Hour - Mr Bruff - A* Analysis

Carol Ann Duffy - Most famous contempory poet, glasgow born. First female poet loriate. Profesor of contempory poetry at Manchester Metro. Usually has themes of love of gender stereotypes from a female perspective, involves a great deal of intertexuality. Discovered underneath themes are the effect of violence (teahces us something), darkness beneath the surface and ambiguity. 

Hour

(Sonnet form, 14 lines and a couplet, contempory style. Iambic pentameter only stansa 2 follows this perfectly showing how the poem is unbalanced in theme also.)

Love's time's beggar, but even a single hour, bright as a dropped coin, makes love rich. We find an hour together, spend it not on flowers or wine, but the whole of the summer sky and a grass ditch.

The metaphor ("Love's time's beggar, but even a single hour, bright as a dropped coin, makes love rich") Time is a person passing by and love is the beggar asking time for a 'single hour' instead of a 'coin'. As love is the 'beggar' it is a negative thing, homeless and someone who WORKS ON THE STREET! The 'single hour' represents that their time together is a timed process. The 'coin' suggests a payment or some sort. 'spend' reiterates this idea that money and time is key. 'not on flowers or wine' it is not a romantic and shouldn't , 'summer sky' this means that she must be flat on her back in 'a grass ditch', negative connotations.

("We find an hour together, spend it not on flowers or wine, but the whole of the summer sky and a grass ditch.") Sibilance in the s sounds, reflecting the softness of the romance. Romantic imagery is constant throughout this sentence. The two sections contrast each other with what we see on the surface and what we see as the darkness beneath. 

For thousands of seconds we kiss; your hair like treasure on the ground:the Midas light turning your limbs to gold. Time slows, for here we are millionaires, backhanding the night

The similie ("For thousands of seconds we kiss; your hair like treasure on the ground") suggests that he/she is valuable to her. The constant sibillance reiteterates this romance and love that Duffy wants to touch upon…