At its core, “When I Consider How my Light is Spent” is quite a heartbreaking poem. In it John Milton, its author and narrator, grapples with questions of fate, faith, and purpose. As he slowly begins to lose his sight, he wonders whether he will be able to continue writing, and realizes the major capacity in which his life is about to change. The poem is something of a diary entry; it’s Milton’s inner monologue brought to life on the page. He uses the Petrarchan sonnet form, writing in an ABBAABBACDECDE rhyme scheme, and faithfully following the rhythm of iambic pentameter, except where most Petrarchan sonnets write about love, Milton writes about loss. One could argue, though, that it is somewhat of a love letter; the poem is littered with devotional language. God, the object of Milton’s ultimate devotion, features prominently throughout. At the risk of following a tangentially unrelated thread, the connection between sight and God, or light and sight, reminded me of something I had been learning about in my Art History class, of all places. We discussed the visual language of devotional images, and how to see was, in essence, to be touching with one’s eyes. When putting that concept in this context, Milton’s loss becomes even more profound— not only does he lose his sight but ultimately his ability to connect to God. As he loses his sight, he also must question his capacity to write, a skill he values both for its craft and devotional function.