For Sideny Bechet

Philip Larkin had a deep passion for jazz music, which had been fostered from childhood by his parents, who purchases both a drum kit and a saxophone. Between 1961 and 1971, Larkin served as the jazz critic for The Daily Telegraph. Larkin wanted was a huge fan of Sidney Bechet, who was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist. Bechet was born in New Orleans, and spent his teen years playing in dance halls and brothels in Storyville. In "For Sidney Bechet," Larkin wanted the poem to function like a jazz song; as the song/poem progresses the listener/reader imagines different scenarios. The poem had a jazz-like rhythm, and a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefghggh. "For Sidney Bechet" was written in 1954, and published in Larkin's collection of thirty-poems entitled The Whitsun Weddings, which was published in 1964.

The first stanza sets up the poem as a cause and effect; the music causes people to imagine different scenarios. The musical note, that Bechet is playing, narrows and rises causing New Orleans reflection in the water to shake (ripples). This is a beautiful simile. The verb "shakes" is put at the end of line one, in order to stretch the action onto the second line. "And in all ears appropriate falsehood wakes" meaning that the audience gets lost in the music, and drifts off into various day-dreams. "Wakes" stems from the word 'awaken,' but it also a pun on water-a wake is the track left by a ship in the water-which keeps with the water theme of the first stanza.

The first imagined scenario (lines 3 to 6) is one of beauty and love. Some people imagine the "legendary Quarter," which refers to the French Quarter. The French Quarter is the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, and is now a National Historic Landmark. They also imagine balconies, flower-baskets, and quadrilles, which are square dances for couples. Everyone is "making love" and "going shares," which means taking it easy. This first scenario seems very relaxing and fun.
The second scenario that is imagined (lines 7 to 10) is about the dark, seedy side of New Orleans. "Oh, play that thing!" is a common cry that you would hear at a jazz concert; it means the audience is particularly moved by a part of the song. "Mute glorious Storyvilles" means that the music mutes out the sounds of Storyville and has the audience "grouping round their chairs." Storyville is the red-light district of New Orleans, and is often referred to just as the District. It was set up to limit prostitution to just one area, so that the government could monitor and regulate it. "License" refers to the government giving prostitutes the permission to engage is prostitution. "Sporting-house girls" is another term for prostitutes. The simile: "sporting-house girls like circus tigers (priced far above rubies)" refers to the Proverbs 31.10 of the King James Bible, which states: "Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies." Comparing a prostitute to a circus tiger is the equivalent of saying that the prostitute is now tame due to the fact that they are controlled by government regulations; whereas, before the governments interference they were wild, dangerous, and erotic creatures. "Priced far above rubies" can also mean that the prostitutes were very expensive.
The fourth stanza describes the wannabes, who sit in the audience. "Manqués" are would-be scholars. They sit in the audience nodding along with the music, unnoticed. Larkin uses another simile to describe the wannabes: they are so engrossed with the "personnels," which are the band members that they are like "old plaids." Plaids are a rectangular length of tartan worn especially over the left shoulder as part of the Scottish national costume.

Stanza five (lines 13 to 15) describes how the music affects Larkin himself. We know that Larkin is talking about himself because he uses the two personal pronouns: "me" and "my." The music makes him feel the way love is said to make people feel. The music "is orgasmic, hitting all the right notes, and [gives] a sense of affirmation" (Level Up). "Crescent City" refers to New Orleans. Larkin says that New Orleans is the only place where Bechet's "speech" (meaning his music) is understood,
because New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz.

The last two lines of the poem are abstract. Bechet's music is "the natural noise of good," which scatters "long-haired grief and scored pity" (lines 16-17). Listening to Bechet's music and sharing or "scattering" it with others somehow dispels the long-harbored grief that African Americans feel. The origin of Jazz comes from African music, which consisted of a single-line melody and a call-and-response pattern. When slaves were brought to America they brought with them the work songs of their people, which coupled with European instruments became jazz music. "Scored pity" is a pun on a musical score. It also refers to the pity we feel when listening to Sidney Bechet's music

Naturally the Foundation wll bear your Expenses

Theme:

This poem includes the idea of war, and remembrance day which includes the reflection of those who fought in the past. There is an element of travelling and education throughout the poem.

Content:

The persona is dislikable, and rude towards a historical event as he sits in a taxi and the events of remembrance day are making him late for his plane. His views are controversial, with no sentiment, pity or feeling for humanity towards the past.

Analysis:

Bearing 'your expenses' is taking away the difficulties, and people take advantage to this because expenses make us view life cynically. Expenses could include transport and accommodation.
'Catch my comet' describes the persona travelling, by plane, to somewhere far away from where he is. The 'my' makes the persona sound possessive and dislikable.
'One dark November day' shows that the poem is about remembrance day, the 11th November, the day WW1 soldiers are respected and remembered. The 'dark' suggests that the persona sees this with a miserable, pessimistic, dull view, like it's just another day. In the first stanza Abse compares this day to all the places he has been, a different world to what he sees. The persona brags about these places and people, 'the sunshine of Bombay', reading 'pages Berkeley' which implies that the persona is academic, and the 'Third' is the most intellect BBC radio program of the time, showing that the persona is showing off.
'Crowds, colourless and careworn' an alliteration that becomes scathing, snobbish and makes the persona's surrounding seem bland and uninteresting. The person doesn't understand why this is making his taxi late until he is 'airborne'. 'The day when Queen and Minister and Band of Guards and all still act their solemn-sinister wreath-rubbish in Whitehall', suggests the authority, and higher status people pay their respects as a fake performance, just to follow their duties by 'acting'. There is some irony that the Queen sympathises with these soldiers but she was the one that sent the men to their death, a kind of hypocrisy. 'Solemn' implies that Larkin is expected to be respectful but instead he is shocking and against it. 'Wreath-rubbish' is rude and critical of remembrance day, aimed at the upper class.
'It used to make me throw up' is an exaggeration on how Larkin thinks the event is sickening, 'these mawkish, nursery games' are just done because of tradition, done thoughtlessly. The persona is rude to the day, a pointless symbol, devoid of its true meaning. 'O When will England grow up?' is rude to the monarchy, a parade of grief and how it's acted out, England wasting their time on something they need to forget.
The persona name drops in the last stanza also, a rude, critising character.

