CHAPTER – 4
HOW SOON HATH TIME - John Milton
About the author
John Milton was an English poet ,polemicist,pamphleteer, and a civil servant during the commonwealth era of England.A scholarly man of letters,
Milton’s prose and poetry deal with
contemporary issues and reflect the
religious flux and political upheaval of
England of his time. He is best known for
his epic poems ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘Paradise Regained’. Writing
in English, Latin, Greek and Italian, he achieved international
fame and his celebrated ‘Areopagitica’ (1644) written in
condemnation of pre-publication censorship is among History’s
most influential and impassioned defences of freedom of speech
and the press. He is regarded as one of the greatest English writers of all time.
How Soon Hath Time, a Petrarchan sonnet, is believed to have
been written by Milton on his birthday . Milton begins the poem in a tone of frustration and despair
at having lost 23 precious years without achieving anything note
worthy. But he comforts himself by turning to God.
How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,
Stol'n on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!
My hasting days fly on with full career,
But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th.
Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth
That I to manhood am arriv'd so near;
And inward ripeness doth much less appear,
That some more timely-happy spirits endu'th.
Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow,
It shall be still in strictest measure ev'n
To that same lot, however mean or high,
Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav'n:
All is, if I have grace to use it so
As ever in my great Task-Master's eye.
Summary of the poem
"How soon hath time” is, a poem about the fear of failing to accomplish something meaningful in life. The poem begins with the speaker announcing his astonishment about how quickly his life has gone by. The poet is describing time as a “thief” in the poem the speaker characterizes his experience of ageing as one of loss, even robbery as he feels something vital has been taken from him. The speaker complains that he has reached the ripe age of twenty three without doing much of note. In making this complaint, he suggests that the value of his life depends on his actions and, more specifically, his accomplishments. . As the poem continues, it becomes clear that what he has lost—or is losing—is possibility itself: the possibility of accomplishing something grand and ambitious.
The speaker notably describes himself as on the verge of being fully a man. Yet though his youth is behind him, he has yet to produce a “bud” or “blossom.” Here the speaker compares youth to spring. He is somehow out of joint with time: though his spring is almost over, he has yet to bear any flowers.
The “buds” or “blossoms” represent what the speaker hopes to accomplish in his life and hasn’t yet. In this regard, the speaker , refuses to specifically unfold his ambitions for his readers. He employs the word career in an old-fashioned sense, meaning something like “rushing recklessly” or “running out of control.” But the modern sense of the word is present too: the speaker wants to do something meaningful and consequential with his life, and he wants to do it in a way that other people will recognize. He then notes that he has “inward ripeness”—that is, that he is full of inner beauty and potential. Yet that inner beauty doesn’t register like the “buds” and “blossoms” he desires as no one else can see it or celebrate it.
Thus the first eight lines thus present an ambitious yet anxious speaker: someone who is eager to make his mark on the world yet who feels his life slipping by—and who feels like his life will be meaningless unless he manages to accomplish some grand, public project that other people can witness and appreciate. The poem thus implicitly asks readers to consider an important set of questions about life itself. Working through the speaker’s anxiety, the reader begins to wonder what makes life meaningful. The speaker suggests an answer to that question: work makes life meaningful, and the things one accomplishes are what matter.
Short Answer Questions
1. How old is the speaker in the sonnet?
The speaker has turned twenty four years old.
2. What does the phrase ‘late spring’ mean?
By the phrase ' late spring' the poet means that his youth is behind him or in other words his youth is over.
3. What is time seen as?
Time is seen as a thief in the poem.
4. What has time stolen?
The time has stolen the youth.The speaker laments how quickly time, which he compares to a
thief that robs people of their youth, has stolen his twenty three years.
His days pass swiftly in a rush, yet he hasn't produced anything
substantial.
5. Mention the poetic devices used in the poem.
The poetic devices used in the poem are are alliteration and metaphors
6. Time is personified as thief.
7. Youth is compared to _______________
a) Happy spirits
b) Spring
c) Winged creature
Paragraph Answer Questions
1. Comment on the theme of ‘How Soon Hath Time’.
"How soon hath time” is, a poem about the
fear of failing to accomplish something meaningful in
life. In the first octet, the poet is lamenting that he had lost his twenty three years without doing much of note. In
making this complaint, the speaker suggests that the value of
his life depends on his actions and in his
accomplishments; The poet begins the poem with his
astonishment about how quickly his life has gone by. Describing
time as a “thief” in the poem’s first line, the poet characterizes his experience of ageing as one of loss, as something vital has been taken from him. As the poem
continues, it becomes clear that what he has lost is the possibility of accomplishing
something grand and ambitious.
