When I compare the two poems, "Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy's Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota" by James Wright and "When I consider how my light is spent" by John Milton, I see many distinctive comparisons. The obvious comparison that I have accounted from reading both of these poems is the way both speakers (writers of the poems) denied what was given to them from God. James Wright denied his way of living in a peaceful, serene environment ("I have wasted my life") while John Milton denied his one talent (unit of money) from his master ("And that one talent which is death to hide .Lodged with me useless-).
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Both of the writers seem to take their lives for granted. It seems that they are both looking for something more than what they already have. James Wright feels that a life full of serenity is a life wasted. John Milton felt that he couldn't make use of the gifts offered by God, until he listened to Patience. It is stated that it gave him a warrant "for finding his blindness cause for lament." .
Both John Milton and James Wright are reminiscing their lives as they have lived it, and they are both, in a way, judging themselves. When John writes about what Patience believes, he is somehow interpreting to the reader that that is the way in which he believes he should live. James Wright never wrote about a way in which he wanted to live, but he does tell the reader the way he didn't want to live. .
Another connection between the two poems is that both writers are contemplating if their life is actually meaningful or not. James Wright expresses it more in the end of the poem, and John Milton expresses it more in the beginning of the poem. Wright writes about the peacefulness in the beginning (making the reader think that he might be happy with his life). Then, in the end, he states that he has wasted his life, making the reader think that he is questioning the significance of his life.
