At a young age, John Milton was convinced that he was destined for
greatness. He thought that he "might perhaps leave something so written to aftertimes as they should not willingly let it die"(Text 414). For this reason he thought that his life was very important to himself and to others. He often wrote directly about himself, and he used his life experiences as roots for his literature. In Paradise Lost and in a sonnet entitled "On His Blindness," Milton speaks indirectly and directly of his loss of vision.
Also in Paradise Lost, he uses the political situation of his time as a
base for the plot, and he incorporates elements of his own character into the character of Satan. In "On Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty-Three", he speaks plainly about the course of his life.
In the latter part of his life, Milton lost his vision. This loss was
very traumatic for him because he had not yet completed his mission of
writing a memorable work of literature. …
