Comparing John Milton's Lycidas and Sonnet 7

Introduction

In the journey of life, Man will often question his or her position in the universe. Questioning one's worth and purpose in the universe will harbor the attention of Man until the end of time. The antidote for the majority of the world comes in maintaining a religion. In Sonnet 7 and Lycidas, John Milton takes the reader on the journey Man takes in fulfilling God's will. In these poems, Milton examines the importance of being readily prepared for God's will, the willingness to truly fulfill God's will, and the resolution he comes to with his own life as well as Edward King's in terms of God's will.

Milton's Personal Journey

Milton's personal journey in fulfilling God's will is essential to him. He believes his daily activities are in preparation for a greater purpose. In believing in such discipline, it becomes apparent to Milton that he must be readily prepared for God's plan for his life. Milton expresses the need for spiritual maturity repeatedly in Sonnet 7 and in Lycidas. In Sonnet 7, Milton expresses anxiety in his own life. In lines 6 and 7, Milton wrote:

That I to manhood am arriv'd so near,
And inward ripeness doth much less appear.

It is relevant to notice that Milton is having a time of reflection in writing such words. He is questioning his own being and asking himself if he is making the necessary decisions in life to lead to spiritual maturity. This introspection underscores the universal human quest for meaning and purpose.

The Reflection in Lycidas

Milton examines the same idea in the pastoral elegy that he writes for Edward King. In contrast to the Sonnet, which is about Milton, Lycidas explores what happens when one's life ends abruptly. In line 3 of Lycidas, Milton wrote:

Shatter your leaves before your mellowing year.

Milton's concern with King's death displays a concern of dying before possibly reaching spiritual maturity. Because both Milton and King went to school to be priests, and King was also a poet, the questioning of King's death mirrors a concern for his own life. The quote mirrors Sonnet 7 in that it raises the same question: what would happen if death came to Milton at the time in which he wrote Lycidas? Milton questions his own life by questioning what God's judgment would be on his own life if his death came in his youth.

Time and God's Will

Milton displays concerns not only with the idea of being spiritually mature, but also a willingness to do God's will in God's timing. Knowing God's direction for his life is important, but he also wants to be sure he's living on God's clock, and not his own. Milton has completed years of education and feels the pressure to succeed in life. This idea is also a time of reflection for Milton in that he must ask himself what success really means. He asks the question: does success mean becoming a priest, or does God have other plans for me? Milton wrote in lines 1 and 2:

How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,
Stol'n on his wing my three and twentieth year!

The underlying question is merely about time. No one truly knows when their life will end, and the question that remains is if one knew when he or she were to die, would he or she still make the same decisions? The idea of time is apparent in Lycidas as well when Milton wrote:

For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime,
Young Lycidas, and hath not left his peer. (Lines 9 and 10)
And Comes the blind Fury with th' abhorred shears
And slits the thin-spun life. (Lines 75 and 76)

Milton questions whether or not King had fulfilled his purpose for God even though his life ended in youth. Milton offers the answer to this question later in his resolution of the poem; however, it remains imperative to examine the question not just in terms of King, but also universally.

Resolutions in Sonnet 7 and Lycidas

Although it seems Milton expresses anxieties in his tribulations of youthful doubt, he does offer resolutions in both poems. In Sonnet 7, Milton comes to the conclusion that as long as he's doing his part in finding spiritual maturity and staying open to God's will, then he will be ready to do God's will. In the last lines, he wrote:

Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav'n;
All is, if I have grace to use it so,
As ever in my great task Master's eye.

Milton realizes that God has a plan, and part of fulfilling it is being patient for God's timing.

Milton also comes to a resolution with King. Although King's life ended unexpectedly and before he could become a priest, Milton wrote about King's rewards in heaven:

Now Lycidas the Shepherds weep no more,
Henceforth thou art the Genius of the shore,
In thy large recompense, and shalt be good
To all that wander in that perilous flood. (Lines 182-185)

Although King didn't become a priest, he lived a life in search of God's will, and thus will be rewarded in heaven.

Conclusion

Although Milton, like many, questions his own life, the ultimate conclusion he comes to is that the answer lies in eternity. Milton understands there is a purpose for his life and that he has been given spiritual gifts from God that he must use for God's will. Although he may doubt himself from time to time, or he may question his success in fulfilling God's will, he also recognizes the gift God has given him in salvation. In the end, Milton believes that God's plan will reveal itself, and truth will win, in his own life and in the world around him.

References

Milton, J. (1638). Lycidas.

Milton, J. (1645). Sonnet 7.