ABSTRACT
Milton's last sonnet, the blind poet's dream of his deceased wife, has long had widespread appeal. With acute psychological realism, it presents one aspect of a mourner's suffering, the bereaved person's dream. Perceived briefly, only to vanish as the dreamer wakes, the subject of this sonnet was indeed profoundly loved and deeply missed. The poem reveals, in fact leads the reader into sharing the agony resulting from being bereaved of a beloved spouse. Although known to be Milton's last sonnet, it probably is not his last poem. The date of its composition is not known, nor can it be determined with certainty which of the two wives who predeceased him is the subject of it. The sonnet could represent any or all of these stages. If the fact that the mourner dreams is regarded as a denial of reality, then it is a first stage event.
