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Analysis of Mean Time

Synopsis= This poem reflects on a broken relationship which the speaker is in mourning for, during this process they become very aware of the transient nature of time and the fact that it is finite, it is a force that will inevitably bring about change and it is an unstoppable force. Duffy could also be using this poem to critic the statement of "living in the meantime" 

 Key Quotations + Analysis=
1.) "We will be dead" 

  • This line gives a tone of fatalism to the poem which adds emphasis to the inevitable nature of time. The speaker feels as if they are subservient to time and it is beyond their control. 
  • "Will" is a modal verb which accentuates that the effects of time are definite and no one can oppose it, it could also relate to how time will out live the relationship and any relationship formed as "we" is a plural therefore it includes everyone. This furthermore emphasises the sheer power of time 


 2.) "The clocks slid back... stole light"

  • Here the speaker is presenting time as an enemy that is out to deprive her of love and happiness, she is blaming time for the downfall of her relationship. Time is depicted as a sly enemy through the sibilance and word choices of "slid" and "stole" , she feels as if it is actively trying to repress her.


 3.) "Unmendable rain" 

  • Both time and rain are natural processes yet the speaker blames them for her unfortunate fate, this could reinforce that the speakers relationship is unnatural and therefore it couldn't connect with the natural means of life such as time.
  • Unmendable connotes to something that is extremely damaged meaning that perhaps in this case the speakers relationship is severely damaged and beyond any point of repair and a representation of the speakers overwhelming emotions of sadness and despair that no one can fix, not even time.


 4.) "Shortened days...endless nights"

  • This nihilistic tone is perhaps Duffy's way of critiquing how time is manipulated through the process of Greenwich mean time especially when hours are added/removed twice a year. The speaker perhaps feel as if she is scammed by time as they make her nights longer and days shorter making her less able to make the most of time.
  • This line could also mimic the time that the speaker spent with their partner, the bright days which were positive were only brief as opposed to the dark and sinister nights that seemed everlasting.


 Links to Other Poems

  • Never go Back= Both speakers press an importance on moving on from an ex lover and how this can bring back positive or negative memories

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