Ｊｏｈｎ　Ｍｉｌｔｏｎ.pptVIP

Born: December 9, 1608 Bread Street, Cheapside, London, England Died: November 8, 1674 (aged?65) Bunhill, London, England Occupation: Poet, prose polemicist, civil servant Masterpieces 1. Paradise Lost 《失乐园》 2. Paradise Regained 《复乐园》 3. Samson Agonistes 《力士参孙》 4. Speech for the Liberty of Unlicensed Printing 《论出版的自由》 Blue plaque in Bread Street, London, where Milton was born. John Milton, Temple of British Worthies, Stowe, Buckinghamshire Background of “On His Blindness” On His Blindness was written in 1655. It is a Petrarchan sonnet, a lyric poem with fourteen lines. John Miltons eyesight began to fail in 1644. By 1652, he was totally blind. Oddly, he wrote his greatest works, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, after he became blind. Many scholars rank Milton as second only to Shakespeare in poetic ability.? Petrarchan Sonnet Definition: A sonnet used by the Italian poet Petrarch (1304-1374), with an octave (a group or stanza of eight lines) rhyming abbaabba, and a sestet (the last six lines of a sonnet) typically rhyming cdcdcd or cdecde. Notes to “On His Blindness” 1....light is spent: This clause presents a double meaning: (a) how I spend my days, (b) how it is that my sight is used up. 2....Ere half my days: Before half my life is over. Milton was completely blind by 1652, the year he turned 44. 3....talent: allude to the Parable of the Talents in Chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 14 to 30. 4....useless: Unused. 5....therewith: By that means, by that talent; with it. Notes to “On His Blindness” 6....account: Record of accomplishment; worth 7....exact: Demand, require 8....fondly: Foolishly, unwisely 9....Patience: Milton personifies patience, capitalizing it and having it speak.? 10..God . . . gifts: God is sufficient unto Himself. He requires nothing outside of Himself to exist and be happy. 11. yoke: Burden, workload. 12. post: Travel. Analysis of “On His Blindness” Meter: All the lines in the poem are in iambic pentameter. In