Passing Time, the Thief of Life in John Milton’s “How Soon Hath Time”

John Milton’s “How Soon Hath Time” is a poem that distinguishes between different meanings of time, both literally and in relation to God. Milton explores the significance of time from the perspective of himself, as a poet. He alludes to Calvinism, a doctrine shared with many others during the time period, in his acceptance of time as a way to step closer spiritually to God as he ages. Additionally, the text suggests that patience is a virtue that will heal Milton’s poetic powers through God. Outside of the direct text, the rhyme scheme and capitalization, as part of the structure of the poem also highlights time’s benefits. In “How Soon Hath Time”, John Milton makes use of double meaning in symbolism and the structure of the Petrarchan sonnet to illustrate that the passage of time is something to be accepted.

Milton uses multiple objects or ideas to symbolize time in the hopes of illuminating that time passing is something one should accept, especially for the advancement of careers. For example, Milton uses a bird to represent time in the following lines, “Stol’n on his wing my three and twentieth year! / My hasting days fly on with full career” (Milton, 2-3). Milton portrays the bird as robbing, just like time is robbing the speaker’s life. However, the word “career” has a double meaning. It could be defined as a profession or speed. Time is taking away the speaker’s life quickly, but is also taking his career as a poet, into motion. Although the speaker seems to express pessimism, through words like “thief” or “Stol’n”, in the first few lines, he later admits that progressing through a period of time is necessary for the “Taskmaster”, or God, to allow him to become a better poet. Thus, Milton’s comparison of time to a bird s...

... middle of paper ...

...et accepts time passing in order to reach the more powerful God towards the end of the sonnet.

Milton’s use of double meaning and his additions or modifications to the structure of the poem portray the poet’s surrendering to time and his respect for its path to God. The poet’s reference to God as a “Taskmaster” serves to highlight the context of its use in the parable “Matthew 20.1-16” in which a vineyard keeper would pay and treat the workers equally, whether they have been employed for a long duration of time or if they are newcomers. In relation to the poem, the poet’s path to God and God’s attempt at the betterment of an individual are equal in every person’s case, no matter how much he has achieved in his life. The only solution to God and Heaven is through time, and so the poet accepts time passing in light of his description of that it is a thief of life.