TEXT: every cloud has its silver lining essay A silver lining is a metaphor for optimism in the common english-language which  means a negative occurrence may have a positive aspect to it origin[edit] the  origin of the phrase is most likely traced to john milton's comus (1634) with the  lines  was i deceiv'd, or did a sable cloud  idiom every cloud has a silver  lining silver lining (disambiguation) is the.