Terrible Angles

Terrible Angels

Theme/Content:
This poem is about war, and the effects on war. The poem reminisces on when they were younger and how their father used to fight in the war, collecting all these medals, has returned to show his son.

Analysis:

Terrible Angels is an oxymoron, a paradox that angels are meant to sent from heaven, the place of complete bliss and peace, a paradise to be, yet they are terrible, which suggests destruction and corruption. Angels are flawless, graceful and innocence, the opposite to terrible. The angels are prayed to by soldiers to save themselves from the enemy however this is ironic because to live, others must die, and this becomes a tragedy.

'One bedtime' suggests the persona is a child, yet this is written in past tense which could mean that Abse is reflecting on his childhood and his father. The medals had 'pretty coloured ribbons', like toys and play things, his father displays this as a prize, a proud possession. They are a symbol of achievement, and are there still as a memory of the war, something that is very much still in his life, represented by the metals.

'Elite and puissant expedition from God' is having great power/influence in higher class, the expedition given from God suggests that going to war was righteous, and this was seen as courageous and moral for men back then. Religion has a large influence on the soldiers that fought.
The 'angels of Mons', the Battle of Mons which was the first major battle in WW1, are described to make 'horses bolt and flocks of meat-snatching birds to rise'. The 'invisible presence' of the angels can symbolise the war itself, the nature of war or religion, how angels are seen as a comfort to protect the soldiers in difficult times and help them defeat the enemy however this is ironic because the angels scare the 'horses'. They symbolise death, from heaven themselves, the soldiers are looking for protection against death by wanting others to die. The 'meat-snatching birds' are vultures, watching over the soldiers waiting for them, 'circle around and around like a carousel'. Death is eternal, forever and part of the cycle of life meaning that the soldiers will never escape it. They might escape death in the war but will be haunted by others deaths.

'But war coarsens (he said) even genteel angels', suggests that war will make things vulgar and unpleasant because even the most kindest, gentle angels are corrupted by war, that fighting can scar them. 'When they spoke it was the silence of gas, amen; when they sang it was the shrapnel striking helmets', is a metaphor, that the soldiers would wish upon destructive deaths for the enemy to die and for them to live. Gas is a silent killer, that death can creep up slowly upon some unlike shrapnel striking helmets which is quite loud, metal clashing and sounds more painful. The protection of the soldiers relied on the death of the enemy to survive. 'Stealthily visible' is an oxymoron, that if you are stealthy you shouldn't be seen because you're quick and agile. The angels are stealthy because they can kill easily and unexpectedly, yet this is visible to everyone because a death man will just lay there, the remains of a life.

The angels are described as 'cold', 'bold and bloodthirsty' and 'thrilled' by the haunting 'screams' coming from the soldiers on the battlefield. This suggests that the angels are corrupt, they have evil elements about them but are still described as angels which is the complete opposite. The destruction and death of the enemy was comforting throughout the war because it meant survival for another, yet in any other case this would be shocking and terrible. The father says that these show 'true facsimiles of men', that satisfaction from death and selfishness of survival was what men were really about. Men were like this before civilisation, that their true madness was uncovered.

The final stanza is only two lines, an after thought because of the brackets used, which makes these lines stand out. (My father, invalided home, was told he know more about angels than was healthy.) The father seemed to be too aware of the angels, knowing too much of the war so that the haunting nature of war has scarred him. Though the war was behind them, the memory still remains, an obsession that he couldn't let go off. This is the real, horrific affect of war. War has taken a toll on him and left him weak and scarred.

A Figure of 8

Content:

The poem is about the daily routine of young student in the classroom, who's rebelling against what they've been taught at school.
Theme:

The poem talks about rebellion, and doubt, a young person's attempt to break free and express their opinions within the classroom.

Analysis of The Poem

Analysis:

The title of the poem, is the shape of the infinity sign, going round in circles and showing the cyclical nature of life. The life of the persona is a routine and repetitive, like the motion of the infinity sign, and feels like that their life is revolving around education. A figure of 8 could mean that the persona, a figure, is 8 years old.
The persona refers to his classroom as 'Mr Theophilus's jail', suggesting that the classroom is restrictive and confined like a prison. They can't escape, and feel trapped, unable to express their opinion and can only listen and do what they're told, having to be taught not learning things for themselves. 'The boy half listens to a story of royalty-loving Christopher Robin'. This is a reference to Winnie the Pooh, showing the persona's young age to this children's book. The teacher is teaching the students about stories, innocent and patriotic things that don't relate to the reality outside the classroom. The persona also 'half-listens' implying he's bored, doesn't care and is distracted, maybe daydreaming about something else. His mind works independently, no matter what the teacher tries to tell him. Abse makes the tone comical by 'his friend, Fatty Jones', a childish nickname for a classmate. Fatty Jones sings 'God bless the Prince of Wales!', a Welsh hymn.
The second stanza talks about escaping from school, 'free, at last', from the mundane, repetitive classroom. This exaggerates how happy the persona is to get away, 'arms horizontal'. The child is so cheerful and excited he 'jet-roars out' like a plane, escaping 'jail'. Flying away shows a liberation, lack of restriction and freedom to do anything as the persona 'loops the loop, flies to Africa to see naked women'. This shows the child is fantasising about adult themes, inappropriate for his age, and thinks about things that are avoided at school. He thinks independently and is growing up. However this view is shifted by to the persona's immaturity when he comically 'farts H2SS'.
The third stanza is a contrast to the childlike first stanza, a more depressing and realistic view of the world. This stanza is short and dramatic, 'someone has bombed the park'. The child could be playing war games, and this makes the persona sinister to think these things, a vivid imagination to have. However this could show that the child is growing up, and not so naivety towards the bad events, the ones teachers avoid to tell children and instead tell fairytale stories. This idea is continued in stanza four, 'both the swings are on fire, the empty see-saw is charred', destruction to playground objects that children would use. This is implies that his childish views are being burnt down, and reality is overcoming his thoughts. 'The enemy is a brute, the enemy must be foiled', threats of war and violence, which are quite childish, playing games where the bad guys can just be beaten. 'The wooden horses are running wild' is like the persona's self, running wild and hard to control because he's finding freedom.
The persona mentions a 'sorcerer' and 'spaceship', all imagined childish thoughts. But the persona comes 'safely... comes home to base'. Home suggests protection and safety, a secure place for a child compared to the outside world.
The last stanza involves the persona chalking 'across the garden shed FUCK WINNIE THE POOH'. Symbolising rebellion and a hatred towards the things he's been taught, the ideals of society and the false stories he hears in the classroom. The child is fed up with hearing untruths, 'FUCK MR THEOPHILUS TOO', and doesn't like education. The last stanza is comical to how people will try to teach children and form a path for them but they can't be taught and protected forever, that they instead break free.

