"On His Having Arrived at the Age of Twenty- Three," which exists in manuscript and was printed twice during Milton's lifetime (in the Poems of 1645 and 1673), was most likely written in 1632 at a crucial time in Milton's life, just after his graduation from Cambridge.
Milton here acknowledges that he may not seem as mature as some of his contemporaries but expresses a desire to use his talents well and his trust in God's will for him over time. One thing to understand about Milton's sonnets is their topical range. Not a writer of love sonnets in English (although the sonnets he wrote in Italian are love sonnets), Milton writes political sonnets, occasional sonnets, elegiac sonnets, and sonnets of personal meditation, like this one.
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