Commentaries

I would like to know how near is my work to a good commentray. I have pasted it here.



Mean Time

The clocks slid back an hour

And stole light from my life

As I walked through the wrong part of town,

Mourning our love.



Carol Ann Duffy



The poem Mean Time by Carol Ann Duffy tells the reader a situation, a thing or probably a person that makes her recollect a sad period of her life, perhaps the sad ending of her life with her lover.



The poetess personifies the clocks by mentioning that clocks slid back an hour. The word ‘slid’ creates an impression in the minds of the readers that Duffy was taken reeling back to the past, to a time when she suffered at the face of a most traumatic incident, which is evident from the line – and stole light from my life. The word ‘slid’ also denotes a sudden movement which in the context means a sudden retreat to the past life centering an painful event.



The line- and stole light from my life- tells the reader that Duffy suffers inordinately as she remembers the sad incident which time has put back in her mind. The word ‘light’ is a metaphorical usage, referring to happiness and hope of Duffy’ life, the time everything seemed bright and beautiful in her life. The phrase stole light from my life – the visual imagery makes the reader understand the impact the incident of the past has had in her, that is, all of sudden she was robbed of her happiness. In this line Duffy, by personifying the time by blaming it for depriving her life of happiness and hope. In all, she says she calls the time a ‘robber’ who has stolen the charm of her life and left her in darkness.





In the line- as I walked through the wrong part of the town mourning our love- Duffy wants to tell the reader that she got engrossed I her thoughts of the life she has had with the lover. This perhaps has unknowingly taken her into a place she detests- a fact reader comes to know from the phrase- wrong part of the town. The use of the word wrong perhaps indicates something bitter of which Duffy has already had a sad experience or people or things over which there is stereotyped opinion, which is quite common among human beings.



The phrase -mourning our love perhaps -gives an impression that Duffy is quite sad thinking about something very unfortunate which befell her life with her lover. The adjective our in our love subtly gives an idea that Duffy does not accuse her lover for the pain she suffered rather she sees both of them collectively who had had to succumb to the bad fate.