Links to Larkin:

A Study of Reading Habits - rebellion, dislike to childish stories
Sunny Prestatyn - graffiti and rebellion

Reference back

Reference Back

 

Theme:
There is a sense of nostalgia, and family memories in the poem. Music is symbolic, yet over the course of the time it is evident there is loneliness compared to what used to be.

Content:
This poem is based on Larkin's mother, living at his mother's house and listening to the same song but in different rooms. They both share a love for the music however Larkin doesn't seem to enjoy the experience through the poem.

Analysis:

• The title 'Reference Back' is a musical term but has the idea of looking back, and remembering things.
• 'Call from the unsatisfactory hall' suggests that the presence isn't satisfying enough anymore, reality doesn't live up to the old memories they have.
• 'Played record after record, idly, wasting my time at home' shows the persona gets little pleasure from the experience and the enjambment of 'you/looked' shows that there was a difference between his lack of excitement and his mother's excitement to spend time with her son at home.
• The first stanza is quite depressing and disappointing, and shows the reflection of time. The songs reintroduce memories for his mother which she likes however Larkin feels like he just needs to move on because he is bored.
• The second stanza looks at history and song itself. The song makes him reminisce over times in Chicago, and comments on jazz music, 'antique Negros' and 'pre-electric horn' which is like the gramophone for blues/jazz, the music links the two eras. There is a negative tone in this stanza too that his mother is aged and he doesn't like this. The 'sudden bridge' connects his mother and him, both enjoying the music, this is a pun on another musical term. The bridge is also a metaphor for ageing, the bridge between youth to older generations.
• 'From your unsatisfactory age to my unsatisfactory prime' is an oxymoron. Prime means the best part of your life, yet it is unsatisfactory to him and he is no longer better than his mother's age because they are both unhappy.
• There is a philosophical shift in the last stanza. 'Long perspectives' are all the memories and instances of youth which Larkin hopes for yet his reflections are pessimistic and it takes effort to be that sad, making memories pointless. The long memories are unsuited, the happy ones are comfort and Larkin thinks they drag him down, and remind him how disappointed he is now. This is taunting and mocking, Larkin becomes obsessed over regrets because he knows once you make choices you can't go back. 'They link us to our losses', the things he didn't do and can't do anymore. 'Blindingly undiminished', raw and fresh, Larkin used to see life with youthfulness, hope and optimism but growing up changed things, and if he stayed childish maybe it would have stayed that way.

Links To Abse

Sunny Prestatyn

Introduction

Though it has no dialogue, the poem opens with a quotation from an advert, “Come to Sunny Prestatyn”. In the 1950s, these would have been common, and people did indeed travel to Prestatyn for a weekend holiday. There aren’t many poems in this collection intended to shock and offend, but this one, like ‘Self’s the Man’ is one – though comical at the same time. From comic, however, the poem moves to sinister.

Analysis- Stanza 1

The poem starts by presenting the perfect women. The first line in the stanza " laughed the girl on the poster shows us the is the idealised women for men and Larkin thinks she is beautiful. It also shows that seeing this women on the poster makes Larkin happy and cheerful. the fourth line in stanza shows us that the women is innocent, however also has the sense that this is false beauty. The focus on the sexuality of the girl in the advert presents the perfection of women, (which is what adverts usually do) to promote Prestatyn.  . “Tautened white satin” for example, shows off her figure, her “thighs” and “breast-lifting arms”. “Behind her, a hunk of coast” puns on the duel meaning of “hunk” – both a ‘clump’ of something or a colloquial term for a male, as though by coming to this place, men will find girls like these. Yet, despite her obvious sex-appeal, “a hotel with palms / Seems to expand from her thighs,” as if she is giving birth to the hotel. The grotesque image adds humour to the poem.

Stanza 2-

The first line in stanza two has two meanings. one of them is that this was the day the poster was put up, or it shows that this was when people where vandalising the poster an it suggests that the post is getting beaten, ruined and destroyed. The image of the girl has been physically violated, vadndolised, disfigured and raped.

Stanza 3 -

In the final stanza, there is a hint of violence in “Someone had used a knife” “to stab right through / The moustached lips of her smile”. The fith line in the stanza ( She was too good for this life)  shows that if you deface a women it is ok and that she was too beautiful to be a poster. Her perfection has been defiled, lesser humans have brought about her destruction. It shows what some men would do, if they could, to women ,a desire to destroy and conquer, intermingled into sex. Yet, considering the opening of the poem, and the grotesque nature of the image, was she “too good”, after all?

The poem concludes with an image of death. After “a great transverse tear / Left only a hand and some blue”, the poster is replaced by one saying “Fight Cancer”. This poster, perhaps, will survive longer than its predecessor. The idea of fighting a cancerous growth fits better with this society, who, as though possessed by a disease, cannot let perfection rest. It also shoes that people don't doodle on serious posters that are about illness and death.

Themes

• Adverts-  because the poem is about an advert of a wonen in Presatyn
• Disatisfaction
• Deacy
• Time
• Sex
• Attitudes to women 

Structure

The poem has three stanzas, each containing 8 lines. The rhyme scheme for the poem is ABCABDCD,

 

 

Essential Beauty

Another poem about the problems of advertising, this links well to ‘Sunny Prestatyn’ and ‘Send No
Money’.

Themes :

• Envy
• Adverts  

In the first line, we’re presented with a familiar image: “In frames as large as rooms.” The images on billboards (hoardings) are compared to rooms. Rooms, from other poems like ‘Mr Bleaney’ and ‘Ambulances’, are like containers that hold our lives, and these billboards are containers of life too – although there is a distinct difference between the lives they portray and real lives.

