On His Blindness by John Milton (1655) - 1102 Words

ENG125: Introduction to Literature (GSH1140E) Instructor: Julie Alfaro October 24, 2011 What is poetry? According to the author Clugston (2010) poetry is everything the poet sees. Also according to Clugston (2010) â€Å"poetry is everything the poet senses, feels, experiences, and imagines†. Poems are built around human life experiences but written in concise and expressive figurative language form which could sometimes be difficult to understand. Not only is poetry based on human life experiences, poetry is also written to capture the reader’s attention and at the same time requires the reader to explore the poet’s imaginations. Basically, â€Å"poetry is an expression of the human spirit† (Clugston, 2011). As a result, the poem â€Å"On His†¦show more content†¦In the beginning, the first eight lines present a troubling matter about blindness. In these first eight lines, there seems to be confusion and frustration. But although the poem expresses a sad, confused, and frustrated mood, there seems to be no contradiction in what the author is feeling and what he is trying to covey. Towards the latter part of his poem, the author has come to accept the fact that he is blind. His faith in God has not diminished even though he is now blind. This self-realization and self-acceptance creates an understanding tone verses an angry tone. Lastly, the content or the message of the poem was engaging because it is a poem about a true life experience. When reading this poem and feeling the author’s frustration about being blind, yet accepting what is inevitable, it is truly amazing to see how strong he is. Although the poem was on blindness, the poet also uses words in ways they are not normally used in order to create a distinct, imaginative effect or impression throughout the poem. The poem was difficult to understand at first due to the diverse vocabularies and due to the lack of understanding poems. However, as the poem is dissected and researched, a clearer picture was developed. After reading this poem, my overall impression of the format, the tone, and the content of the poem has helped me to have a better understanding of the struggles that we go through in life. Sometimes we encounter obstacles and