Top Questions Answers about the poem “The Listeners” by Walter De La Mare

Most Common Questions and Answers about the poem “The Listeners”:

Question:

Who are the listeners in “The Listeners”?

Why were they called so?

Answer:

The phantoms dwellers of the house are the listeners.

They are called “listeners” because they only listen. They traveler knocks thrice. He asks if there is anybody in the house. He got no response. The phantoms keenly interested in the voice from the world of men. They hear his feet upon the stirrup of the horse and the sound of the hoofs going away. They are speechless. They belong to the world of shadows. So they are called listeners.

“The Listeners” by Walter De La Mare Summary Analysis

“The Listeners” by Walter De La Mare Summary Analysis:

A traveler came on horse back to a deserted house in a deep forest. He knocked on its closed moonlit door and asked if there was anybody in it. His horse went on clamping the grass and a bird flew out to the turret of the house, but there was perfect silence in it.

The traveler’s second knock with a similar question went unheeded too. For no one looked out of the leaf-fringed window sill to enquire who had come. The house was inhabited by phantoms and they heard the traveler’s voice. The traveler perplexed an still. The traveler felt in his heart the strangeness and stillness of the phantoms suggested the character of the house. He smote on the door a third time and said in a louder voice that he came but no one answered to his call and that he kept his word. The phantoms made no stir and so the traveler got upon his horse and left there. 

“The Listeners” Poem by Walter De La Mare

“The Listeners” Poem by Walter De La Mare:

The Listeners

by

Walter De La Mare

"Is there anybody there?" said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champed the grass
Of the forest's ferny floor;
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller's head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
"Is there anybody there?" he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Leaned over and looked into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplexed and still.
But only a host of phantom listeners
That dwelt in the lone house then
Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight
To that voice from the world of men:
Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,
That goes down to the empty hall,
Hearkening in an air stirred and shaken
By the lonely Traveller's call.
And he felt in his heart their strangeness,
Their stillness answering his cry,
While his horse moved, cropping the dark turf,
'Neath the starred and leafy sky;
For he suddenly smote on the door, even
Louder, and lifted his head:--
"Tell them I came, and no one answered,
That I kept my word," he said.
Never the least stir made the listeners,
Though every word he spake
Fell echoing through the shadowiness of the still house
From the one man left awake:
Ay, they heard his foot upon the stirrup,
And the sound of iron on stone,
And how the silence surged softly backward,
When the plunging hoofs were gone.

Crossing The Bar by Alfred Lord Tennyson Summary Analysis

Analysis of the poem “Crossing The Bar” by Lord Alfred Tennyson:

The poet hears the clear call of death. He is awaiting death. Death is a happy journey from the limited world to the boundless unknown. It is crossing the bar to sail across the vast unknown sea. The poet will set sail at sunset. Then there will be the full tide without sound. He will have a smooth sailing to the other world. After evening, darkness will come down. The poet will be born far out of the limited world. But he will have no fear as he hopes to meet his pilot-his Devine Guide-face to face.

Allegorical Meaning of the poem “Crossing The Bar”:

The allegorical meaning of “bar” is the barrier between life and death. A dying man has to cross this bar to reach the other world. It is the unknown sea. Hence the title, “Crossing the Bar, signifies meeting death. The poet will also meet death after crossing the bar to meet his pilot, his Devine Guide-face to face.

"Crossing the Bar" Poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Crossing the Bar

By

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;

For through from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

‘In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’” By Thomas Hardy Analysis and Summary

Summary of the Poem “In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’” by Thomas Hardy:

Summary / Analysis:

The poem is about the continuity of the living processes. Neither war, nor the breaking of nations can stop it. In the midst of violent changes the basic occupations of life go on unchanged. The poet believes that the basic occupations of life will survive war and death.

In the first stanza the agricultural operation carried on by a man with the help of his animal is described. A man is harrowing clods slowly and silently with tired, over-worked old horse.