As we move through the stanza, we’re presented with a number of bizarre images, allusions to advertisements that would have been pasted on hoardings at “the ends of streets”. Hull was bombed heavily during the Second World War, and was left riddled with holes. Into these, rather than rebuilding, appeared many billboards.

Images of “giant loaves”; “screen graves with custard” means that a custard hoarding hides the cemetery. Advertisements for “motor-oil and cuts of salmon” (fine cuisine in the 1950s) “cover slums.” “High above the gutter, / A silver knife sinks into golden butter” – one of Larkin’s absurd comical rhymes.

The bizarrely comical juxtaposition of the adverts and real life shows how adverts seem to “block” the bleak reality of life. They “perpetually” depict how “life should be”, yet the “should” gives away how different it is. Perhaps, Larkin suggests, they screen a reality that we don’t want to face.

In the next few lines, Larkin explores just how advertisements work on people.

Well-balanced families, in fine
Midsummer weather, owe their smiles, their cars,
Even their youth, to that small cube each hand
Stretches towards.

As modern readers, we’re still familiar with “that small cube” – the OXO advert. Adverts suggest that by buying their items, a person can have all those extra wonderful things, “smiles,” “cars,” and “youth.” The comfortable images, such as the Ovaltine advert with “deep armchairs / Aligned to cups at bedtime” “Reflect none of the rained-on streets and squares”, despite the fact that they “They dominate outdoors”.

In the second stanza, the reality of life is painted: where “nothing’s made / As new or washed quite clean”. They radiate “pure coldness to our live imperfect eyes” – they look down on our imperfection, cold, mocking.

In the world of the adverts, “dark rafted pubs / Are filled with white-clothed ones from tennis-clubs” (the impersonal pronoun “ones” augments the upper-class image presented), yet the juxtaposition to the real world is even more marked: “the boy puking his heart out in the Gents just missed them.” Heartbroken(?), just drunk(?), the youth of the “boy” makes his “puking” image even more pitiful. It seems, in his naivety, he has been taken in by the adverts promises, found them empty, and has been brought crashing down.

Yet, adverts work upon all, for we jump to the image of the old, “as pensioners paid / A halfpenny more for Granny Graveclothes’ Tea / To taste old age”. The image of “dying smokers” is just as pitiful: they are killing themselves due to the “that unfocused she / No match lit up”. The “she”, who walks “as if on moment”, alludes to the Bible, and Jesus’ walking on water, suggesting that the dying smokers revere her as a god (and perhaps, as Larkin was an atheist, she is just as phoney). Alluring women were used to sell cigarettes, but no “drag” “ever brought nearer” that unattainable fantasy that smoking would attract women.

Through adverts, just like in ‘Sunny Prestatyn’, we are conned into believing there is a better world. As advertising is a big part of society, Larkin shows that a big part of society is based upon deception.

Mr Bleaney

In "Mr. Bleaney", Larkin delves into the severity of a life hardly lived.  The language is drab, similar to the fraying curtains in the deceased Mr. Belaney's room.  It is evident that Bleaney led a life of loneliness, cyclically humdrum, and eventually died in his solitude.   The poem is written through the eyes of Bleaney's landlord who, after the death of his tenant, takes Bleaney's place in a similar life of loneliness and monotony.  Larkin writes, "I'll [the landlord will] take it.' So it happens that I lie/ Where Mr .Bleaney lay, and stub my fags/ On the same saucer-souvenir, and try." The similarities between the landlord and Bleney are evident, and it seems Larkin is foreshadowing a similar demise for the landlord to that of Bleaney, whose very name sounds watery and forgettable.

“Mr. Bleaney” is a commentary on just how easy it is to fall into the trap of monotony.  We get a very detailed portrait of Mr. Bleaney—his job, routine, and lack of interests are detailed—;however, even after the specifics, his life remains entirely forgettable.  The landlord literally replaces Bleaney and shows that loneliness and disinterest—similar to quicksand—are capable of slowly suffocating those who do not expect them.

His final lines reiterate his intention with the work.  “That how we live measures our own nature, 
And at his age having no more to show 
Than one hired box should make him pretty sure 
He warranted no better, I don't know.”  Evidently, it does not matter whether or not Larkin’s readers truly understand the inner workings of Bleaney.  His mind may have been great and he may have been an admirable man; however, he was judged on how he lived, what he actually accomplished, or in Bleaney’s case, failed to accomplish.  Good intentions equate to emptiness, similar to what Bleaney had to show at the end of his life.

 Larkin, in some ways similar to ‘Self’s the Man’ adopts the persona of a middle class man like Mr Bleaney, one, though, who looks down upon the other. All the prior analysis of Mr Bleaney, to add a layer of irony to the poem, is filtered through this persona’s eyes, and not necessarily ‘true’.

The Importance of Elsewhere

The poem The Importance of Elsewhere includes three stanza, each with four lines. The themes consist of Time and isolation and relates to the poem 'Here' because it is opposite to it.

Before he came to Hull, Larkin worked in a library in Belfast, where the inspiration for this poem “lonely in Ireland” comes from. He did, however, dislike travel and being away from England, though as this poem demonstrates, it does have advantages.

In the first stanza, and into the second, the persona explores the idea of being “elsewhere”. “Strangeness” there “made sense”, because when we're “elsewhere”, it makes sense to be an outsider and stranger. “Salt rebuff of speech” is a description of the harsh northern Irish accent, and Larkin likes that it is “Insisting so on difference” – for him, it is a relief to not have to be the same as the people around him. He says That it is ok to be lonley in another country because that is what is expected when u walk into  different culture.

The second stanza describes Belfast, evoking all the senses: “draughty streets” (touch), “archaic smell” (smell), “herring-hawker’s cry” (hearing). In some ways, the description is similar to the “fishy-smelling / Pastoral” in ‘Here’. Though different, Larkin feels he has an excuse for that difference in “To prove me separate, not unworkable”.

