Eight o' clock

Eight O' clock poem is written by A.E Houseman9(1859-1936). A.E Houseman was an English classical scholar and poet best known to the general public for his cycle of poem.This poem is alliterative poem that teaches us the importance of time.Time is the most precious thing and no man can win over time.                                                                       

The major character in the poem can either be a common man or a prisoner. The title of this poem "8 o'clock" refers to the traditional morning hour of execution in England .The protagonist of this poem stood and heard the clock tower striking the quarter bells every fifteen minutes tick tick one, two, three, four. He is going to be executed early in the morning at eight o’clock so he couldn’t sleep because it’s hard for him to accept his death. The bell was heard all over the town in the morning.It pushed the people out reminding them of their duty.But the same clock sound reminded hid of his death. As the unavoidable hour was coming near, he stood and counted the minutes he had left until he was executed. He cursed his luck because the unpleasant event was about to take place. When the clock struck eight collecting its strength, he was marked for death.On a deeper level, this poem acknowledges the fact that time controls us and our life and death, seeing how it was the clock that decided the prisoner’s time of execution.

This poem is trying to show the importance of time.  Time is most powerful and no creature can overcome it. It says that every people in the earth run after money and prestige; But actually our achievement are nothing. Everyone is sure to die. This poem implies that time becomes stronger as a man becomes weaker in this world. The poem might be trying to tell us the feeling of the person who is going to face a terrible thing (death).At that moment he is so much conscious of time. To him every second is important.