In sonnet 116 we are told that love’s “worth unknown”, as if it’s something too important to give a fixed value. Shakespeare acknowledges that love is a mysterious force “Whose worth’s unknown.” Implying love is priceless and beyond the ability of man to evaluate even though “his height be taken”. Although in hour the love of the couple is described in terms of valuable objects like “treasure” and “gold” which express that to be with a loved one, even for just an hour, is precious and valuable .
Another difference between the two poems is that Hour presents time as an obstacle to lovers conversely in Sonnet 116 Shakespeare proposes that Love is one life’s constants which does not change with time or circumstance. In Hour – as the poem’s title suggests, time is an important consideration for the lovers. “For thousands of seconds we kiss” is a striking phrase, offering the idea of excess – “thousands” – with the limitation of available time, measured in seconds. This precise measurement indicates how precious time is to the speaker, a “treasure” to be carefully counted. In sonnet 116, the poem proposes that love is a constant. The metaphor of “the star” is important in this respect because love, like the stars in the night sky, can be observed across the globe throughout time. Love is not restricted by time or place, but exists above all consideration.
The traditional battle of love versus time is explored in both poems however is more boldly presented in the poem Hour; “Time hates love”. In Hour “Time hates love, wants love poor,”- this makes it clearly obvious that Time is opposed to love, and that time and love are enemies. In Hour, “Love’s time’s beggar,” so when she says that time wants love to be poor, it represents that time has no sympathy for love and wants love to be non- existent, as without time, love has almost no meaning as it cannot be. It is explored briefly in Sonnet 116 although in this poem love is more powerful than time. Shakespeare is clear about the positive virtues of love : even when the “rosy lips and cheeks of youth” fall victim to Time’s “sickle” love will remain. Also in the poem, Shakespeare says true love can observe storms, “tempests”, and not be affected; “Love’s not Time’s fool”.
Hours presents love as a powerful force, able to transform the ordinary into something rich and magical. The poem question the assumption that time will triumph, forcing a separation. Instead “love spins gold, gold, gold from straw.” Duffy alludes to the fairytale character Rumplestiltskin, able to transform straw into gold. This reference adds a magical feel to the closing lines. It is an image that sums up the key theme: love can find riches in anything – “straw” or even “a grass ditch”. Sonnet 116 presents love as similarly powerful but presents love as resistant to change instead of having the power to transform.
Duffy has decided to put a rhyming couplet at the end of Hour because it is like a conclusion to the story being told in the sonnet: ‘than here. Now. Time hates love, wants love poor but love spins gold, gold, gold from straw’. In ‘Sonnet 116’ it is a typical Shakespearean sonnet and the rhyming couplet is indented to show a ‘full-stop’ of the poem. The effect of these rhyming couplets are to let the reader know that no matter how much time hates love, love will keep on making gold constantly hence the repetition of the word ‘gold’ and that love is not a fool of time respectively.
In conclusion, in both poems love and time play key roles in the writer’s lives however in a different way; in ‘Sonnet 116’ love is the dominant figure from time and in ‘Hour’ time is the dominant figure from love.