The second stanza describes the burning of coach-grass. Thin flameless smoke is seen going up to the sky from the heaps of burning coach-grass. This goes on undisturbed though dynasties pass.

The third stanza describes love making. War’s annals will fade but not the story of love and lovers.

Top Questions and Answers about the Poem “In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’” By Thomas Hardy

Top Questions and Answers and Notes about the Poem “In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’” By Thomas Hardy:

Question:

Give a description of three pictures drawn by Thomas Hardy in his poem “In time of “The Breaking of Nations”.

What does each of pictures indicate in the background of war?

Answer:

There are three country pictures in the poem. The first stanza describes the picture of an agricultural operation. A man is seen harrowing clods with his old horse which stumbles and nods. The man and his horse walk slowly and silently because they are overloaded and old.

The second stanza presents the picture of the burning of coach-grass which is harmful for agricultural work. Smoke rises from the heaps of grass.

The third stanza offers a picture of love-making. Two young lovers come along in the village path, whispering words of love to each other.

War brings break of normal courses of life. It breaks nations and changes dynasties. Yet, in the midst of destruction, some primary human activities will continue for ever. People will forget war in a short time. Nothing can destroy the flow of life.

In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’ By Thomas Hardy-Central Idea of the Poem

Central Idea of the Poem “In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’” By Hardy:

The Poem:

In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'

By

Thomas Hardy

Only a man harrowing clods
In a slow silent walk
With an old horse that stumbles and nods
Half asleep as they stalk.

Only thin smoke without flame
From the heaps of couch-grass;
Yet this will go onward the same
Though Dynasties pass.

Yonder a maid and her wight
Come whispering by:
War's annals will cloud into night
Ere their story die.

Central Idea of the Poem:

War cannot change or stop the basic occupations of man. Man’s agricultural operation, his toil in the field and love-making go on unchanged and undisturbed though dynasties pass.

The Cloud By Shelley Test Questions Answers

Top Questions And Answers About the poem "The Cloud" By P B Shelley:

Question:

Describe the different activities of the cloud in the sky.

Answers:

The cloud narrates its activities in the sky. It brings refreshing rainwater for the thirsty flowers and makes them look fresh. At noon it throws a present shade over the leaves. It showers dew-drops on the buds to help them to bloom. During hailstorm it throws ice stones on the ground below. As the cloud melts into rainwater, these hailstorms also dissolve and the fields get back their green colour. The cloud disappears with lightening and roar of thunder.

After the shower of rain, the sky becomes cloudless again. It appears that the cloud is dead. But the cloud has no death or decay. Soon it grows up out of the vapours rising from the seas and the rivers and fills up the sky.

Question:

Why doe the cloud say that it changes but never dies?

Answer:

The cloud grows out of the water vapours rising from the seas an the rivers. It floats and sails in the sky. As it comes into contact with cool air in the sky, it melts into rain water. It showers dew-drops on the earth.

Again the cloud falls down below as raindrops. The sky becomes clear and blue again. It is wrongly thought then that the cloud is dead. The burning heat of the sun again evaporates sea-water. Water vapours again rise up and form the clod. The cloud changes from water to vapour, from vapour to cloud, from cloud to rain-water, and the same process continues in cyclic order for ever.

The Cloud by Shelley Poem Summary and Analysis

Summary and Analysis of the poem “The Cloud” by Percy Bysshe Shelley:

The cloud brings refreshing showers for flowers that dry up in warm sunshine. It brings rain for them from the rivers and the oceans. It protects the leaves from being dried up at hot noontime by throwing a pleasant shade over them.

In the early morning hours dew-drops fall from the cloud to awaken the buds from sleep that is, help the blooming flowers open up their petals. It sends down hailstorms on the green earth to make it look white. Then in melts into rainwater to turn the white earth into green again.

The cloud is the daughter of earth and water. The sky nurses it. The cloud has no death or decay. For after it has melted into rainwater, the rains drops mix with the water of the seas and rivers. The water of the seas and rivers soon evaporates into the burning heat of the sun, and the water vapours go up to the sky, condense there and form the cloud again. This process goes on in a cyclic order.