 In the third stanza,“Living in England has no such excuse”, however. Notice the pronoun usage which also augments the difference: “Their streets…” and in England, these are “my customs”. In England he can't compare himself to anyone because they are like him. Larkin is meant to belong in England but he doesnt, which is why their is " no such excuse" to be lonely in England While he could get away with being antisocial in Ireland, “It would be much more serious to refuse.” The final line reminds us again of the poem ‘Here’ with its first word, and the isolation that he seeks. “Underwrites” is a legal term, meaning to guarantee or confirm; it is ironic really that only in “elsewhere” can he feel confirmed of his “existence”.

Postcard to his wife

Description 

This poem is very personal to Abse’s loss of his wife, the structure, the exclamation marks and the emotions shown make it really realistic, like he is literally calling out for his wife, begging her to come back.

Links to Larkin

Abse is writing from his own experience, whereas Larkin seems to write as an observer of other people’s lives. However Larkin has explored the themes of love and relationships in some of his poems such as in Love Songs in Age, Talking in Bed and Wild Oats. Also in this poem a huge theme is loss, this is also a theme in Larkin's poems such as in Home Is So Sad.

 Analysis 

The tone of the poem is sad, loving but lonely and Abse shows desperation to his wife, for her to come back though the fact that there is no rhyme scheme implies she can't come back, that the pattern and purpose of his life is no longer existing without her.
Postcards are written to loved ones whilst away from them, usually on holiday, to tell them what they've been doing, a personal way to communicate with someone when there's distance between each other. Abse uses a postcard to talk to his wife, a more fun way to represent his feelings without grieving. Usually on postcards the phrase 'Wish you were here' is used, and this is very literal in the poem, in fact Abse uses it as the first line of his poem. The short sentence is powerful, a sense of longing and hope, but also like the short nature of a postcard. The caesura in the first line could present the bluntness of death, that all things can't change or go back and the full stop implies Abse has to move on but also the distance between Abse and his wife, that they are now separated.
'It's a calm summer's day and the dulcamara of memory is not enough'. 'Dulcamara is the treatment for certain diseases, and this is not enough to heal his broken heart. He still suffers the pain of his loss, and Abse doesn't find comfort in the calm summer's day. The day gives him a short happiness, the sun and calm all positive surroundings however he can't forget what has happened and he can not stop grieving. 'I confess' is the unveiling of Abse's emotions, the things he found hard to say but feels he can say in his postcard. 'I know the impoverishment of self', implies he is nothing without her, and she was the only thing that held value in his life. He feels like nothing, and has no purpose anymore, but also appreciates that he got to spend his time with her when she was alive. 'The Venus de Milo is only stone' is a reference to a Greek sculpture, that God (of love and beauty) is only stone now. That it is cold, cruel and hard to touch, presenting the harsh reality of what has happened. Stone can only be broken but can't be recreated by man, like his wife and his love for her. It is just a memory, not a reality. His wife made him believe without her things have no meaning.
'So come home. The bed's too big!'' shows the desperation, trying to hold onto her by relating the issue with daily life and objects in his life as a comfort. He is fooling himself to pretend she has just gone away, and the petty issues like having extra room in the bed is a jokey complaint. This sad humour shows his loneliness. He's mourning, unable to change what has occurred but wishing it wasn't that way. 'Make excuses', makes it seem like she has just gone away, or busy, and could come back to him. Abse is trying to be light-hearted and not show he's suffering but there is clear heartbreak underneath. The second stanza includes 'we are agents in an obscure drama', a comical view that she has gone away to venture and explore 'some cryptic message'.
Abse becomes more desperate in the fourth stanza as he says, 'Anything! But come home'. Abse is crying out for his wife, and there is clear pain and frustration. 'Then we'll motor, just you, just me' beginning to dream of it just them, that he needs no one else in his life. Abse just wants to be alone with his wife, and he can't cope alone. He describes the romantic adventure of following the 'twisting narrow lanes', the imagery so detailed he's already done this with his wife and wants to repeat the past. 'Wild business' implies to us that the flowers and people are free and able to go wherever they wish however business suggests control and restriction. Placing the words together implies that perhaps this enjoyment of going on a journey is out of their control. The 'roses and clematis' represent beauty, and she is beauty to him.
The fourth stanza shows this dream world that Abse longs for. 'Mimic the old gods who enacted the happy way to be holy' could suggest that love is the path to happiness and that the old gods who represent love were most happy, and he needs his wife to be happy again. 'Holy' and 'old gods', implies that religion places big role in life, that it's used as a comfort and to help cope with hard times. Abse refers to his wife as 'dear', an affectionate name to represent the closeness he had to her. He describes himself as 'uxorious', meaning wife in Latin, and he misses her greatly, 'absence can't make Abse's heart grow fonder'. This genetic saying is put ironically, that death is the biggest absence and it makes him desperate to have her back. This is the reality to life and love.

Two Photographs

Theme:

Abse looks at the passing of time and memories, old-age and identity and history compared to the present, using photographs to reflect on the past.

Content:

The persona looks through old photographs to find his two grandmothers, Doris and Annabella, and reminisces about them. Larkin compares the two women.

Analysis:


