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TOPIC 3 OF 14

Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare

Q: What is Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare about?

Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare is a lesson from the NCERT English textbook covering important literary and language concepts with vocabulary, literary devices, and exercises.

Q: What vocabulary is in Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare?

Key vocabulary words from Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare are highlighted with contextual meanings and usage examples throughout the lesson.

Q: What literary devices are in Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare?

Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare uses various literary devices including imagery, symbolism, and figurative language identified with coloured tags.

Q: How does Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare help exam prep?

Poems by Milton u2013 On Time & On Shakespeare includes CBSE-format questions and model answers following Bloom's Taxonomy levels L1-L6.

🎓 Class 12 English CBSE Theory Ch 7 — Poetry: Poems by Milton ⏱ ~35 min

🌐 Language: [gtranslate]

📖 English Passage Assessment ▲

This CBSE English Passage Assessment will be based on: Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare

Assessment Format:
• 2 Short Answer Questions (2 marks each) = 4 marks
• 2 Fill in the Blanks Questions (1 mark each) = 2 marks
• 2 Short Answer Questions (1 mark each) = 2 marks
• 2 Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each) = 2 marks
Total: 8 Questions, 10 Marks

📖 English Grammar Assessment ▲

This CBSE English Grammar Assessment will be based on: Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare

Assessment Format:
• 10 Randomized Grammar Questions (1 mark each)
• Question Types: Fill in the Blanks, MCQs, Error Identification, Reported Speech, Sentence Completion
Total: 10 Questions, 10 Marks

📖 English Vocabulary Assessment ▲

This English Vocabulary assessment will be based on: Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare
Targeting Vocabulary & Usage with Intermediate difficulty.

Question Type:

Number of Questions:

Before You Read — Milton's Two Poems

Milton wrote at the intersection of Puritan faith, classical learning, and English Renaissance humanism. These two short poems — one about Time, one about Shakespeare — reveal his commanding voice and grand theological vision.

Contextual Inference — Notice these expressions:

leaden-stepping hoursHours that move with the heaviness of lead — slow, dragging, oppressive.

mortal drossThe worthless waste of human, earthly existence — things that are "false and vain."

individual kissAn indivisible, inseparable greeting — Eternity embracing the blessed soul.

Delphic linesLines with oracle-like wisdom — profound, prophetic, divinely inspired.

live-long MonumentAn immortal memorial — one that lives and breathes rather than standing inert in stone.

piled StonesA monument of stacked stone — a physical, mortal tribute Milton considers unnecessary for Shakespeare.

Anticipation Guide — On Time: Milton personifies Time as a glutton who devours everything mortal. What, according to you, survives the passage of time? What does Milton suggest will outlast Time?

Milton argues that Time can only devour what is "false and vain" — the mortal dross of earthly existence. What survives is the "sincerely good / And perfectly divine" — eternal truths, spiritual virtue, and the divine spark within human souls. In the end, Eternity greets the blessed soul, and Time itself is consumed by its own greed. The soul "triumphs" over Death, Chance, and Time together.

Anticipation Guide — On Shakespeare: Milton argues that Shakespeare needs no tomb because he has built a "live-long Monument" in the minds of readers. Do you agree that a great work of literature can be a more lasting memorial than any physical structure?

Milton's argument prefigures the modern idea that cultural memory is the most durable form of immortality. Physical monuments erode; living works of art are recreated with every new reading. When we read Shakespeare, we actively rebuild the monument inside our own minds — we become the tomb and the tribute simultaneously. This is far more powerful than any pyramid or piled stone.

Etymology Warm-Up: The word entomb'd comes from late Middle English — from French entombe(r). Can you trace the French influence on English? Why does about 30% of English vocabulary derive from French?

French influence on English peaked after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when French became the language of the English court, law, and aristocracy. Between 1250 and 1400, French loan-words flooded into English — words related to law (justice, court), food (beef, pork), and culture (poem, prose). Words like 'entomb,' 'monument,' 'eternity' all arrived via French from Latin. This is why English has pairs: Anglo-Saxon 'death' + French 'mortality'; Anglo-Saxon 'kingly' + French 'royal.'