The Cloud Poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley is one of my most favourite poets. “The Cloud” is one of his most famous poems.

THE CLOUD

By
Percy Shelley

I

I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers

From the seas and the streams;

I bear light shade for the leaves when laid

In their noonday dreams.

From my wings are shaken the dews that waken

The sweet buds every one,

When rocked to rest on their Mother's breast,

As she dances about the sun.

I wield the flail of the lashing hail,

And whiten the green plains under;

And then again I dissolve it in rain,

And laugh as I pass in thunder.

II

I sift the snow on the mountains below,

And their great pines groan aghast;

And all the night 'tis my pillow white,

While I sleep in the arms of the Blast.

Sublime on the towers of my skiey bowers

Lightning my pilot sits;

In a cavern under is fettered the Thunder,

It struggles and howls at fits.

Over earth and ocean with gentle motion

This pilot is guiding me,

Lured by the love of the Genii that move

In the depths of the purple sea;

Over the rills and the crags and the hills,

Over the lakes and the plains,

Wherever he dreams under mountain or stream

The Spirit he loves remains;

And I all the while bask in heaven's blue smile,

Whilst he is dissolving in rains.

III

The sanguine Sunrise with his meteor eyes,

And his burning plumes outspread,

Leaps on the back of my sailing rack,

When the morning star shines dead:

As on the jag of a mountain crag

Which an earthquake rocks and swings

An eagle alit one moment may sit

In the light of its golden wings.

And, when Sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath,

Its ardours of rest and of love,

And the crimson pall of eve may fall

From the depth of heaven above,

With wings folded I rest on mine airy nest,

As still as a brooding dove.

IV

That orbed maiden with white fire laden

Whom mortals call the Moon

Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor

By the midnight breezes strewn;

And whenever the beat of her unseen feet,

Which only the angels hear,

May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,

The stars peep behind her and peer.

And I laugh to see them whirl and flee

Like a swarm of golden bees,

When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent, --

Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,

Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,

Are each paved with the moon and these.

V

I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone,

And the Moon's with a girdle of pearl;

The Volcanoes are dim, and the Stars reel and swim,

When the Whirlwinds my banner unfurl.

From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape

Over a torrent sea,

Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof;

The mountains its columns be.

The triumphal arch through which I march,

With hurricane, fire, and snow,

When the powers of the air are chained to my chair,

Is the millioned-coloured bow;

The Sphere-fire above its soft colours wove,

While the moist Earth was laughing below.

VI

I am the daughter of Earth and Water,

And the nursling of the Sky:

I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;

I change, but I cannot die.

For after the rain, when with never a stain

The pavilion of heaven is bare,

And the winds and sunbeams with their convex gleams

Build up the blue dome of air,

I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, --

And out of the caverns of rain,

Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb,

I arise, and unbuild it again.

Gitanjali Poem No.50 by Rabindranath Tagore Summary Explanation

Summary / Explanation of Poem 50 of Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore:-

One day the poet-beggar was begging from door to door in the village path. Suddenly he saw at a distant a golden chariot coming towards him with the king of all kings seated in it. Soon the chariot came and stopped before the poet-beggar. The king came down from the chariot and looked at the poet-beggar with a smiling face. Then the poet-beggar felt that the luck of his life had come at last.

But contrary to his expectation the king himself held out his hand asking for alms. The poet-beggar was utterly confused an stood undecided. He could not make out how a king could beg from a beggar. He took it for a kingly jest.

Then he took out the smallest grain of corn from his bag and offered it to the king reluctantly.

At the end of day the poet-beggar returned home and emptied his bag on the floor. To his great surprise, he found a little grain of gold in the heap of alms. Then he realized his foolishness. He wished that he had had the heart to give his all to the king. Because in that case he would have back his all in gold.

