loss of his sight. Unable to fulfill what he views as his primary function, he worries that God will scold him for not making use of his gift.

The speaker finds reassurance and chastisement in the final eight lines of the poem. "Doth God exact day-labor, 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.'"

The speaker asks if God is to be conceived of as a task-master, demanding work from His creations whether or not they retain the physical capability to make full use of their talents. A personified Patience assures the speaker that, God's requirements of humanity are a "mild yoke," assuaging his fear that he disappoints God by failing to make full use of his talents.

Patience's statements act not only to reassure the speaker and the reader that God does not make unreasonably demands regarding the use of one's talents, but also to point out that the speaker's fears reflect an outrageously inflated sense of self importance. Patience points out that an omnipotent,

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