[존 밀턴, 시와 해설 II] On His Blindness

메모 1: 시와 해설 검색 1


출처 2: 학습 도우미 사이트, eNotes.com

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The speaker's patience responds by enunciating the Protestant idea, associated with John Calvin, that God is totally self-sufficient and needs nothing at all from human beings. He does not need man's "work," nor does he even need "his own gifts"(10), given by Him to man and returned to Him with profit by man, as in the parable of the talents. God, in short, needs nothing at all from people. Instead, they depend upon Him utterly; the only way for them to receive salvation is through God's freely given grace, a key tenet of Calvinism. The best way to serve God is simply "Bear his mild yoke"(11). In other words, the best way to be a good Christian and human is to behave like a completely tamed and contented work animal, such as an obedient ox. However, the speaker here alludes once more to the Bible, this time to Matthew 11:28-20:

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

( ...  ... )

Nevertheless, God's "state"--both His inherent condition and the nature of His rule--is "Kingly"(11-12), a word that implies His autonomy, His glory, His greatness, His exalted power, and His dignity. Thousands (especially angels) do His "bidding," and not only do they perform His commands, but also perform them with "speed" (12). They can move with utter quickness, partly because they are sighted and can avoid any obstacle before them. The speaker in the poem, of course, can no longer move with such speed, at least not physically. The angels move about the wide world, "land and ocean," rapidly and without tiring, unlike the handicapped speaker, who is not now capable of rapid motion. However, the poem ends on a note of supreme consolation and reassurance: "They also serve who only stand and wait" (14). In other words, rapid movement is not required to serve God truly. Merely waiting for God to decide how one can be most useful can also be true service to God who really needs no servants. ( ... ... ) Since God needs nothing, the mere fact of standing and waiting can be sufficient service in God's eye, especially if one waits with sincere hope and faith for the Second Coming of Christ.

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( ... ... ) The matrix clause is a surprising distance from the first when-clause and is the question Milton asks:

... "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask.

The significance of this grammatical construction is that Milton is not lamenting his lost sight, nor is he worried about the results of a talent not utilized, but rather that he is seeking to know whether the Christian God demands that which cannot be given. The point of the poem shifts away from a personal lament to a theological poetical apologetics: ( ... ... )

... "God doth not need
Either man's work or [the return of] his own gifts ...
[...]
They also serve who only stand and wait."

Grammaatical analysis shows that the subject and main iea of the sonnet is expressed in the first two lines of the octave(last eight lines): " 'Does God exact day-labour, light denied?' / I fondly ask."

( ... ... )

"I fondly ask": While some analyze "fondly" according to its archaic 14th century meaning of "foolish," this analysis can't logically be supported because there is no other archaic language employed: In this sonnet, Milton uses language that is contemporary to his time, not archaic. Consequently it is more fitting to analyze "fondly" as meaning "affectionately," a meaning well established in Milton's time since it dates from the 1590s. The result, then, is that we understand that Milton does not foolishly ask but rather he affectionately asks. This does several things: it incorporates the Petrarchan sonnet theme of love and it smoothly transitions to the tender reply "Patience" gives. Understanding "fondly" correctly as "affectionately" also dampens the temptation to think Milton is expressing a degree of exasperation or a degree of concern that he be judged fairly. It also contradicts finding an overt theme of trust in foolishness expressed but reinforces finding the theme of patience from the Spirit of God since "Patience" answers.

( ... ... ) This is especially so if "more bent" and "fondly" are defined as "more inclined than previously" and "foolishly" rather than being defined accurately as "continuingly inclined as before" and "affectionately" ("fondly" defined as "foolish" was outdated for 200 years by the time Milton wrote this sonnet in, to him, modern diction).

* * *

( ... ... )

PATIENCE: "Patience" used here is not a personal trait, rather a Fruit of the Spirit granted (given) by the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit. The poet affectionately ("fondly") queries God (line 7), and one of the Fruits of the Spirit, personified, answers back. Thus the answer to the important query Milton asks is given objectively from God's Spirit not subjectively from the poet's self.

PREVENT MURMUR: A "murmur" is a complaint, "a private expression of discontent." Asking a question ("Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?") and complaining cannot be equated: they are different. Patience answers the poet so that a lingering, unanswered query does not turn to a complaint of discontent: Patience replies to prevent the upwelling of "that" potential murmur. ( ... ... )


출처 3: https://www.bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/on-his-blindness.html#.WiYdKbhR6Bo

※ 발췌 (excerpt): God does not require the service of man nor does He take back the gift, one bestowed by Him on man.


출처 4: Roger L. Slakey. "Milton's Sonnet "On His Blindness", English Literature History, Vol. 27, No. 2, June 1960.

※ 발췌 (excerpt):

( ... ... ) This notion of disposition is picked up in the sestet. Those who bear the yoke serve; that is, neither the works nor the returns upon the gifts are important in themselves. The intention, that is important. Hence the angels who “only stand and wait” in the heavenly court are serving because they are disposed to serve. ( ... ... )

In the octave this disposition, intensified ("more bent/ To serve"), indicates a right will. And when that is coupled with bearing the yoke of blindness, it is clearly a high degree of service the speaker can render. The inclination of the octave expands in the sestet from a desire to serve with the talent to a desire to be of service in whatever way, for the end of “stand and wait” is not made clear. Thus in the octave, without realizing it, the speaker is meeting his situation and thereby making possible the explanation of the sestet.

( ... ... )

Interrupting the complaint, Patience rejects two things--man's accomplishment and the return on the gifts--but rejects them only in a sense: “God does not need” them. She reminds the speaker that in serving, he is not supplementing Divine weakness. God can do without him. Next she urges bearing the mild yoke. How it is borne will determine the excellence of the service. In the last three lines she explains this service in terms of the two conditions suggested in the octave with the difference that they are now ways of bearing the yoke. Both those who “speed and post” and those who “stand and wait” are serving.  Hence conditions of life in no way limit service; rather they are the means of service. Thus one serves not specifically by using the gifts he has, not even by his acts, but by bearing with his situation. Whether he is actively engaged in the cause of God or not, he is serving so long as, like those in the court, he "waits on the Lord" (Ps. 27: 14). That the immediate intentions are frustrated makes no difference, for the final intention is fulfilled. Only the means are rejected. And the result of the rejection is gain, intensified desire.

Smart has pointed out that the word "wait" in line fourteen has many Biblical parallels and suggests, I think correctly, that the Biblical meaning is intended here. If so "wait" would mean trust and confident, joyous expectatin of one's ultimate fulfillment in God. ( ... ... )