The poet-beggar expected rich alms from the king. But contrary to his expectation, the king himself begged alms from the poet-beggar. The poet-beggar was greatly surprised and took it for a kingly jest.

God sometimes comes down on earth in the guise of a poor beggar to test a man if he is ready to sacrifice his all to God. So it was not really a kingly jest.

Gitanjali Poem No. 50
by Rabindranath Tagore

"I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path, when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was this King of all kings!

My hopes rose high and me thought my evil days were at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth scattered on all sides in the dust.

The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell on me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say `What hast thou to give to me?'

Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg! I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee.

But how great my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a least little gram of gold among the poor heap. I bitterly wept and wished that I had had the heart to give thee my all.

Top Questions and Answers about the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’ by William Wordsworth

Top Questions and Answers about the poem “The Solitary reaper” by William Wordsworth:

Question: “The music in my heart I bore,
 Long after it was heard no more.”

How does Wordsworth describe the singer and the scene in which she was seen singing? What was the effect of her song on the poet?

Or

Question: How does Wordsworth describe the song of the Solitary Reaper? How does he feel when he hears the song?

Answer: While touring in the hilly area of Scotland the poet William Wordsworth saw a highland girl reaping and singing by herself. He heard the song. The whole valley was overflowing with the sweet music of the song. He was greatly charmed by the sweet and sad music of the song. So he stood motionless and still to hear the song.

He felt that the song of the reaper girl was as sweet as that of a Nightingale heard by the weary travelers in the Arabian Desert. It seemed to him even sweeter and more thrilling than that of a Cuckoo in the Islands of Hebrides at the advent of the spring.

The poet could not understand the theme of the song. He, however, thinks it is about some unhappy incident of the past or a battle fought long ago or about some misfortunes of our daily life like loss, pain or death. He listened to the song motionlessly. The song seemed to him unending. He then left the place carrying the sweet and sad music of the song in his heart as a source of joy for ever.

Question: What does the poet guess about the theme of the reaper girl’s song? Why does he have to guess?

Answer: The poet guess that the theme of the song of the reaper girl is about the sad incident or battles of the long past or the common, eternal sources of humanity.

The poet is n Englishman. So he can not follow the theme of the song of the solitary girl as it is sung in Gaelic language unknown to him.

Question: “Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow”

What are the guesses of the post about the theme of the ‘plaintive numbers’?

Answer: The poet can not understand the theme of the song of reaper girl as it is sung in Gaelic language which is unknown to him. So he guesses that the song is about the sad incidents or battles of the long past or the common, eternal sources of humanity.

Question: “Will no one tell me what she sings?”

Why does poet ask the question and how does he answer it himself?

Answer: The poet is an Englishman. He can not follow the theme of the song of the reaper girl as it is sung in Gaelic language which is unknown to him. This is why he asks the question.

Later he answers it himself by some guesses. The poet speculates that the song is about the sad incidents or battle of long past or the common, eternal sources of humanity.

“The Solitary Reaper” Poem by William Wordsworth

The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!

Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No Nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again?

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o'er the sickle bending;—
I listened, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth Summary Analysis

Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth Summary and explanation:

Once, Wordsworth was traveling in the hilly area of Scotland. Suddenly he saw a solitary highland girl reaping and singing by herself in a distant cornfield. The whole valley was overflowing with the sweet music of the song. The poet was greatly charmed by the song sung by the solitary girl. He stood motionless and still to hear the song.

He felt that the song of the reaper girl was as sweet as that of a Nightingale heard by the weary travelers in the Arabian Desert. It seemed to him even sweeter and more thrilling than that of a Cuckoo in the Islands of Hebrides at the advent of the spring.

The poet could not make out the theme of the song. He, however, thinks it is about some unhappy incident of the past or a battle fought long ago or about some misfortunes of our daily life like loss, pain or death. He listened to the song motionlessly. The song seemed to him unending. He then left the place carrying the sweet and sad music of the song in his heart as a source of joy for ever.

