Each of us is defined to some extent by our suffering. When we experience a great loss, the grief can be overwhelming. We can become paralyzed by our emotions, plagued by questions, our faith is tested. Ben Jonson's "On My First Son" describes a father's tortuous conflict caused by the death of his eldest son. John Milton searches for answers and self-esteem after going blind in his sonnet [When I Consider How My Light is Spent]. Both poems are powerful messages of pain and affirmation that address our universal need for connection. Each work is as relevant today as it was when it was written in the 17th century. Although they differ in the form and nature of their losses, each poem asks the same question: what is the purpose of my suffering? Both poems are written in iambic pentameter. [When I consider how my light is spent] is an Italian sonnet with the rhyme structure ababbabacdecde. Milton's sonnet has a very formal tone and the words are spoken gently, as if he has already spent a lot of time thinking about and coping with his loss of sight. “On my first son” is written in heroic couplets. Line 3 is two beats longer than the rest of the lines, as Jonson laments the too-short time he spent with his son. He goes from fond memories to rage and confusion. His thoughts and emotions appear like a new wound, raw and painfully wrought. Milton wonders what his purpose is now that he can no longer write words on a page, "that one talent of death to hide" (line 3) "lodge 'd with me useless," (line 4) . His work was to serve God through his writings for most of his life until he went blind. He fears he'll spend the next half of his life in obscurity, with nothing... middle of paper... anything different. In this society, we tend to hide our weaknesses and pillory those who don't do their part. When we lose the ability to work, we sometimes lose our identity and purpose. It can be even worse to lose a loved one; we wonder how we could survive without them. We can find ourselves through renewed faith in a higher power, we can comfort ourselves by seeking out others who understand our plight, and we can restore ourselves by connecting to the wondrous abundance of fine art and great literature. “On My First Son” and [When I Consider How My Light is Spent] are timeless snapshots of the human condition. We suffer because we have the capacity to love, to serve, and to lose. We suffer because we make our dearest wishes and worst nightmares come true. We suffer simply because we have the capacity to suffer.