The rhyme scheme and structure of the poem is uneven and irregular, like memories and how time constantly changes things, like the portrayal of memories and people.
The two women are described in the first stanza. Annabella is described as 'slim', 'vulnerable' and 'pretty', compared to Doris who is 'portly', 'formidable' and 'handsome'. Abse lets the reader know straight away that the two women are different, recalling their appearance that reflects their personality. Annabella seems to be attractive, innocent and feminine unlike Doris who seems nice, pleasant but 'handsome'. Abse describes how both women dress, Annabella a 'demure black frock with an amber brooch', and Doris 'a lacy black gown with a string of pearls'. Annabella is more subtle and elegant, effortless in her clothes. She is reserved, modest and almost shy through her clothes compared to Doris who wears lace, a seductive material that's bold and extravagant with the pearls. Annabella wears a 'frock' whereas Doris wears a 'gown', suggesting that Annabella could be younger and more vibrant than the other grandmother that's older and mature. Doris's clothing description is in the second stanza, implying that there is a big separation to the women's likenesses. Abse only describes the physical memory of the photograph, only based on an image not by an actual memory.
In the second stanza Abse describes the date and location of the photographs. One 'marked Ystalyfera 1880 the other Bridgend 1890'. Both are from Wales, however the women aren't labelled to one location which suggests that Abse doesn't know, and lacks that memory of the women. The final line of this stanza, 'Both were to say, 'Cheese'; one, defiant, said 'Chalk!'', implies the different personalities, though we don't know which woman is 'defiant'. The women are like chalk and cheese, complete opposites. One woman is more eccentric, unlike the other who is reserved, mostly like Doris to shout 'Chalk!' Abse could be questioning the reader to see if they match appearance to personality, stereotyping people to dress how they act and likewise.
The third stanza focuses more on the personalities of the women. They talk in different accents and their eating habits are outlined. Annabella 'fasted - pious, passive, enjoyed small talk'. She is religious, feminine and polite, good company to be around. Doris 'feasted - pacy, pushy, would never pray. Ate pork!' The repetition makes Doris sound bold, rude, fat and quite rebellious. Eating pork was shocking to Jewish families, forbidden for their religion. Doris doesn't conform to religion, and Annabella 'told Doris she was damned', suggesting she didn't agree with her, or they didn't like each other. 'I liked Doris, I liked Annabella, though Doris was bossy and Annabella daft'. Abse loved them both, despite their contrasts and faults.
In the fourth stanza recalls a dream with both women in, standing 'back to back, not for the commencement of a duel but to see who was taller'. This suggests a rivalry and competition between the women. They don't to fight but constantly compare themselves with each other. The tone now shifts from being light-hearted to depressing. The sensory memory of 'Eat de Cologne', is part of the stereotypical view of old women, 'buns of grey hair, of withered rose'. These memories of their age 'seem illusory, fugitive, like my dream'. They are just memories, a dream that will only survive through just the photograph because they will be forgotten. 'Sieved through leaky curtains and disappears when and where that sunbeam goes', suggests that memories can go at any time, and come back in thin glances, or occasionally. Nostalgia is unpredictable, and ambiguous. 'Sieved' and 'leaky' imply that time covers memories and only old memories can seep through, details lost and forgotten.
The last stanza is cynical and philosophical, a depressing view of death. 'Two old ladies once uxoriously loved, what's survived?' The women were once loved now they are forgotten, a missed fondness that has come to an end when they die. Abse suggests that only physical items remain to keep them alive, like 'an amber brooch, a string of pearls, two photographs'. This view is sad, that everything is stored in material objects to only view their appearance and their personality is left behind. Abse talks about time, and 'my children's grandchildren' will not remember him, so he 'never lived'. Dead exists in the minds of people and within memories who knew and loved them, if you forget about your family and don't tell younger people then they no longer exist.

Links to Larkin 

Self's the Man links to this poem due to how the two women are contrasted together in the third stanza. The words of their descriptions are placed in the listing device to come across as being far more powerful.
 Larkins poem of Reference Back is able to be similar with Abse with how their is something that triggers of the memory before. For Larkin it was the music sheets whilst in Abse it was the two photographs.
Home Is So Sad and also Mr Bleaney link in well due to how they two women are portrayed as when time and age occur within the poem. Both poems link in due to the description of an unloved house that is messy and alone.
For Sidney Bechet- a celebration of life
love Songs in Age- memory through objects
Wild Oats- Comparing Women
Altogether we see various similarities between the two poets and also see the difference of Larkin placing a more negative aspect of women unlike Abse who is more positive.

The Death of Aunt Alice

Description 

The poem tells the tale of the deceased Aunt Alice, and how she did peculiar and odd acts in her lifetime, ultimately resulting into her death. Moreover, the poem also clarifies how many things used by us in our daily lives are but paths to death, such as Cars, Aeroplanes and Flowers. The poem concentrates on the paths to death and how they are all around us, but also how sometimes these can be quite odd, strange and funny- such as in the stanza 4. Overall, this poem is about the most things in life are waiting to pounce on us and kill us, in the many forms they may occupy- i.e Boeing Planes and how there are other ways to die, some of which are funny and odd-i.e falling down a lift.

Themes:

The Theme of this poem is death and the many paths to it, but the usage of Sarcasm and the touch of Humour is also important when considering the themes of this poem

Language (Effect on Reader):

Abse utilised an assortment of words in a well-considered style, to both introduce sarcasm and to further push this message across of death. Words such as "Spectacular" and "Fords" are most notably used for their easiness and commonness, and so as to further enforce the message. Overall, the language used gives of a casual effect on the reader, and makes the poem seem casual-despite the theme of death.

Imagery (Similes/Metaphors/Personification):

There are many, many images given off in the poem; from Fords to Concrete-Mixers: much imagery is created by Abse. Moreover, most (if not all) important events are accompanied with an adjective so as to give further depth to them, like "pale saints" and "tall stories".

Sound (Rhythm):

There is no rhyme scheme in this poem, all throughout out- such is the same for any sound effect; which is also non-existent.

Structure (Form):

The Poem is around the place- scruffy at times. While it does follow a strict 6 Line a Stanza rule, sometimes Stanzas are sub-headed as points and sometimes words are capitalised (i.e "SPECTACULAR"), whereas others are followed by a random exclamation mark. There are 5 of these Stanzas, all of which are similar in length.

Tone (Narrator):

The tone of the poem is somewhat casual, with notes of sarcasm to battle out the underlying theme of death and the many ways in which it looms over us. Moreover, it seems that someone who knew this "Aunt Alice" and was present at the Funeral is telling the story, one who knew much about her and her wish of an "opera-ending". The sarcasm in the poem accounts for the casual tone, and may itself be an indication of another path to death.

Imitations

Imitations

Theme/Content:

Imitations is a poem about relationships with father and son, and Abse looks at his son and sees himself, and is also reminded that he is a duplicate of his own father. The poem talks about ageing and how time affects relationships and the family as well as reflecting on the past.

Analysis:

'Imitations' means a likeness, impression, or clone of something, likewise what his son is to him.

