Time  Passes  Quickly  

 

 

Title   Artist   Date  (either  publication/composition)  

How  Soon  Hath  Time  the  Subtle  Thief  Of  Youth  

John  Milton   1645  

As  I  Walked  Out  One  Evening  

W.H.  Auden   1937  

Time  Long  Past   Percy  Shelley   1870  

Time   Pink  Floyd   1973  

Track  List  

 

 

 

17th  Century  

How Soon Hath Time the Subtle Thief Of Youth, John Milton

This  poem  is  about  how  Milton  feels  time  has  passed  too  quickly  and  that  he  is  not  as  young  as  he  once  was.  However  he  does  not  exactly  mourn  this  passage  of  time  as  he  knows  it  is  God’s  will.  In  the  first  quatrain,  Milton  explains  that  he  is  turning  24  and  he  feels  as  though  he  has  bright  hopes  for  his  future  career  but  he  hasn’t  accomplished  a  lot  in  his  short  life.  In  the  next  quatrain  he  shifts  to  say  that  his  first  claim  may  not  be  entirely  accurate  as  his  maturity  probably  hides  his  youthfulness.  Then  the  sestet  explains  that  whether  time  moves  quickly  or  slowly,  it  is  still  given  by  God  and  therefore  he  will  use  his  time  to  please  Him.  This  is  a  Petrarchan  sonnet  with  the  first  two  quatrains  in  an  abba  rhyme  scheme  and  a  sestet  with  a  cdedce  pattern.  Milton  personifies  time  as  the  “subtle  thief  of  youth”  to  convey  his  feelings  that  he  has  unfairly  grown  old.  In  the  second  and  third  lines  he  uses  personification  again  to  create  the  metaphor  for  time  being  like  a  bird  that  carries  Milton’s  life  on  his  wings  as  he  flies  to  illustrate  how  quickly  time  goes  by.  In  line  4  he  uses  the  words  “bud”  and  “blossom”  to  represent  both  physical  and  personal  accomplishments  that  he  has  not  yet  achieved.  After  the  shift  in  line  5,  he  uses  the  word  “ripeness”  as  a  metaphor  for  his  maturity.  The  beginning  of  this  poem  seems  as  it  would  just  be  a  reflection  on  the  passing  of  one’s  life,  but  in  the  sestet  he  shifts  the  focus  to  God  making  this  a  religious  poem.  This  is  an  effective  poem  about  time  because  it  isn’t  just  complaining  about  how  old  he  is,  he  explains  that  he  will  use  the  precious  time  he  has  left  to  do  the  will  of  his  Master  which  provides  a  comforting  and  inspiring  message  to  the  reader.  

 The  Theme  we  have  chosen,  time  passes  quickly,  is  represented  in  this  poem  from  the  very  first  line.  Milton  state  that  time  has  robbed  him  of  youthfulness  and  has  passed  so  quickly  that  he  has  nothing  to  show  for  it.  He  also  mourns  that  other  people  appear  to  have  matured  more  than  he  had  in  their  short  years.  However  this  poem  takes  a  turn  as  he  looks  forward  to  the  future  and  decides  to  make  good  use  of  that  time.  Milton’s  faith  in  God  shows  through  this  poem  as  he  states  that  “if  I  have  grace  to  use  it  so  as  ever  in  my  great  Task-­‐Master's  eye.”    

 

John Milton (1608 -1674)

Attended Cambridge University

Wrote Paradise Lost after he was blind

Was very studious even as a child at St. Paul’s School.

Personification

Shift

Metaphor

Imagery

Enjambment

Symbols

 

 

 

Modern  Poetry  

As I Walked Out One Evening, W. H. Auden  This  poem  appeared  to  be  a  love  poem  to  me  when  I  first  started  reading  it,  but  while  it  centers  around  two  

