Analysis of Sonnet VII: How soon hath Time, the Subtle Thief of Youth

John Milton 1608 (Cheapside) – 1674 (Chalfont St Giles)



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 it be 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.


Scheme ABBCABBADEFEDF
Poetic Form
Metre 1111010111 111111101001 1101111101 111111110111 0111010101 111110111 010111101 1111010101 1111111111 11110101011 111110111 01111100111 1111111111 1100111101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 682
Words 116
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 465
Words per stanza (avg) 114
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 24, 2023

36 sec read
104

John Milton

John Milton was the Secretary of State of Georgia from 1777 to 1799. more…

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