The Clock Poem Analysis

In this poem, the speaker takes a walk in the evening and observes a crowd of people and hears a lover singing to his beloved that his love will never cease to exist. The crowd of people are referred to as fields of harvest wheat, the speaker utilizes it as a metaphor that conveys that soon the crowd will die for the reaping will soon arrive. The primary speaker realizes that the clocks respond to the lover's song with rebuttal and contradiction towards the lover's point of view on life. The clock reminds the lover that his love will end, for everyone's time runs out. The lover expresses an attitude or tone of naive optimism, while the clocks convey cynical counter arguments towards the lover's perspective of life, reminding him of the harsh …show more content…
The Clocks inform the lover that "You cannot conquer Time" (24) for mankind's measuring of Time remains impossible, therefore everything else abides by this rule. In addition, Time is never biased for even "In the burrows of the Nightmare/ Where Justice naked is" (25-26) for all remains equal to him, hence the capitalization of Nightmare and Justice. The Clocks personify Time for it watches "And coughs when you would kiss" (28) to remind all that one day that all that lives will die. Once the lover begins to worry about how long he will have, it gives Time more control "In headaches and in worry/ Vaguely life leaks away," and Time will always have what he desires, so remain mindful of it always. He tells the lover to "plunge your hands in water," (37) and "stare into the basin" (39) to reflect on what his life consists …show more content…
Again the speaker reminds us of our inevitable death with the symbolism of a "crack in the tea-cup" (43), once useful, but eventually gets old and decays. Additionally, the speaker reminds the lover that one day he will have "A lane to the land of the dead" (44) with his love alongside him. Throughout the twelfth stanza, the speaker starts referencing nursery rhymes and begins presenting them in a more sexualizing way, by saying "the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,/ And Jill goes down on her back." signifying a shift from childhood to adulthood, or innocence to corruption. The Clock wants us to "look in the mirror," (49) to reflect and accept our fate, much like how he wants us to "stare in the basin" (39) and ponder on what we have done. Just like everyone continues telling us, the Clocks tell that "Life remains a blessing/ Although you cannot bless" (51-52) for although we cannot grant ourselves the privilege of evading Time, we should remain thankful for the opportunity to live. The use of the rhyme between "bless" and "distress" (50-52) convey a negative and positive feeling to this fact. The Clocks shift from wanting us to look at ourselves to looking at others around us. With his last words, he reminds us that we should embrace our temporary love