Pessimism In Clocks And Lovers By W. H. Auden - 934 Words

The world is full of optimistic people who have plenty of hope for the future, but it is also full of pessimists who are there to bring those optimists back to earth. In Clocks and Lovers by W. H. Auden, the clocks are the pessimists and the lover is the optimist. By using exaggerations and personification, Auden contrasts the two personalities with an interesting twist. The optimistic lover floats high above the clouds in a daydream of his own, saying his love will never end, while the clocks, or pessimists, constantly remind him of reality. While the lover is under the illusion that love outlasts time, the omniscient clocks ruin his fantasy with the reality that Time will always win in the end. W. H. Auden uses personification in his†¦show more content†¦W. H. Auden also uses personification with the lover in the fifth stanza, â€Å"And the seven stars go squawking / Like geese about the sky.† These two lines are a simile as well as personification, but the lover is still using personification to show his undying love toward his beloved. Later in the poem, after the clocks have discouraged the lover with their harsh reality, the lover describes a glacier knocking in the cupboard, a desert sighing in the bed, and a crack in the tea-cup that opens up a â€Å"lane to the land of the dead.† This stanza depicts part of an old and broken down house that is a symbol for his dried out love. With the personification of the glacier and the desert, Auden gives the reader an idea of a trapped glacier and a worn out desert that circles back to the love the lover used to have. At this point, the clock’s predictions have come true and the lover’s love has dried out, just like the desert mentioned in the poem. The glacier â€Å"knocking in the cupboard† represents the lover’s trapped state in the love he has promised would be forever. The clocks also use exaggeration to drive their point home. By using hyperboles to push their reminder of death farther than is needed, the clocks force their point into the lover’s mind. The clocks remind the lover â€Å"O let not time deceive you,