About the Poet

John Milton (1608–1674)

Epic Poet English | 17th Century Puritan | Republican Paradise Lost

John Milton is widely regarded as the greatest English poet after Shakespeare. He began writing verse at the age of ten and, after completing his education at Cambridge, embarked on years of intensive classical and literary study. He served as Latin Secretary under Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth government — a role he pursued so diligently that years of late-night reading caused total blindness by the age of forty-five. It was in these final, blind years that Milton dictated his masterworks: Paradise Lost (1667) and Paradise Regained (1671). The two poems selected here — "On Time" and "On Shakespear" (1630) — are early works that already reveal Milton's characteristic grandeur: his command of the ode form, his theological conviction that earthly things are trivial compared to the divine, and his ability to pay tribute even to Shakespeare while asserting the superiority of living literary legacy over dead stone.

Poem I — On Time

On Time Poetry | Kaleidoscope

Lines 1–8: The Challenge to Time

1Fly Apostrophe envious Time, till thou run out thy race,

Call on the lazy leaden-stepping hours, Personification

Whose speed is but the heavy Plummets pace;

And glut thy self with what thy womb devours, Metaphor

5Which is no more than what is false and vain,

And merely mortal dross; Symbolism

So little is our loss,

So little is thy gain.

Paraphrase & Analysis: Milton opens with a dramatic apostrophe — a direct address to Time as a living being. He commands Time to fly and complete its race, calling in its "lazy leaden-stepping hours" (a striking personification: the hours move with the heaviness of lead clock-weights). Time's greed — devouring everything in its "womb" — yields Milton very little: all that Time can consume is what is "false and vain" — earthly, temporal, worthless. Irony Time wins nothing of value, because nothing truly valuable is mortal. Both the loss to humanity and the gain to Time are equally insignificant: "So little is our loss, / So little is thy gain."

Lines 9–22: The Triumph of Eternity

9For when as each thing bad thou hast entomb'd,

And last of all, thy greedy self consum'd, Irony

Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss

With an individual kiss;

And Joy shall overtake us as a flood, Simile

14When every thing that is sincerely good

And perfectly divine,

With Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine

17About the supreme Throne

Of him, t'whose happy-making sight alone,

When once our heav'nly guided soul shall clime,

Then all this Earthy grossnes quit, Imagery

21Attir'd with Stars, we shall for ever sit, Imagery

Triumphing over Death, and Chance, and thee O Time.

Paraphrase & Analysis: The second movement is triumphant. When Time has finally consumed everything bad — and then consumed itself in its own greed — Eternity arrives to "greet our bliss" with an "individual kiss" (a personal, intimate, inseparable union with the divine). Joy overtakes the blessed soul like a flood. Truth, Peace, and Love shine around the divine throne. The soul, shedding its earthly grossness, ascends "attir'd with Stars" — clothed in celestial light — to sit triumphant over Death, Chance, and Time together. Alliteration in "Death, and Chance, and thee" creates a majestic triple climax. Time, for all its power, is the last and least of the soul's conquered enemies.

Note: According to ancient mythology, Cronos (Time personified) devoured each of his children at birth. Milton inverts this: Time will ultimately devour itself. The "Plummets" refers to a lead weight whose slow mechanism activates the ticking of a clock — a brilliant, precise image for time's oppressive pace.

Poem II — On Shakespeare (1630)

On Shakespear Poetry | Kaleidoscope

Lines 1–8: No Monument in Stone Needed

1What needs my Shakespear for his honour'd Bones,

The labour of an age in piled Stones, Irony

Or that his hallow'd reliques should be hid

Under a Star-ypointing Pyramid? Imagery

5Dear son of memory, great heir of Fame,

What need'st thou such weak witness of thy name?

Thou in our wonder and astonishment

Hast built thy self a live-long Monument. Metaphor

Paraphrase & Analysis: Milton opens with a rhetorical question: what does Shakespeare need with a stone monument — piled stones or a pyramid? These are "weak witness" to Shakespeare's greatness: inadequate, mute, and mortal. Milton addresses Shakespeare as "Dear son of memory" — memory here is the classical Muse, Mnemosyne, mother of the nine Muses. Shakespeare is the great heir of literary fame. Instead of stone, Shakespeare has built himself a "live-long Monument" in the astonishment and wonder of his readers. The monument is alive — it breathes and persists in human consciousness. Symbolism

Lines 9–18: The Living Monument

9For whilst to th'shame of slow endeavouring art,

Thy easie numbers flow, and that each heart

Hath from the leaves of thy unvalu'd Book,

Those Delphic lines with deep impression took,

Then thou our fancy of it self bereaving Personification

14Dost make us Marble with too much conceaving; Metaphor

And so Sepulcher'd in such pomp dost lie,

That Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die.

