Question

Why has the poet pitted the flight of Time against the ‘lazy leaden-stepping hours’ and ‘the heavy Plummets pace’?

Answer 1

In the poem, the poet Milton states that humans can conquer the power of time by attaining immortal life in heaven. The poet asks for time to escape since it might also face death while humans gain everlasting happiness. Thus, time personifies to be jealous of human life.
The "lazy leaden-stepping hours" refers to a clock describing the slow movement of time, measuring hours with "leaden" hands. The "plummet" or a pendulum in a watch clock that moves slowly refers to the time's action. Therefore, time's movement is bounded to a clock and forced to end with the end of human life, whereas a human soul is immortal and manages to exist even after death.