Compare the Methods Poets Use to Explore Ideas About Time in ‘Hour’ and on Other Poem from Relationship?

Compare the methods poets use to explore ideas about time in ‘hour’ and on other poem from relationship?

Poets often use their work to express their thoughts, this is what the writers of ‘hour’ and ‘to his coy mistress’ have done to express their thoughts on time and love. In hour the poem is about time and how it is short lived when you are in love, whereas 'To His Coy Mistress' is a poem 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.

Within both of these poems, the poets use different types of poetic techniques to show how time can affect the relationship of two lovers. The language used in the two poems is very different but they both show the same prospective of time. In ‘hour’ the language used is very blunt and in ‘to his coy mistress’ the language is more creative and imaginative. This is shown in hour when the poet says, “time hates love”, whereas in ‘to his coy mistress’ the poet says “we cannot make our sun stand still”. Both of the poets are trying to say that time is in control and it is very powerful. In ‘hour’ Duffy uses personification and simile; 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. The poet personifies time as loves enemy. In ‘to his coy mistress’ Marvell uses metaphors. For example, “Time's winged chariot hurrying near”, this suggest to us that death will be near. There are lots of imagery used in the two poems. 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 is very precious and should cherish the moment. We also see love being powerful than time for the first time. In “to his coy mistress” imagery is used in the first section of the poem, when the speaker says “thou by the Indian Ganges side shouldst rubies find; I by the tide of Humber would complain”. Ganges is thought be to be a sacred place India whereas the Humberside in north of England tend to be boring to Marvell. So this suggests to the reader that He is complimenting her as she is unique to him in a desirable way. She is the only person who fulfils the qualification in his vicinity.

The both poets use different form and structure to the poems. In ‘hour’, Duffy only has one type of view which is time is always stopping love. This is followed the whole way through the poem. The first opening says, “Loves times beggar” and in the last stanza it says “time hates love “. Duffy uses at the start and at the end to show straight away that time is the enemy of love. By structuring the poem like this, the reader will have the same opinion throughout the poem. Duffy also uses short sentences, “time slows, for here…”. Duffy has added a comma next to “slows” to show slowness. Some of the sentences in her poem run off, “summer sky and a grass ditch”, this suggest that she is excited. ‘Hour’ also follows the structure of a Shakespeare sonnet. In ‘to his coy mistress’, Marvell makes his point at the end this is because in the first stanza he talks about what if they had all the time in the world, in the second what would happen if she doesn’t sleep with him. Finally in the third stanza he tells her what she should do. By structuring his poem in that way Marvell shows the lover preparing his argument to his mistress to seize the day and not to hold back. In the first stanza Marvell doesn’t use violent words as he does to the second and third stanzas. Marvell has written the poem in rhyming couplets.
Both of the poets show different feelings and attitude. In ‘hour’ the speaker wants a relationship which holds them together and wants nothing else but in ‘to his coy mistress’ the speaker wants a sexual relationship. In ‘hour’ the writer is frustrated with time and love being together. We see this when speaker says, “time hates love”. It also shows us that the speaker wants a simple kind of love meaning without material possessions, this is shown when the speaker says, “spend it not on flowers or wine…” In ‘to his coy mistress’ he is cynically flattering his mistress in order to get his own way. This is shows when he says, “two hundred to adore each breast”. The poem also suggests that the speaker wants a violent love this is shown when the poet says, “and now, like amorous birds of prey, rather at once our time devour”.
Overall both poets have the same prospective of time but have different opinions on relationships. In ‘hour’ the speaker doesn’t want to waste time and wants to cherish every moment by being together. On the other hand ‘to his coy mistress’ wants a sexual relationship. So the speaker says that time is running out for them to have sex and that they do not have all the time in the world. Both of the writers say that time will go fast so don’t waste it. We will also feel time going fast when we are having fun or in love, so we should cherish every minute of our life as it will never come back once it is gone.