The song of the reaper girl greatly influenced the poet. It humanized him. He could hear the sad song sung by the reaper girl. But he could not make out the theme of the song as the girl was singing the song in a regional language unknown to the poet.

What Is Allegory In Peotry? Gitanjali Poem 50 Allegorical Poetry Example

What is allegory in poetry?

Can Gitanjali Poem-50 be called an allegorical poem?

Allegorical Poem:

An allegory is a description of one thing under the image of another and in an allegorical poem some deep truth is symbolically expressed through a description of story.

Gitanjali Song 50 by Rabindranath Tagore

I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path, when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was this King of all kings! 

My hopes rose high and methought my evil days were at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth scattered on all sides in the dust. 

The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell on me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say `What hast thou to give to me?' 

Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg! I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee. 

But how great my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a least little gram of gold among the poor heap. I bitterly wept and wished that I had had the heart to give thee my all.

Allegorical Poem Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore:

The poem Gitanjali is an allegorical poem, because under its surface meaning we can discover another meaning-a deep spiritual significance. Each and every detail here stands for something. Here the beggar is everyman, while the king of all king is God. God is not only the giver, he is also a beggar. What God demands from man is complete self surrender. Man must make the supreme sacrifice of his complete self to God without reservation. Through this complete self-surrender the union between man and God is possible. Through partial sacrifice the beggar enjoys partial bliss and realizes that complete surrender of the self is essential for the union with God. The realization of the beggar is allegorically represented through the poem.

Top Questions and Answers about On His Blindness by John Milton

Study Guide and Most Common Questions and Answers about the poem “On His Blindness” by John Milton:-

Question: When did Milton wrote his sonnet “On His Blindness”?

Answer: The sonnet “On His Blindness” may have been written in 1652.

Question: What is the sonnet about?

Answer: The sonnet laments the blindness of Milton.

Question: What type of sonnet is “On His blindness”?

Answer: On His Blindness is a Petrarchan or Italian type of sonnet with octave and sestet.

Question: What does Milton mean by “era half of my days”?

Answer: Milton became blind in the middle of his life. He became totally blind in 1652 at the age of about 44.

Question: “That one talent”

What is the double meaning of ‘talent’? Is there any allusion here?

Answer: Here talent means gift (poetic gift given to him by God).

Talent originally means o gold coin. It has the allusion to the Biblical story of one gold coin given by a master to his servant and the servant did not use the talent.

Question: ‘Which is death to hide’

What does Milton mean here?

Answer: It meant that to hide the gift or to keep it useless is death to him. It is spiritual death.

Question: What does Milton’s soul wish?

Answer: The soul of Milton wishes to serve God by writing great poetry.

Question: ‘Lest the returning chide’

How does the line allude to the Biblical story of talents?

Answer: The master in the Parable of Talents rebukes the servant for keeping his talent (gold coin) useless.

Question: ‘Doth God exact day-labour’

What is meant by day-labour?

Answer: Day-labour mans labour done in the daylight-the full amount of his work.

Question: ‘But Patience, to prevent that murmur’.

What is meant by ‘Patience’? How is it used?

Answer: Patience means here patient thinking. Patience is personified here.

Question: How does one serve God best?

Answer: One serves God best by submitting to the gentle control of God.

Question: Who are the thousands at God’s bidding?

Answer: Milton perhaps means the angels traveling over land and oceans. God’s ministers (servants) are the sun, moon, stars, natural objects who work their allotted duties.

Question: ‘Who best bear His mild yoke’

What is the ‘mild yoke’?

Answer: Mild yoke means the gentle rule of God.

Question: ‘They also serve who only stand and wait.’

What does Milton mean by ‘stand and wait’?

Answer: ‘Stand and wait’ means remain firm in faith and devotion to God.

Top Questions and Answers about On His Blindness by Milton

Study Guide and Top Questions and Answers about the poem “On His Blindness” by John Milton:-

Question: When did Milton lose his eyesight?

