The Background
"On His Blindness" is sonnet poem composed by John Milton in 1652. Most scholars believed the poem was actually written when the author became blind some time in 1655.Here you will find the analysis of on his blindness by John Milton.

The Structure
The poem On His Blindness is a typical Italian sonnet that has a noticeable rhyming scheme. It’s divided into 2 parts. The first part is an octave while the second is a sestet. The poet used metaphor, alliteration, personification and other literary devices in driving home his message.

The Meaning
"On His Blindness" is a thought provoking poem that reflects on the reality of being blind. The poet, John Milton became completely blind in his middle age. As a result, he couldn’t use his poetic talent properly. For him, the condition is a spiritual death. His soul desires to serve God with his poetic talent which is the best power he has from God. He’s afraid he couldn’t use the power properly and hence, God, he supposes may rebuke him for that. He goes on to ask whether God still requires the services of a blind man or not. He later concludes that God doesn’t need the service of a man or the account of the gifts bestowed on him by God. He maintains that the best thing is for one to resign to the will of God. Only those who resign to His will serve him the most.

The poet goes ahead to think of the royal power of God. He says that people who have faith in God and also submit to his royal power have the capacity to render quality services to Him. The poet also talks about the Biblical parable of the Talents and also uses it to illustrate more on the issue of rendering quality services to God. However, the poet still wonders on how a blind man can render services to God in his condition. For him, God should not expect the labor of a poor blind man.

From the messages portrayed in the poem, it’s very clear that the poet, John Milton was a devout Christian. He was very dedicated and devoted to serving God even in his blind condition.