lovers  the  poem  is  not  about  love.  To  me,  it  was  about  how  anything,  including  the  unshakable  notion  of  love,  is  subject  to  an  even  greater  force,  time.  I  liked  how  instead  of  simply  saying  time  trumps  love  he  took  it  seriously  by  writing  several  stanzas  of  good  love  poetry  and  then  breaking  it  apart.  Instead  of  referring  to  love  as  a  broad  concept  in  relation  to  time  he  told  the  story  of  two  lovers  and  followed  their  journey  exploring  the  concept  that  contrary  to  popular  belief  time  is  eternal,  not  love.  The  poem,  ‘As  I  Walked  Out  One  Evening’,  is  not  a  sonnet.  It  follows  an  abcb  defe  ghih...etc.  which  is  also  sometimes  expressed  as  xaxa  xbxb  xcxc  xdxd...etc.  This  rhyme  scheme  is  also  sometimes  referred  to  as  a  “Ballad  Rhyme”.  It  mainly  follows  a  iambic  trimeter.  The  narrative  follows  the  love  of  a  couple  as  time  takes  its  toll  on  their  love  and  eventually  continues  never-­‐ending.A  narrator  is  walking  down  the  street  so  full  of  people  it  looks  like  a  field  of  wheat.  He  walks  by  a  river  and  he  overhears  one  lover  singing  to  another  lover.  One  says  to  the  other  that  love  is  never  ending.  To  further  his  point  he  make  several  outlandish  claims.  He  tells  his  lover  that  he’ll  love  her  until  “China  and  Africa  meet  and  the  river  jumps  over  the  mountain  and  the  salmon  sing  in  the  street”.  These  things  are  clearly  not  possible  which  is  supposed  to  emphasize  the  solidity  of  his  love.  He  follows  by  saying  he’ll  love  her  until  the  ocean  is  folded  up  and  hung  to  dry  like  some  piece  of  paper  and  until  the  seven  stars,  inanimate  objects,  go  squawking  like  birds  in  the  sky.  He  continues  to  flatter  his  love  stating  the  years  will  fly  by  sporadically  like  running  rabbits  because  she  is  the  most  beautiful  “flower”  of  the  ages  and  like  most  lovers  he  feels  like  his  love  is  the  only  one  calling  it  the  first  love  of  the  world.  But,  the  narrator  reminds  us,  the  clocks  in  the  city  chime  in  unison  reminding  us  that  the  lovers  are  not  in  some  bubble  of  love  safe  from  all  influence;  they  are  subject  to  time  like  the  rest  of  the  universe.  The  lovers  are  warned  to  not  to  fool  themselves  into  thinking  their  love  can  outlast  time.  Looking  to  the  future  the  poem  continues  to  say  “in  the  burrows  of  the  Nightmare”,  which  is  any  foreseeable  future  that  can  be  “dreamed”  up  is  not  devoid  of  time.  The  truth  is  that  despite  whatever  you  imagine,  time  is  watching  throwing  a  wrench  in  any  plans  you  might  have.  “Time  watches  from  the  shadow  and  coughs  when  you  would  kiss.”  Little  by  little,  the  small  challenges  accumulate  as  relentless  time  continues  to  bring  them  forth.  The  narrator  warns  that  “in  headaches  and  in  worry”,  life  or  love  is  slowly  “leaking”  away  or  dying.  He  completes  that  stanza  by  saying  that  you  cannot  predict  when  these  struggles  will  come  and  that  time  will  have  its  will  whether  it  be  tomorrow  or  today.  The poem  continues  that  time  will  surprise  you  when  you  least  expect  it  comparable  to  snow  storms  in  unusual  places.  The  narrator  continues  saying  that  time  disrupts  all  things  and  instructs  the  lover  to  cleanse  himself  in  water  and  look  at  himself  and  think  about  all  the  time  that  has  passed  by.  It  seems  so  slow  in  the  moment  like  a  glacier  but  before  you  know  it  years  have  passed  by,  the  poem  continues.  This  stanza  is  finished  describing  time  like  a  slow  leaking  crack  in  a  cup  of  tea  life  drains  away  towards  the  land  of  the  dead.  In  this  world  where  time  leaves  all  things  behind  and  anything  is  possible  the  poem  describes  an  almost  alternate  reality  in  which  beggars  have  money  and  nursery  rhymes  have  reversed  roles.  But,  the  poem  states  not  all  hope  is  lost.  Once  you  are  aware  of  time’s  omnipotent  presence,  you  can  begin  to  accept  life  as  it  is.  Life  can  be  enjoyed  as  long  as  you  don’t  try  to  control  it.  The  narrative  works  towards  its  end  by  saying  that  while  no  one  is  perfect  we  must  take  each  other  as  we  are.  The  narrator  completes  the  poem  by  saying  it  was  now  evening  and  the  lovers  were  gone  and  time  still  moved  on.  In  summation,  this  poem  has  the  reoccurring  concept  of  carpe  diem  and  is  applicable  to  every  one's  life  in  some  way.  Our theme of time and its passing is the entire concept of this poem. The idea that while we live our lives on our own clocks, there is a constant clock ticking away whether we want to put our lives on hold or not. No matter how happy or in love we are, everything is slowly coming to an end, and we must accept and embrace that. The poem’s twist on the Bible’s instruction to love thy neighbor states that while we are all wrong doers and we have have “crooked hearts” that is even more reason to love thy neighbor because we are all the same.