'This afternoon room' is the the room between light and dark, between hope and darkness and shows the transition of growing up, seeing his teenage son in front of him. 'The other side of the glass' the invisible barrier of age that can make people less connected, stops the room from joining the cold outside. 'Snowflakes whitewash the shed roof and the grass', covered in a blanket of snow, so everything looks fresh, pure and clean. 'Surprised April' could be ambiguous, either the name of his wife or that the spring is surprised that this cold winter has lasted so long. 'An approximate man' at 16 shows he's closer to the actual, he's growing up and Abse feels no longer like much of a father anymore.
 He describes his son as a 'chameleon', changing colour to adapt to the background and fit in to society, his 'soft diamond' an oxymoron that makes him sound beautiful, hard but also forgiving and soft when you get to know him. 'My deciduous evergreen', deciduous meaning the falling of maturity or the dropping of a part no longer needed is the son growing up and blossoming, the evergreen staying green through all the seasons so his son will forever be his child no matter how much he changes, he's withholding the important things but losing his youth.


'Eyes half closed' half asleep, between reality and his dreams, he 'listens to pop forgeries' the upbeat unoriginal songs that the persona doesn't understand his son listening to. The persona doesn't really know his son, and they don't discuss his personal life, whether he 'dreams of some school Juliet I don't know', hoping his son has a romantic side in his youth. 'A blur of white blossom, whiter snow' is more innocent, the white resembling purity and youth, a more positive outlook.
The 'immortal springtime' is an paradox, springtime one season that can't last forever and changes. The future and the past however is immortal and must continue to move forward in life. He's thinking back to when he was his son's age, 'I'm elsewhere and the age my cool son is', realising how old his son is now is the reality. 'My father alive again' is the reminiscing of when his father was alive, them both being together. (I, his duplicate) suggests he's remembered that he is similar to his father. 'Two butterflies stumble' is how the past is untouched and clear, clarified with innocence and purity, and the butterflies symbolise the soul of the departed ones. 'Elastic' is the bond that will never break, even though he's lost his father their connection is still there, and they can move apart but come back together. The future must continue to repeat the past, the cyclical action when accepting differences. 'Pass' suggests it was just a daydream, and he returns to the reality of his son now.

Links to Larkin:

Dockery and Son - memories, past, father and sons, however it is different because the past is accessible this time, both realise how time has gone past in the last stanza
Broadcast - memories and using music to reignite past memories, it joins them together

Sons

Structure 

The poem contains 4 stanzas, each containing 6 lines. All of the stanza's have the rhyme scheme of ABCCDC. 

1. played,way,day
2. wash, clash, brash 
3. hide, abide, countryside
4. quite, night, bright 

Theme:

The poem is about the relationship between father and son, and is highlighted with themes of growing up, youth, time and memories.

Content:

In this poem the persona looks back on his youth but compared himself to his son and his younger self. The similarities between himself and his son make him remember his young self.

Analyzing the poem

The first line of the poem uses alliteration and sibilance, 'sarcastic sons slam front doors', a jokey tone towards his son's moody swings and anger. The persona finds his behaviour amusing, knowing that these teenage things were something he'd do. 'I think of Cardiff outskirts where, once, captured acres played', the persona looks back on how he was in his youth. The persona reflects on his childish, fun games, 'acres' are 'small tamed gardens' suggesting his imagination that his ran wild, still being naive and foolish. 'The concrete way', solid traditions and rules is like society's expectations and ideals that have 'supplanted grass, wild flowers', growing up replacing his youth and having to change. 'Now my son is like that, altering everyday', that his son is now acting like how he did. The son is constantly changing, maturing and growing up with time and this shows that nothing stays the same, that Abse's current self is different to his younger self.
In the second stanza, 'those new semis that seem ashamed' to describe himself. The new semi houses feel out of place and that they don't belong there. This is like the feeling of growing up and discovering yourself, something hard to do in your teenage years where you were confused and 'ashamed' if you didn't fit in. 'The frontier of Nowhere' could suggest in youth wanting to find yourself too. Nowhere is given a capital to make it a place, implying that it's somewhere everyone has been and can relate to. The 'chaos clash' of not knowing anything, of who you want to be and what you want to become. being adolescent was both 'prim and brash'. This juxtaposition of two opposites highlights the changing emotions, and a teenager's confusion of wanting to be independent but also wanting to be looked after, and being mature but acting childish. The question mark shows how uncertain growing up is.
The third stanza is quite philosophical, 'strange a London door should slam and I think thus, of Cardiff evenings'. The reference to London, where his son is currently slamming the door is the same as what he did in his hometown. In Cardiff his son shut the door because he wanted to grow up and explore the world, and the persona thinks it's strange for him to do this. Maybe it's because his son is uncomfortable and unfamiliar in this new place, an outsider. The son takes him back to his own past, and makes him remember his youth. Cardiff is described as 'ruins where ghost abide', an 'awkward Anglo-Welsh half town, half countryside', using opposites to describe his son, not knowing where he is and that he doesn't belong anywhere. He feels 'awkward', and out of place.
'Son, you are like that and I love for it', the persona empathising and understanding his son, representing the good relationship they have. 'In adult rooms the hesitant sense of not belonging quite' shows how his son is trying to be mature but is still in his youth, 'hesitant' to accept he is still a child.
The last three lines seem like a warning, 'Too soon maturity will switch off your night thrust fake electric roots, the nameless becoming wrongly named and your savage darkness bright'. The persona looks back with perspective, his warning is that this will happen to his son too and he should watch what he does. It could imply that his son is going down the wrong path, and the pessimistic view that he will turn out like his father makes it seem like the son's future is limited. 'Darkness bright' is an oxymoron, suggesting that they are together and similar people but are totally different and will have different futures.

Links to Larkin 

"Now my son is like that, altering every day" - Links to Dockery & Son because it links to how father and son are both alike in there youth.

"(The last stanza)"- Looking back with perspective could link to Reference back and Love Songs in Age. 


 This poem links well with Larkin's Dockery & Son because the son in both poems takes the persona back to their own youth, highlighting the similarities between them both. The poem also links to Reference back and Love Songs in Age, this is because the shared music reminds the mother of her youth, much like the persona in Sons.

