Cryptic crossword clue
Either end of Milton’s poetic early period 4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word MORN

I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
O
R
N

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The straight part
We know that "poetic early period" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case poetic early period = morn.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does MORN mean?

MORN noun
  1. Morning.

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