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The Poem Clocks and Lovers by W. H. Auden

Decent Essays

The poem "Clocks and Lovers" by W. H. Auden’s contrasts the idea of whether or not love will outlast time. Initially, the poem portrays a lover affirming the belief that love will triumph over time. The poem transitions and depicts the clocks' argument that due to time, love will eventually fade away. The narrator contrasts the two arguments with usage of imagery, personification, tone and diction. The argument that love will prevail over time is contrasted by the belief that as time goes by, time can never be stopped and love will not last. Overall, neither belief is represented as correct because the narrator contrasts the two opposing arguments by displaying that two arguments are incompatible. In regards to their following arguments, time is not as malicious or arduous to love but love is not impervious to time. Beginning early in the poem and used heavily throughout, imagery and personification are utilized to exemplify the lovers' argument. The belief that love is never ending is created through never ending connotations, "I'll love you, dear, I'll love you Till China and Africa meet, and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street." The lover uses images of the impossible such as fish singing, the laws of physics breaking, and distant continents meeting. This strengthens the original belief that love is eternal and superior to time itself. These tasks are nearly impossible and the idea of love one day ending is equated with them.

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