The poet is describing himself as on the verge of being
fully a man. The poet feels that though his youth is behind him, he has yet to
produce a “bud” or “blossom.” Here the poet has compared youth to spring. The poet is somehow out of joint with
time: Though his spring is almost over, he has yet to bear any
flowers. The poet then finds out that he has
“inward ripeness”that he is full of inner beauty and
potential, which no one else can see or
celebrate. The first octet thus present an ambitious yet anxious speaker:
someone who is eager to make his mark on the world yet who
feels his life slipping by and who feels that his life will be
meaningless unless he manages to accomplish something grand, that other people can appreciate.
The poem thus indirectly asks readers to consider some important questions about life itself. The reader starts wondering what makes life
meaningful while working through the speakers anxiety.
2 2.Narrate the change in the tone and mood of the poem.
In the sonnet "How soon hath time" the tone of the speaker in the first octave is some what of distress.The poet is regretting that his twenty three years has stolen by the thief of time.The poem reflects the poet's mood of despair as he feels that the time is fleeting fast. The poem begins with the speaker announcing his astonishment about how quickly his life has gone by. Describing time as a “thief” in the poem’s first line, the speaker characterizes his experience of ageing as one of loss as something vital has been taken from him. Twenty three years of his life have passed without any great achievement which is making the poet feel sad.He is lamenting his inability to achieve something.As the poem continues, it becomes clear that what he has lost the possibility of accomplishing something grand and ambitious. The speaker notably describes himself as on the verge of being fully a man. Yet though his youth is behind him, he has yet to produce a “bud” or “blossom.” Here in the poem youth is often compared to spring. great in his life.The speaker is somehow out of joint with time: though his spring is almost over, he has yet to bear any flowers.
However in the sestet of the sonnet the speakers tone changes to faith and optimism as he becomes resigned to the will of heavens and places his trust on the great taskmaster. Though the poet seems to be under frustration The tone of the poem changes from frustration to that of acceptance when the poet becomes resigned to the will of God.There is a change in the choice of speakers choice of words in the octave and sestet. The octave is having more poetic words while words with religious overtones are used in the sestet. The poet is describing God as great taskmaster which shows speaker's trust in the plans of God and he feels that whatever things he is frustrated about is ultimately a part of God's plan.Thus the concluding part of the poem is optimism and acceptance and poet is in the mood of a firm resolution.
3. How does the sonnet ‘How Soon Hath Time’ depict the
frustrations and despair of the poet?
In the sonnet "How soon hath time " by John Milton, there is an element of frustration and despair.The tone of the speaker in the first octave is some what of distress.The poet is regretting that his twenty three years has stolen by the thief of time.The poem reflects the poet's mood of despair as he feels that the time is flying fast. The poem begins with the speaker announcing his astonishment about how quickly his twenty three years has gone by. Describing time as a “thief” in the poem’s first line, the speaker characterizes his experience of ageing as one of loss, as something vital has been taken from him. Twenty three years of his life had passed without any great achievement ,which is making the poet feel sad.He is lamenting his inability to achieve something great.
As the poem continues, it becomes clear that what he has lost is the possibility of accomplishing something grand and ambitious. The speaker clarifies his complaint with time. He is saying that his life is flying by; that his days seem to be in haste, moving rapidly, and the poet is feeling panic and is so upset with time. He has a sense of what he wants to do during this career, but he hasn't accomplished it yet.The poet describes himself as on the verge of being fully a man. The poet feels that though his youth is behind him, he has yet to produce a “bud” or “blossom.” Here in the poem youth is compared to spring.
The speaker is somehow out of joint with time. Though his spring is almost over, he has yet to bear any flowers. The speaker hopes to accomplish something grand in his life and hasn’t yet and is refusing to specifically unfold his ambitions But he does make some hints.like word “career” but in an old-fashioned sense, and he then notes that he has “inward ripeness”hat he is full of inner beauty and potential. No one else can see it or celebrate it. The first octet thus present an ambitious yet anxious speaker: someone who is eager to make his mark on the world yet who feels his life slipping by—and who feels like his life will be meaningless unless he manages to accomplish something grand that other people can witness and appreciate. The poem thus indirectly asks readers to consider some important questions about life itself. Working through the speaker’s anxiety, the reader begins to wonder what makes life meaningful.
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