Paraphrase & Analysis: To the shame of poets who labour slowly, Shakespeare's verse flows with effortless grace ("easie numbers"). Each reader takes from Shakespeare's "unvalu'd Book" (invaluable — too precious to be valued in money) those "Delphic lines" — oracle-like utterances of profound wisdom — with a deep impression that strikes the reader to the core. The effect is extraordinary: Shakespeare "bereaves" (robs) readers of their own independent imagination — his poetry overwhelms it. The readers become "Marble" — they are turned to stone with the force of Shakespeare's genius. The ultimate irony: Shakespeare does not lie in a marble tomb; his readers become his marble monument. And kings, who command the greatest tombs in the world, would "wish to die" to earn such a burial.

Spelling note: Milton spells "Shakespear" (without final 'e'), "easie" and "conceaving" — Early Modern English forms. Notice how the poem itself exemplifies its argument: it is a living tribute to Shakespeare, not dead stone.

Theme Web — Interconnected Ideas

Themes Across Both Milton Poems

Click any node to expand its theme analysis.

Triumph over Time: In "On Time," Milton argues that Time's power is ultimately self-defeating — it can only consume what is worthless, and finally consumes itself. The soul, guided heavenward, triumphs over Death, Chance, and Time. Milton's Puritan theology underwrites this: the eternal soul is the only thing that truly matters.

The Living Monument: In "On Shakespeare," Milton inverts the convention of the funeral elegy. Instead of mourning Shakespeare and praising a tomb, he argues that Shakespeare needs no tomb because his works have made his readers into the monument. Every reading of Shakespeare is an act of homage more powerful than any pyramid.

Theology and Divine Eternity: "On Time" is saturated with Miltonic theology: the soul's ascent, the divine throne, the "happy-making sight" of God. Milton's vision of eternity is not vague but precise — it involves Truth, Peace, Love, Joy, and the soul clothed in stars. This theological confidence is what gives the poem its triumphant, rather than melancholic, tone.

Literary Fame and Posterity: "On Shakespeare" is one of Milton's earliest published poems. Its central argument — that great literature creates its own immortality in the minds of readers — would later be the argument Milton himself made for Paradise Lost. Posterity (future generations of readers) is the true audience for great art, and they become the monument.

Vocabulary — Etymology Study

Key Words and Their Origins

Entomb'd

verb | Late ME entoumbe(n) → MF entombe(r)

To place in a tomb; to bury. The word is from late Middle English, borrowed from Middle French, which itself derives from Latin tumba (burial mound). About 30% of English words are of French origin, most entering via the Norman Conquest (1066).

"For when as each thing bad thou hast entomb'd" — Time buries all things bad.

Eternity

noun | Latin aeternitas

Infinite time; existence without beginning or end. For Milton, Eternity is not merely endless duration but a qualitatively different mode of existence — divine, perfect, beyond change.

"Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss / With an individual kiss."

Dross

noun | Old English dros — dregs, sediment

Waste material; the scum left when metal is smelted. "Mortal dross" is the worthless residue of earthly existence — all that is false, vain, and transient — which Time may consume without loss.

"And merely mortal dross."

Sepulcher'd

verb | Latin sepulcrum — burial place

Buried or entombed. In "On Shakespeare," Milton uses this to describe Shakespeare's unique burial: he is not literally sepulchred in stone, but figuratively entombed in the awe-struck minds of his readers — a far more glorious monument.

"And so Sepulcher'd in such pomp dost lie."

Unvalu'd

adjective | Early Modern English

Invaluable — too precious to be assigned a monetary value. This is an archaic usage: "unvalued" in Milton's period meant "priceless," not "not valued." Shakespeare's works are beyond price.

"Hath from the leaves of thy unvalu'd Book."