Answer: Milton lost his eyesight completely in 1652. As early as 1644, the light of the earth was fast leaving him and the left eye became blind in 1650.

Question: Whose blindness does the poem refer?

Answer: The poem refers to the poet’s (i.e. Milton’s) blindness.

Question: How does Milton console himself at the end of the poem?

Answer: After suffering immensely Milton al last gets some hope. He console himself by saying that the best way to serve God is to obey Him by patiently carrying out His orders.

Question: What is the Parable that has been referred to here?

Answer: The Parable of “talent” is being referred to here.

Question: What does the poet mean by “light”?

Answer: “Light” means the light of the eye. It means eyesight. In the poem “On His Blindness” eyesight is compared to light.

Question: How does Milton compare himself through the word talent?

Answer: Milton thinks that he is like the third servant of the parable of Talents who kept his one talent (gold coin) hidden in the earth. He did not use his talent (poetic gift).

Question: “Which is death to hide”

What is death to hide?

Answer: Milton cannot use his one talent (poetic gift given to him by God). It is death not to use it. The third servant in the Parable of Talents hides the one talent given him by his master. The master threw him into outer darkness. Similarly, Milton would suffer spiritual death for his inability to use his poetic gift due to blindness.

Question: Why Milton laments his blindness?

Answer: Milton laments his blindness because he cannot us e his poetic gift given to him by God. He cannot serve God.

Question: Who is the maker? How does Milton wish to serve the maker?

Answer: God is the maker. Milton wishes to serve his God by using his poetic gift.

Question: Doth God exact day-labour-

What does the poet mean by ‘day-labour’?

Answer: Day-labour meant labour done in daylight.

Question: What is Milton’s question to God?

Answer: Milton asks if God would demand active service from him when he has denied the light of the eye o him.

Question: How can one serve God best?

Answer: One can serve God best by willing submission to the will of god and to God’s gentle rule.

Question: Who are the thousands who work at God’s bidding?

Answer: God have many angels who are His ministers. God through these ministers rules the universe. The sun, the moon rise daily and move in the sky at His bidding.

Questions and Answers about “On His Blindness” by John Milton

Top Questions and Answers about the Poem “On His Blindness”:-

How does Milton make up his mind to serve his maker in his sonnet “On His Blindness”? Analysis of the Sonnet "On His Blindness":

Milton’s “On His Blindness” is a famous autobiographical sonnet. The sonnet records the poet’s agony on his becoming blind but it ends on a note of reconcilement.

When God gives us some talent, it is our duty to use it effectively so that it increases and multiplies. It is a sin to hide one’s talent and not use it. Milton says that god has given him talent to write and express profound thoughts. And it would be wrong not to use his talent through creative enveavours, but unfortunately he has become blind. God has taken away his vision. Light denies to him, and he is plunged in profound darkness. The how can he do the job that he is expected to do. One way to serve God is to use the talent God has given him. Bur this he can not be because he is now blind. So the poet feels and agony of helplessness.

But then patience personified gives him consolation. He realises that Good needs neither man’s work nor utilisation of his gifts. All that he expects is a complete surrender to his will, a readiness to serve him. The poet is like angel who patiently waits for god’s command.

Poetry Analysis of the Poem “On His Blindness” by John Milton

On His Blindness- Analysis Line by Line:

The poet reflects on his blindness. He has become blind in the middle of his life. He therefore cannot make proper use of his poetic talent which is spiritual death for him to hide. His soul is earnestly desirous of serving God with his own talent that God have given him. He wishes to render a true account of his powers to God. He is afraid that god will rebuke him for not using his power. (Lines 1-6)

He anxiously asks-Does God require of a blind man’s service? (Lines 7-8)

Patient thinking make the poet conclude that God needs neither the service of man nor an account of the gifts bestowed by Him on man. Those who resign themselves to the will of God serve Him best. (Lines 9-10)

G

od is invested with royal power. Thousands of angels fly swiftly over land and sea to do His bidding. Those who have faith in God and calmly submit to God’s powers also render him services. (Lines 11-14) 

The word “talent” has been used in more senses than one. In the Bible concept it means a coin or more generally speaking money. When the master gives some money, it is his duty to make use of it and increase it. Figuratively talent is a quality and therefore wealth. In this sense even vision may be recorded as a talent. It is by using one’s vision that one can do a lot of things. Milton was a pious Christian. His devotion and dedication to God are evident in the poem.

