Introduction. Unlike the Petrarchan themes that dominate the Italian sonnets, this one takes a distinctly inward turn. The speaker sounds deliberately ambivalent about being a late-bloomer. On one hand he feels his youth has been stolen away before he has developed the "inward ripeness" he expects of himself. On the other hand, he professes strong confidence in "the will of Heav'n" to bring his life to proper fruition in God's own time. The strict measure of line 10 underscores this theme and the speaker's conviction. Though there has been some controversy in dating this poem, Barbara Lewalski settles fairly confidently on a time "on or shortly after his twenty-fourth birthday," arguing that "Milton's usual way of referring to his age when dating his poems makes 1632 probable" (The Life of John Milton 60).
Line 2. The 1673 edition has "Soln".
three and twentieth yeer. Milton turned 23 years old on December 9, 1631.
semblance. Appearance. See OED2.
Line 11. The 1673 edition has no comma here.
great Taskmasters. This alludes to the parable of the talens in Matthew 20: 1-16.