Bereaving

verb | Old English bereafian — to rob

To rob or deprive. "Bereaving our fancy" means Shakespeare's poetry robs readers of their own independent imagination — it overwhelms and replaces it with its own visions, turning readers to "Marble" with the force of its conceiving.

"Then thou our fancy of it self bereaving."

Language Study — Etymology

Etymology: The History of Words

What is Etymology?

Etymology is the study of the history of words — where they came from, how they changed in form and meaning over time. The dictionary entry for a word typically shows: (i) its current meaning, (ii) the language it was borrowed from, (iii) the historical form, and (iv) approximate date of first recorded use in English.

Example: For entomb'd: [late ME entoumbe(n) → MF entombe(r)] — Found in late Middle English, of French origin (in use from 1578). About 30% of English words are of French origin.

Task — Look up and Discuss

Using a dictionary, find the etymology of the following words from these poems. Identify the source language and date of entry into English:

Eternity — [Latin aeternitas; entered English via Old French eternité, c. 1374]
Monument — [Latin monumentum, from monere = to remind; via French, c. 1362]
Sepulchre — [Old French sepulcre, from Latin sepulcrum; c. 1175]
Pyramid — [Latin pyramis, from Greek pyramis; possibly from Egyptian; c. 1549]

Spelling Variations — Early Modern English

Milton spells: "Shakespear" (no final 'e'), "easie" (easy), "conceaving" (conceiving), "Attir'd" (attired). These reflect Early Modern English orthographic conventions that were not yet standardised. The Great Vowel Shift (1400–1700) was still in process, and spelling remained fluid.

Task: Rewrite the following in modern standard spelling: entomb'd, consum'd, heav'nly, clime, Attir'd, bereaving.

Answers: entombed, consumed, heavenly, climb, attired, bereaving (unchanged in modern English).

Extract-Based Questions (CBQ Format)

Extract 1 — On Time

"Then long Eternity shall greet our bliss
With an individual kiss;
And Joy shall overtake us as a flood,
When every thing that is sincerely good
And perfectly divine,
With Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine
About the supreme Throne..."

— John Milton, "On Time"

What does the poet mean by "Eternity shall greet our bliss with an individual kiss"? L2 Understand2 marks

Milton describes the soul's entry into Eternity as an intensely personal, inseparable encounter — an "individual kiss" — between the blessed soul and the divine. "Individual" carries the sense of "indivisible": the union with Eternity is total and cannot be undone. This is Milton's vision of salvation: not a distant, impersonal heaven, but an intimate, joyous meeting between the perfected soul and divine Eternity.
What are the temporal (mortal) and the eternal things in Milton's "On Time"? L2 Understand2 marks

Temporal things (what Time consumes): what is "false and vain," "mortal dross" — the worthless, ephemeral materials of earthly existence. Eternal things (what Time cannot touch): "every thing that is sincerely good / And perfectly divine" — Truth, Peace, Love, Joy, and the soul itself, which ascends to the divine throne and triumphs over Death, Chance, and Time.
How does Milton use personification to give "On Time" its dramatic force? L4 Analyse3 marks

Milton personifies Time as a devouring, racing figure — greedy, envious, with a "womb" that consumes. He commands Time directly ("Fly envious Time"), making it a villain in a drama rather than an abstract concept. He then personifies Eternity as a gracious host who greets the soul with a kiss, and Joy as a flood that "overtakes" the blessed. Truth, Peace, and Love are personified as shining attendants around the divine throne. This systematic personification of abstractions transforms the poem from a meditation into a dramatic confrontation between Time and Eternity, with the soul as the prize — and the soul wins.
Who, according to Milton, guides the human soul towards the divine? Who wins in the end — Time or the soul? L5 Evaluate4 marks

The soul is guided heavenward by divine grace — "our heav'nly guided soul shall clime" — implying that the ascent is not self-generated but divinely aided. The poem's theology is Calvinist in flavour: the soul is guided, not merely striving on its own. The final winner is unambiguously the soul: having shed its "Earthy grossnes," clothed in stars, it sits triumphant over "Death, and Chance, and thee O Time." Time, the poem's apparent antagonist, loses everything — even itself, consumed by its own greed. The triumphant final line — with its triple listing and direct address to Time — is Milton at his most commanding.

