Poems By Milton (John Milton) — NCERT Solutions

Given / Context: Milton personifies Time as an envious, devouring force and contrasts it with the slow, mechanical movement of clock-hours.

Concept: Paradox and irony in the depiction of Time.

Answer:

Milton creates a deliberate paradox by setting the apparent swiftness of Time against the sluggish, mechanical imagery of 'lazy leaden-stepping hours' and 'the heavy Plummets pace.' The 'plummet' is the lead weight that drives a clock's ticking mechanism — it moves with ponderous, grinding slowness. By associating Time with this heavy, dragging motion, Milton ironically undercuts Time's power: though Time seems to devour everything (like the mythological Cronos who devoured his children), it is in reality slow and mechanical, incapable of outrunning the soul's flight toward eternity.

The contrast serves a deeper theological purpose: earthly, clock-measured time is leaden and finite, whereas the soul's journey toward God is swift and transcendent. The poet thus diminishes Time's apparent omnipotence by exposing its plodding, material nature, suggesting that Time can only govern gross, earthly things — not the immortal soul. The race, therefore, is rigged in favour of eternity from the very beginning.

Given / Context: The poem draws a sharp distinction between the world of time and the world of eternity.

Concept: Binary opposition between the temporal (earthly, mortal) and the eternal (divine, immortal).

Answer:

Things associated with the temporal (Time's domain):

• 'Lazy leaden-stepping hours' — the slow, mechanical passage of clock-time
• 'The heavy Plummets pace' — the lead weight of a clock, symbol of earthly, material existence
• 'Earthy grossness' — the coarse, physical nature of the human body
• 'Death' and 'Chance' — the twin uncertainties that govern mortal life
• All things that Time can 'devour' — monuments, bodies, worldly achievements

Things associated with the eternal (beyond Time's reach):

• The 'supreme Throne' of God — the seat of divine, timeless authority
• 'Heav'nly guided soul' — the soul directed by divine grace toward God
• Being 'Attir'd with Stars' — the glorified, celestial state of the redeemed soul
• 'Happy-making sight' — the beatific vision of God, which alone brings true joy
• Triumphing 'over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time' — the soul's ultimate victory over all temporal forces

In essence, the temporal is associated with matter, mechanism, decay, and mortality, while the eternal is associated with light, divinity, the soul, and triumphant immortality.

Given / Context: The poem concludes with a vision of the soul's ascent to God and its ultimate triumph over Time.

Concept: Milton's Christian Neoplatonism — the soul's journey toward the divine.

Answer:

What guides human souls toward divinity:
Milton states that it is the 'heav'nly guided soul' that makes the ascent — the guiding force is therefore divine grace or heavenly providence. The soul does not find its way to God through its own unaided effort; it is guided ('heav'nly guided') by a higher, divine power. This reflects Milton's Puritan-Christian belief that salvation and the vision of God ('happy-making sight') are gifts of divine grace. The soul, once freed from 'Earthy grossness,' is 'Attir'd with Stars' — clothed in celestial glory — and rises to behold the 'supreme Throne' of God.

The final winner in the race against Time:
The final winner is the human soul — or more broadly, Eternity/God. Milton ends the poem on a triumphant note: the redeemed soul shall 'for ever sit, / Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.' Time, for all its envious devouring of earthly things, is ultimately defeated. It has no power over the immortal soul that has reached the divine presence. Thus, the soul — guided by heavenly grace — wins the race decisively and permanently, rendering Time powerless and irrelevant in the face of eternal bliss.

Given / Context: Milton opens the poem by questioning the need for a physical monument — 'piled Stones' or a 'Star-ypointing Pyramid' — to honour Shakespeare.

Concept: The contrast between a perishable physical monument and an imperishable literary monument.

Answer:

Milton argues that a monument in stone is unnecessary for Shakespeare because Shakespeare has already built himself a far greater and more lasting monument — one made not of stone but of the wonder and astonishment he has inspired in the hearts and minds of his readers. Milton writes: 'Thou in our wonder and astonishment / Hast built thy self a live-long Monument.'

A physical monument — however grand, whether 'piled Stones' or a 'Star-ypointing Pyramid' — is subject to decay, erosion, and the ravages of time. It is, in Milton's view, a 'weak witness' of Shakespeare's greatness, inadequate to represent the magnitude of his genius.

Shakespeare's true monument is his living literary legacy: his plays and poems continue to move readers deeply, impressing 'Delphic lines' (lines of oracular, prophetic power) upon every heart. This monument lives as long as human beings read and are moved by his works — it is 'live-long,' i.e., everlasting. Therefore, stone monuments are not only unnecessary but would actually diminish Shakespeare's true stature.