Time’s Fool
Ruth Pitter
Jason Le
Ruth Pitter
• Full name Emma Thomas Ruth Pitter, a 20th century
poet born in 7 November 1897.
• Her poems are traditional: with rhyming schemes of
19th century, rather than experimenting with meters
and verse forms.
• Despite the fact that her poems were overlooked in her
age, only recently this famous poet is known to the
world.
• She was first woman to receive the Queen’s Gold
Medal for Poetry, and named "Companion of
Literature", the highest honour given by the Royal
Society of Literature.
Main ideas about the poem
• Time being the title and main point in the poem, in the
poem it’s about the passage of time. Eg: used objects,
mirror and comb which were used a lot when
young(stanza 2) and the aging of poet.(relates to point
two)
• The poem describes objects which are used, aged,
discarded and unwanted. These waste objects are used
by creatures which made them into home( stanza 1).
Through these points and also mentioned by the poem
“poor” represents the conditions the poet is living at.
But because in the poem “poor comfortable” this
might be an actual condition which the poet wants to
get into-though poor, but lived comfortably and quietly.
Point of view
• The poem starts as an observer, then changes to first
person narrative.
• In this poem the point of view is unique, and is based on
the poet. As I think this poem is based on the poet’s old age
life it is biased on what the poet thinks about the poem.
This is shown in the poem when the observer/1st person
narrator says “poor comfort” and “happy poor”. Being
happy/comfort at the same time as being poor is very
obvious that it is biased.
• As in the poem, the narrator changes from an observer to
1st person narrator. This change of view is suppose to give
the readers an image of her life first, and then describes
what the poet actually thinks about it.
Shape and pattern
• The poem’s title suggests what the main theme of poem is abouttime.
• The start of the poem is very confusing, as it starts suddenly and
describes things which readers barely notice in real life. But the
idea gets more clear as the poem develops.
• The poem is , as always by Ruth Pitter, is traditional, with a rhyming
pattern of ABCCBA. Also the construction of the poem makes every
stanza having separate things but related idea. Stanza1: the time
passing on objects. Stanza 2: the time passing on creatures. Stanza
3: time passing on the poet- changing of thoughts of the poet.
• The ending of the poem is what was expected. It was also
contrasting with the last stanza: “toad safe in his hole, lily in
splendour…etc” all related to the last line.
Language and tone
• The language in this poem is informal, and not
complex. Because the point of view of this poem
is an observer and 1st person perspective,
describing the lifestyle of the poet. Eg: are lost
with the other treasure: the sooty kettle.
• The tone of the poem is calm, and used a lot of
descriptive words. This creates image inside the
reader’s head and also an effect that calm and
undisturbed feeling is created. Which is what the
poem(or people getting older) feels. Eg: as then I
had mine, in the place that was happy and poor.
Imagery
• The poem uses the images of old, used objects to present
the theme of passage of time. In the poem everything
seem to be old, and used. Eg: “nettle Shoots up, and bad
bind weed wreathes rust-fretted handle”( this clearly
shows the time passed as these can not grow in just a day
or so) “dear enough, when with youth and with fancy
shared” (shows the aging of poet, its not the time used to
be) and also how there are fed mouse and cankered apple
supports this point.
• Another imagery of this poem is peace. This reflects the
poet’s thoughts about her lifestyle. “as then I had mine, in
the place that was happy and poor”, this contrast with the
other lines in stanza 3 will support this imagery.
My own ideas
• This poem clearly has the theme of time. But based on this it has
another meaning. The poet is writing about the humble home of
hers by using the creatures which live like her: using discarded
objects as their homes, waste not, want not, having other leftovers
as their food. Thought living in this poor condition, the poet is
happy enough to be like this. She is safe, splendor/grace, peace,
had desire and comfort. This is all because of her aging: as people
get older, they do not want as much as when they are young- they
do not care much about their looks(line6 stanza2) and even if they
are poor, as they are living quietly and comfortably, they are
contented. Also, as people get older, they like to share their things
to the surroundings, which is what the poet did, she shares her
environment with the living things others would destroy.
• This poem is not about reflecting the poor stage of hers, is more
about reflecting the happiness and calmness of her being at this
stage. Quiet and undisturbed.