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Difficulty: MediumAllusions in Poetry

Read the following excerpt from John Milton’s sonnet "When I Consider How My Light is Spent" (1673) carefully:

When I consider how my light is spent,
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide...

In the context of the excerpt, which of the following best describes the function of the allusion to the "one talent" in line 3?

  1. A
    suggest that the speaker is suffering from extreme financial ruin and material poverty
  2. B
    document the historical biography of John Milton's blindness to explain his political exile
  3. emphasize the speaker’s spiritual anxiety regarding his failure to employ his creative gifts in service of GodAnswer
  4. D
    identify the biblical source in the Gospel of Matthew to demonstrate the author’s academic credentials
  5. E
    create a bitter, accusatory tone that remains unresolved throughout the entire poem

Answer

The allusion to the 'one talent' serves to emphasize the speaker’s spiritual anxiety regarding his failure to employ his creative gifts in service of God.
The correct answer is the option that notes the allusion emphasizes the speaker's spiritual anxiety about failing to use his creative gifts. By referencing the biblical parable of the talents, the speaker draws a parallel between the servant who was condemned for hiding his money and his own fear of spiritual failure due to his inability to write poetry after losing his sight.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the allusion and its source.
The phrase 'one talent' in line 3 alludes to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, in which a servant is condemned for burying the single talent (a unit of money) entrusted to him by his master instead of investing it.
Recognizing the source of the allusion is the first step in understanding its metaphorical application in the poem.
2
Analyze how the allusion functions in the context of the poem.
The speaker uses 'talent' as a pun representing both the biblical currency and his own poetic and intellectual gifts. Since he is going blind ('light is spent'), he fears he cannot use this talent to serve his 'Maker' and will face judgment ('lest he returning chide').
This links the allusion directly to the speaker's internal conflict and spiritual state.
3
Evaluate the options to find the one that best captures this function.
The option stating that it emphasizes the speaker's spiritual anxiety regarding his failure to employ his creative gifts matches this analysis. Other options either read the term too literally, focus excessively on biography, stop at simple identification of the source, or mischaracterize the tone.
This confirms the correct option based on literary analysis.

Key Concept

Allusions in Poetry
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Allusions in Poetry

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