   

 

Biographical/literary facts

W.H. Auden was born in 1907 and died in 1973.

Auden published around 400 poems in his lifetime.

Auden published two book-length poems.

Poetic features

Auden used a lot of personification in this poem and other poems.

Auden explored a vast range of topics in his poems from philosophy to everyday quarrels.

Many of his poems explore religious and ethical themes.

 

 

 

 

Romantic  Period  

Time  Long  Past  by  Percy  Shelley  

The poem is written out across three sestets with a rhyme scheme of ababbb. 1- Shelley uses the words ghost and dead, which have similar applications. He uses the past tense so you know the whole poem will be talking about the past. 2- He writes “Is time long past” which he uses throughout the poem to say that the memories are long in the past but not forgotten. It is repeated with different tenses throughout the poem. 3- 4 the author uses repetition of word forever with a combination of fled and past to convey that both the way he felt and the hope he had were long since crushed by his experiences. Line 3 also contains personification of “tone” which is said to have “fled”. 5 - Talks about a love that he lost at some point but the cause is unknown. 7- Talks of “sweet dreams” shared with his lover. This is made clear in line 11 when he uses the word us. 8- Similar to 2 and 6 except the word “Of” shows he is talking as if in a memory in the past. 9-11, Shelley shows the good and bad “sadness or delight” of his relationship, and again “day a shadow” are opposite in meaning. 12- same as 2 but he uses the word “That” which carries the emphasis that it their love has long gone. Lines 13-18 is talking about the hardest memories he has to deal with”There is regret, almost remorse” and line 14 the “For” signifies that this section is that which he feels remorse and regret. In line 15 he uses beloved to show the height of emotion he felt for his child. that was lost, as he waited by his side. Line 17-18 states that like beauty, remembrance fades with “Time long past”. This poem is worthy of reading because it gives insight into the authors grievances against his unfortunate life and the manner that time has flown by.

 

The theme our group chose, which time is passing by, is prevalent throughout this work. Constantly the Author reminds the reader about “Time long past”, that though something might have just happened at one point it will be far back in time. The repetition of this line is like a memory of a past moment, in that It may surface in the mind every so often only to drift away, and come back again later. Shelley talks of memories and regrets in the past and how although they may be far in the past the memory of the events ties them to the present. I think the best line dealing with time in this poem is “Beauty is like remembrance, cast From Time long past”. This relates beauty with memories and says that as beauty ages and fades with time so do memories and the emotions tied with them. Shelley’s personal life is shown throughout this poem because he is writing about his own past. He talks about a “tone” and “hope” that he once had that were both lost through the path of his life as well as mentioning a lost lover and child that were taken from him.

   

Percy Byshee Shelley- (1792- 1822)

One of the major English Romantic poets

Married (for the second time) to author Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein

Associated with among others, John Keats and Lord Byron.

Poetic devices used in Poems of Shelley and others of the romantic period-

• Imagery • Personific-

ation • Repetition • Metaphor • Simile

 

 

 Time  

Pink  Floyd  

Time,  by  Pink  Floyd,  illustrates  the  frustrations  of  the  long  days  of  youth  and  its  infinite  possibilities,  only  to  “one  day…find  ten  years  have  got  [ten]  

behind  you”,  and  you  are  left  with  half  dreamed  dreams  and  ambitions.  While  the  theme  behind  this  song  is  often  seen  in  many  literary  

movements,  it  is  still  considered  new  and  relevant  art,  as  the  viewers  have  changed.  Time  also  looks  deeply  into  how  we,  as  humans  perceive  time,  

that  no  matter  how  fast  we  may  run,  it  will  always  catch  up  to  us.  One  of  this  songs,  most  interesting  lines  is  “Hanging  on  in  quiet  desperation  is  the  

English  Way”,  this  shows  that  even  though  we  seem  to  let  time  have  its  way,  we  are  constantly  trying  to  fight  it.    

"Time"  is  the  fourth  track  from  English  

progressive  rock  band  Pink  Floyd's  1973  album,  

The  Dark  Side  of  the  Moon,  and  the  only  song  

on  the  album  credited  to  all  four  members  of  the  

band.  In  1998,  Dark  Side  of  the  Moon  was  

certified  15x  Platinum,  meaning  it  had  sold  

more  than  15,000,000  copies.  In  2003,  the  album  was  re-­‐released  

on  vinyl  and  has  sold  steadily  in  that  format.