Extract 2 — On Shakespeare

"Thou in our wonder and astonishment
Hast built thy self a live-long Monument.
For whilst to th'shame of slow endeavouring art,
Thy easie numbers flow, and that each heart
Hath from the leaves of thy unvalu'd Book,
Those Delphic lines with deep impression took,
Then thou our fancy of it self bereaving
Dost make us Marble with too much conceaving."

— John Milton, "On Shakespear" (1630)

Why does Milton feel it is not necessary to put up a physical monument for Shakespeare? L2 Understand2 marks

Milton argues that Shakespeare has already built himself a monument far more durable than any pyramid or piled stone — a "live-long Monument" in the wonder and astonishment of his readers. Physical monuments are mute and mortal; Shakespeare's monument lives in the active, ongoing admiration of millions. Each generation of readers re-creates the monument by engaging with the plays and poems. A "weak witness of thy name" — a stone — cannot compare to this living tribute.
What does the phrase "Delphic lines" suggest about Shakespeare's writing? L4 Analyse3 marks

"Delphic lines" refers to the Oracle at Delphi — the ancient Greek site where the god Apollo was believed to speak prophetic truths through a priestess. To call Shakespeare's lines "Delphic" is to attribute them with oracle-like, divinely inspired wisdom — profound, mysteriously pregnant with meaning, and seemingly beyond ordinary human composition. This is the highest praise Milton could give: Shakespeare's writing rises to the level of prophecy and divine utterance.
Explain the paradox in "Dost make us Marble with too much conceaving." How does this image complete the poem's central argument about monuments? L5 Evaluate4 marks

The paradox is exquisitely designed: monuments are made of marble — cold, hard, immobile stone. Milton argues that Shakespeare's readers are turned into marble (immobilised, struck dumb with wonder) by the overwhelming force of his poetry's "conceaving" — its imaginative power. So the readers themselves become the marble monument. This perfectly completes the poem's central argument: Shakespeare does not need a marble tomb because his readers, struck to stone by his genius, are his marble. The monument is not external — it is the very body of the reader, transformed by the encounter with Shakespeare's art. The "Sepulcher" in which Shakespeare lies is not a grave but the collective, awe-struck consciousness of posterity.
How does Milton describe Shakespeare as a source of inspiration for all future poets? L4 Analyse3 marks

Milton calls Shakespeare "Dear son of memory, great heir of Fame" — positioning him as the legitimate inheritor of the entire classical and literary tradition, born of Memory (Mnemosyne, the Muse's mother). His "easie numbers" flow effortlessly — to the shame of poets who must labour slowly — inspiring awe and humility in all who follow. The "deep impression" his "Delphic lines" make on each reader's heart ensures that his influence is not merely admired but absorbed — it becomes part of the reader's own imagination and therefore of all subsequent creative work.

Writing Task — Comparative Essay

Compare and Contrast: "On Time" and "On Shakespear"

Write a comparative essay (150–200 words) on Milton's two poems. Address:

The central theme of each poem and how they are related
Milton's tone in each poem (triumphant? celebratory? ironic?)
The use of personification and metaphor in each
What both poems reveal about Milton's values (theology, literary greatness)

Criterion	Marks	Descriptor
Comparative analysis	4	Identifies genuine points of comparison and contrast between the two poems
Thematic understanding	3	Accurately explains the central argument of each poem
Use of evidence	2	Quotes or closely paraphrases specific lines to support claims
Expression	3	Fluent, well-organised essay with appropriate critical vocabulary

FAQ

What is Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare about?

Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare is a lesson from the NCERT English textbook covering important literary and language concepts with vocabulary, literary devices, and exercises.

What vocabulary is in Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare?

Key vocabulary words from Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare are highlighted with contextual meanings and usage examples throughout the lesson.

What literary devices are in Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare?

Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare uses various literary devices including imagery, symbolism, and figurative language identified with coloured tags.

What exercises are in Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare?

Exercises include extract-based comprehension questions, grammar workshops, vocabulary activities, and writing tasks with model answers.

How does Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare help exam prep?

Poems by Milton – On Time & On Shakespeare includes CBSE-format questions and model answers following Bloom's Taxonomy levels L1-L6.

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