The ideas and themes in the poem ‘Hour’ are about time and how it affects the relationship of two lovers. The narrator’s ideas on time are that it is short lived when you are in love, and this comes across throughout the poem. In ‘hour’ the language used is very blunt and this is shown when the poet says “time hates love”, saying that time is in control and is very powerful. The poet also uses personification; this is shown in, “love’s time’s beggar”. This suggests to us that time is love's enemy and love is begging time. The word beggar almost makes you feel sorry for love and the poet personifies time as loves enemy. There is lots of imagery used in the poem. For example, in ‘hour’ Duffy says, “But even a single hour bright as a dropped coin, makes love rich”. This suggests to the reader that even one hour with your loved one is very precious and should cherish the moment.
The idea of cherishing time is also explored in 'To His Coy Mistress' where the man is trying to convince the woman to sleep with him and exploring the idea of living and enjoying your life whilst you’re young. In ‘to his coy mistress’ the language is creative and imaginative. The poet uses different types of poetic techniques to show how time can affect the relationship of two lovers. This is shown in ‘to his coy mistress’ the poet says “we cannot make our sun stand still”. Like in ‘hour’ the poet is trying to say that time is powerful and in control and you cannot escape it. In ‘to his coy mistress’ Marvell uses metaphors. For example, “Time's winged chariot hurrying near”, this suggests to us that death will be near.
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