Explain the given lines with reference to the context:
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.
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.
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Answer:
In these lines, Milton speaks about how time flies by and adds numbers to his age. He says that youth has been stolen by the time, and has added an age of twenty-three to his life. This could mean that he has written this poem on his 23rd birthday, He calls time a thief of youth, which slowly has taken different phases of life away from him. Here, he personifies time with a bird, which takes his age away on its wings. He says that his prime time of life is being spent on his career and work, where he sees no reason or purpose. In the last line, he says that even though e is spending his prime time of life in his career, he sees no fruit or result of his hard work that is taking all of the time of his life.