A Sense of Hope in Milton's Sonnet XIX John Milton's contemplative "Sonnet XIX" reveals the idea of ​​the man in adversity coming to terms with destiny . Milton reflects on the condition of his own soul in physical blindness through his ideas of service, duty, and talent to explore his relationship with God and his art: writing. Milton's use of diction and structure provides clues to the interpretation of the sonnet and helps resolve the thematic dilemma presented. The images of the sonnet connote multiple meanings. An examination of Milton's allusions to biblical verses and historical parallels helps provide important information about understanding the sonnet. Milton divides this sonnet into two structural parts of Petrarchan-style iambic pentameter. The eighth concerns Milton's contemplative state which arises from "When I consider how my light is spent" (line 1). Milton connects the words spent, light, death and soul through the strong stress of their syllables. According to Steven Wigler, the self-centered tone of the octave is revealed in the use of the pronouns I, me, and my, which appear eight times in the first eight lines (Wigler 156). Milton's obsessive concern about whether he is expected to meet the demands of his service grows until the first part ends with his question: "God requires daily labor, light denied" (line 7) followed by "I ask with affection but Patience to prevent" (line 8). Milton capitalized the word patience. He is deifying the word to help transform the tone in the sextet. Milton foreshadows a resolution by associating the qualities of patience with God. Milton seems consumed with emphasizing his serious intentions and concern for himself as a writer in the octave, but the subsequent balances... middle of the paper... necessarily imply a light off. It can simultaneously represent the burning of light in the present. Milton left his reader with a sense of hope. Works Cited Honigmann, EAJ "Sonnet XIX". Milton's sonnets. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1966. 169-76. Nardo, The sonnets of Anna K. Milton and the ideal community. Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 1979. 145-51.Parker, William R. Milton: A Biography. vol. 1. London: Oxford UP, 1968. 2 vols. 469-72. Stringer, Gary A. "Milton's 'Thorn in the Flesh': Pauline Didactics in Sonnet XIX." Milton Studies 10 (1977): 141-54. Wigler, Steven. "The Outrageous Noise and the Sovereign Voice: Satan, Sin, and Syntax in Sonnet XIX and Book VI of Paradise Lost." Milton Studies 10 (1977): 155-65. Wilcox, Joel F. "'Spending the Light:' Milton and the Light of Homer's Hope." Milton Quarterly. 18.3 (1984): 77-8.