A verse can contain an eloquent imaginative device without every proposed interpretation of that device being sound. Describing time as generous or miserly may effectively praise the patron, yet a particular explanation can be challenged if it yields a contradiction or an unsuitable chronology.
There are two levels of criticism: (1) the rhetorical force of the expression and (2) the logical coherence of an explanation offered for it. Approval at the first level does not validate every claim at the second.
The competing interpretations should therefore be presented with their respective grounds and objections.