Summery of the Poem “On His Blindness” by John Milton

“On His Blindness”- Summery Analysis/Substance:

The sonnet “On His Blindness” is a personal meditation. This sonnet may be compared with “How soon hath time...” Milton is here concerned with the proper use of the talent which God has given him. He is bereft of his eyesight. His despair is voiced by Samson in his utmost agony-“O dark, dark, dark, amid the blazed of noon.” The poet laments his blindness. He has become blind in the middle of his life. So he can cot serve God with his poetic gift. He, however, earnestly wishes to use his poetic talent which is the gift of god for the service of him.

He afraid that God might scold him for spending his days idly. But the mood of the octet changed suddenly as Milton nourishes a more optimistic view in the sestet.                                 

His ambition was the highest that any writer of that time could have and he has afraid that with his blindness he would no be able to write great poetry which he long cherished. Milton believed in the Parable of talents, which showed that God expected man to use and improve the gist he had been granted.

He compares himself with the third servant in the Parable of Talents. He fears that he will be rebuked by God, as the third servant was rebuked by his master for not using his talent. But then, the question comes to his mind-Does God demand service even from a blind man? Soon his doubt passes and faith in God returns. He comes to believe that God does not demand man’s active service. Persons who resign themselves to the will of God are his best servants. All he demands of man is complete resignation to his will. Those who bear his dispensations without protest and remain ready for his decrees serve him best.

"On His Blindness" Sonnet by John Milton (1608-1674)

John Milton is one of my most favourite poets. The poem “On His Blindness” written by John Milton is a famous autographical sonnet. It is one of most poems written by Milton. The sonnet reflects the poet’s agony on his becoming blind but it ends on a note of reconcilement. In this poem, poet’s whole hearted submission to God, his determination, devotion and noble thinking charm me a lot.

The poem may have been written as early as 1652 (some people consider in 1655).

On His Blindness (Sonnet 16)

                        -John Milton (1608-1674)

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
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, 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."

Critical Appreciation of the poem “On His Blindness” by John Milton

Critical Appreciation of The Poem "On His Blindness" By John Milton:

The sonnet “On His Blindness” is perhaps one of the best and most popular of Milton’s sonnets. It is indeed a pearl in the ocean of English literature. It is a great sonnet of lofty tone and noble theme. It was written in 1655. Milton had started losing his eyesight from the year 1645. After some years he lost his eyesight completely. He was about 44 years at that time, when we remember that his great words “Paradise Lost” and “Samson Agonists” has not yet been written.

Strength of mind, power of will and determination, patience; all these traits stood him in good stead when blindness slowly came over his.

What made him so sad was that the gist of poetry which had been given to him could not be used to advantage when he was suffering from blindness.

Here Milton bows down in humble submission to the will of God. The tone of patience and humility has perfectly mingled with that of great dignity. The poem is a human document, a revelation of the struggle in Milton’s own soul. It starts with a note of regret. Then there is a mood of doubt and questioning which however melts in the final attitude of complete resignation. The beauty and exaltation of moral feeling raise the poem to a great height. The poem is full of allusions to the bible.

The extreme simplicity of the language is its peculiar attractive. Two lines are wholly, several others are nearly, monosyllabic. It is a sonnet of Petrarchan type. But there is no division between the octave and the sestet-which is the characteristic of Italian or Petrarchan sonnet. There is a break in the middle of the eighth line.

The poet’s subsequent submission charms the readers. The monologue is simply fascinating. The league used is both easy and catchy. The metre, note and cadence is perfect.