When I Consider How My Light Is Spent

In U.S. popular culture it is perhaps best known for Hall of Fame baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, who would quote it when showing a player not in the game.

It may have been written as early as 1652, although most scholars believe that it was composed sometime between June and October 1655, when Milton's blindness was essentially complete.

[6] However, most discussions of the dating depend on the assumption that Newton's title reflects Milton's intentions, which may not be true.

[7] Haskin[8] discusses some of the likely interpretative errors that readers have made as a result of assuming that the common title of the poem is authentic.

However, the references to light and darkness in the poem make it virtually certain that Milton's blindness was at least a secondary theme.