Hour: Poet & Context

Hour: Poet & Context

Poetical Structure in “Hour”

  • Form: “Hour” is a sonnet, traditionally a form used to write about love. This connects to the theme of romantic love running through the poem.
  • Rhyme Scheme: The rhyme scheme is loose ababcdcd scheme in the eight-line octave, and efgefg in the six-line sextet. This break from strict traditional sonnet form could reflect the unconventional, fleeting quality of love presented in the poem.
  • Metaphor: Personal fortunes and riches are used as metaphors for love, depicting it as precious, valuable, and superior to monetary wealth.
  • Symbolism: Time is personified as a robber, stealing away happy moments. This symbol emphasizes the theme of fleeting happiness.

Themes in “Hour”

  • Love and Time: The central theme is the transient nature of love, depicted as a rich hour stolen from poverty. The wealth of love is juxtaposed with the poverty of time, a common motif in Duffy’s work.
  • Appreciation and Joy: Despite its fleeting nature, the poem showcases an appreciation for love. It celebrates the joy love can bring, even in just an hour.
  • The Ephemeral and the Enduring: The poem contrasts the ephemeral nature of the ‘rich hour’ of love against the enduring power of money, questioning the value our society places on these commodities.

Contextual Understanding and Comparison to Duffy’s Other Works

  • In Comparison to “Valentine”: Both poems reject traditional clichés of love, instead providing a realistic portrayal. The unusual metaphor of an onion in “Valentine” can be compared to the unique perspective on love depicted in “Hour”.
  • Relation to “Mean Time”: In both poems, time is personified as a force that can steal happiness. As in “Hour”, “Mean Time” presents time as a thief.
  • Context of Carol Ann Duffy’s work: Duffy often engages with themes of time, love, and memory. In “Hour”, she continues her exploration of love’s power, its potential for joy, and its transitory nature, akin to many of her other works.
  • Influences: Duffy’s exploration of love and time can be seen as influenced by earlier poets. Notable is Shakespeare’s Sonnet 60, which personifies time as a devourer. This shows Duffy’s engagement with, and subversion of, the poetic tradition.