What literary devices are in the poem "How soon Hath time" by John Milton?

Are there any similes, metaphors, alliteration etc. in the poem? What about figurative language or imagery?

1 How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,

2 Stol'n on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!

3 My hasting days fly on with full career,

4 But my late spring no bud or blossom shew'th.

5 Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth

6 That I to manhood am arriv'd so near;

7 And inward ripeness doth much less appear,

8 That some more timely-happy spirits endu'th.

9Yet be it less or more, or soon or slow,

10 It shall be still in strictest measure ev'n

11 To that same lot, however mean or high,

12Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav'n:

13 All is, if I have grace to use it so

14 As ever in my great Task-Master's eye.

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John Milton's "How soon hath Time" includes metaphors and some alliteration, though metaphor is the more dominant literary device in this poem. Milton primarily uses metaphor to describe the passage of time and the process of aging.

The first stanza of the sonnet reads,

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. (1-4)

The first line personifies time and figuratively describes it as a "thief" that steals the speaker's "youth." The speaker goes on to describe how quickly time passes, as the "days fly on" 93). The speaker, however, does not feel that his age shows, which is metaphorically described in line 4 as "no bud or blossom." Each line contains alliteration in that a consonant sound is repeated at least twice in the line ("How" and "hath" in line 1, "bud" and "blossom" in 4, etc.).

The next stanza continues,

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. (5-8)

The figurative language of the first stanza is carried into this stanza in line 7, when the speaker metaphorically refers to his aging as his "inward ripeness."

The sestet that closes the sonnet reads,

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. (9-14)

Near the end of the poem, the speaker comments on his aging as part of God's plan. He uses metaphor to compare God to the "great Task-Master." Time is again figurative and given human qualities, as it can "lead" the speaker. There is alliteration in the sestet, as well; for example, line 10 repeats the "S" sound with "shall," "still," and "strictest," and line 12 repeats the "T" sound with "Toward" and "Time." The speaker concludes that God will determine how his time is spent and where his life will lead.

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In line 1, Time is personified as a thief that steals one's youth; in other words, it seems like time goes by so quickly and we age so fast. In comparing Time to a thief, the poet employs a metaphor. In line 3, the speaker describes his days as "hasting" because they seem to "fly"; this is figurative language—the days do not literally fly, but this verb draws attention to the speed of time.

At the age of 23, the speaker says he is in his "late spring"—a metaphor for the end of his youth—and "no bud or blossom" has begun to grow yet: this metaphor means that the speaker has not reached his "summer," (when a blossom would grow) because he is not yet mature. The phrase, "bud or blossom" also provides an example of alliteration, with the repetition of the "b" sound.

The speaker describes "manhood" as some sort of destination at which he can "arrive": another metaphor. He also describes emotional maturity as "inward ripeness," a metaphor that compares a person's inner maturity to a fruit's ripeness.

The phrase "soon or slow" in line 9 provides another example of alliteration, with a repetition of the "s" sound. The speaker describes God as "the will of Heav'n," an example of metonymy, substituting something for the thing with which it is associated (God's will stands in for God). The phrase "Toward which Time" provides another example of alliteration with the repetition of the "t" sound.

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John Milton's "How Soon Hath Time" is a Petrarchan sonnet that contains much figurative language, among which are metaphors. Three such metaphors are contained in the octave in which the speaker bemoans the loss of his twenty-third year by the personified Time that has wings: "My hasting days." The implication here is that time is a thief.

One metaphor is "my late spring" which is an implied comparison with his youth now in its latter part.

In another metaphor, the speaker bemoans that "no bud or blossom shows"; that is, he still looks young and has not achieved manhood physically. Nor, has he accomplished any manly act.

In the octave, the speaker is resigned to the fact that what will happen is in the hands of his Maker. Here God is compared in the metaphor "the will of Heav'n" and the "Task-Master" whose "eye" is metonmy as the one part represents the whole of the "Master."

In figurative language, the speaker resolves to go "where Time leads me," meaning he will follow the directions of God in his life. In this figurative phrase, Time is personified since it has the divine power to direct the speaker's life.

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