John Miltons Sonnet 16 Essay -- John Milton Sonnet 16 Essays

throne Miltons Sonnet 16In his sonnets, John Milton tackles a number of subjects which he addresses at considerably great length in his other poetry and prose. These subjects range from religious to political, and seldom is any one piece of writing limited to one or the other of those fields. While his Sonnet 16 begins with a challenge to acquainted(predicate) biblical passages, Milton ultimately uses it to offer a critique of the nearly present equation between the king and divinity. The sonnet features two motifs that run throughout the first seven inventorys. Both are biblical, and both are introduced in the first line. The one that seems to be the most significant is the light and persistent imagery. In the first line, it sounds like a reference to Miltons blindness (this is more or less plausible depending on which date of issue you accept). As this language continues to crop up, it appears that Miltons darkness has a large importance. In the second l ine, he refers to the world as dark, and in line seven, he uses the lack of light to pose a frustrated indecision to paragon. By using this vocabulary to describe his fears, Milton creates a connection with two passages from the Bible that use the same language to explain the will of God and the way of the world. In Matthew 25 1-13, a brightly shining lantern symbolizes a persons preparedness for Gods coming, and in John 94, Christ refers to the limited time he (and every man) has to do Gods work on earth before the nighttime cometh, when no man can work (King James Bible). Milton engages with these passages, so that when he reaches the height of his dilemma, Doth God exact day-labour, light denied,/I fondly involve he is issuing a direct challenge to a avouchment made b... ... God has a tireless band of angels as wellspring as his followers among men who have learned to set excursus all else and worship him. In this sonnet, Milton manages to turn his personal com plaint into not one but two of his favorite things praise of God, and intense reflection of the king. By focusing on the parable of the talents and its ties to both the worldly and the spiritual, Milton calls God and King into relief. He is then able to use God and His eternal, constant goodness to highlight the Kings small-minded, self-centered tyranny. This direct comparison gives readers a sense of Miltons belief that earthly authority is corrupt, and should never be a part of religion. God and the King are so vastly far apart that to bring them together, whether in poetry or in a church hierarchy, is offensive to God and can yet bring out the weaknesses of the King.