In the Theatre

Introduction/Context

In the theater is a true story based on the notes of Abse's brother,a dresser to a well-known surgeon.it sets the action of the poem in Wales in 1938 In an operating theater,where the surgeon attempts to locate the brain tumor of a patient who was under local anesthesia. the patient low blood pressure and was lucky to receive anesthetic as usually,in those days a patient wouldn't receive anesthetic and finding the tumor was a "somewhat hit and miss" procedure that seems to have involved looking for it using just your fingers. A grotesque image, but all goes well until the patient, as a "ventriloquist" voice not his own, cries out, "Leave my soul alone, leave my soul alone!" The doctor withdraws from the brain, but the patient then dies, after which the mood in the operating room is shocked and speechless, as "silence matched the silence under snow."

Themes 

• disregard for human life  

Analyzing the text 

Language 

.this poem takes a rather graphic and sarcastic approach towards a very serious subject. examples of this is when in the first 2 lines of the 1st stanza,the nurse says one thing to reassure the patient but means something else. Also as the poem progress' the imagery becomes more graphic with regard to the operation eg

• the fingers of Lambert Rogers, rash as a blind man’s, inside his soft brain.
• more brain mashed because of the probe’s braille path;
• patient’s dummy lips moving to that refrain, the patient’s eyes too wide.

Key quotes 

"if items of horror can make a man laugh"- Abse is cynical as to why humans would find horrific things funny when they aren't.

"more brain mashed"- this is a very graphical image of the surgeon searching away in the brain.

"the cracked record in the brain,"- it is as if the brain now plays a cracked record due to the surgeons actions.

"that voice so arctic and that cry so odd had no where else to go." - this shows us his body is now cold and has nowhere else to hide so escapes through his mouth.

"the words began to blur and slow," - he is slowly dying, like a cracked record.

"to cease at last when something other died" - not just the record and the words have died, but now the patient.

"And the silence matched the silence under snow" - the events have left everyone silent, not just the patient, because he is dead

Use of Imagery 

"the growth still undiscovered, ticking its own wild time" - makes the tumor seem like a bomb

"patients dummy lips" - makes it seem as though the surgeon is a ventriloquist and the patient his puppet.

"antique gramophone"- this shows the voice sounds old now.

"silence under the snow" - it is lifeless underneath the snow which mirrors the atmosphere of the room

Structure 

The poem has 4 stanza's each containing 7 lines in them. The rhyme scheme is different with each stanza, this is because for each stanza the 1st and 4th line rhyme with each other, except the last stanza just repeats the the word on the last line. There are also some odd other rhymes  in the poem such as the 5th and 7th line in the first stanza, and the 6th and 7th line in the second stanza. 

It is a fairly solemn poem and is rather sarcastic as demonstrated by the nurses tone...however it ends rather sad with the repeated phrase "leave my soul alone". 

The Mistake

Introduction 

The Author is describing a strange tree, which is in his back garden. It is described as being ‘rare’ as ‘Welsh gold’. It is described of having healing powers, as it’ll ‘charm away your cold’. It is a treasure. Drought comes - lack of water. The tree is no longer special and 'ordinary walnuts' are sprouted from the tree, and it is 'shamelessly free of disguise.' However, the tree is 'Tired of lies', which shows that it has an enough of the fake fame it has been receiving by man

Themes 

• Nature 
• Life 

Analyzing the text

 Confront the green tree' - personifying the tree, bring it to life.
' Evodia danieli' - giving the tree's name, which is from Korea.
' It's rare as Welsh gold' - this is comparing the tree with 'Welsh gold', which emphasizes how 'Holy' the tree is.
' It'll charm away your cold.' - shows it has healing powers, medicine (powerful).
' Who, in all of Great Britain, possessed such treasure?' - this shows the rarity of this tree.
' Tired of lies' - the tree is 'Tired' of the fake fame it has been getting from humankind.
' Shamelessly free of disguise' - The tree is no longer special.
 Its rare as Welsh gold' - simile - Saying the tree is 'rare as Welsh gold'.
' Confront the green tree' - personification - In a way saying meet it, bringing it to life.

Structure 

The structure of the poem is 4 stanzas, each containing 4 lines. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCB 

The Boasts of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd

Introduction 

 The title of the poem The Boasts of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd has a context background to it.  Hywel ,  (d. 1170), Welsh warrior-prince and poet who was the first to develop the courtly love lyric in Welsh in the manner of the troubadours. Among his eight extant compositions is a gorhoffedd, or “boasting poem,” which gives exuberant expression to his love for his country. The son of Owain Gwynedd, Hywel played a major part in the occupation of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) by the house of Gwynedd (c. 1153).

How this connects with the poem is that the speaker is boasting about all the different women he has been with in only a week

Themes 

• Love - He shows love for each women differently 
• Betrayal- He uses the women then betrays them 
• Unfaithfulness - He does not stay with one women 
• Sex/passion 

Structure 

The structure in the poem seems to be simple, yet unordinary. This as each stanza has different amount of lines in, making it ‘awkward’. Also the two words, ‘’her’’ and ‘’quiet’’ are on a line of there own, perhaps focusing the readers attention on them, specially as the poem is about all the different woman ‘her’, and how not any of them know just how much this man gets around, keeping ‘quiet’. A lot of end stop lines are also used along with enjambment and caesura allowing the speaker control of how the poem is supposed to be read. 

Analysing the text 

my busty next” – describes the first woman very physically, and describes her chest, what he can see and not how he feels and her ‘’whiteness’’, suggesting a pale woman, by comparing her to be better than ‘’pear blossom’’. 

“Not to love her is a sin” – talks about the second woman, and although love is mentioned, it perhaps refers to her physical appearance, and physical actions and not emotion – may not be respecting the woman at hand. The speaker himself also can be seen as a ‘flirt’ and ‘tease’, as she ‘’pigeon-coos” and he knows how to impress her ‘’woo’’ in turn making the woman’s cheeks ‘’flush like rosy apple skin’’.

“dry old hymns” – For the third woman he will go to extents but using hymns to ‘’please her”, as ‘boring’ as they maybe. 

“Friday, worried Hawis my epic regular” – suggesting how this is normally the woman he ‘has’ and thus refers to her being ‘regular’, therefore suggesting, the is your ‘ordinary, everyday woman’ that falls for his ‘’poetry of endearment’’.

‘’let her name be secret’’ – suggesting not only does the speaker go for single woman but also married and only keeping it secret for ‘’husband’s sake’’ – although he himself feels a sense of accomplishment, smug even in what he is doing. 

‘’lick up juices’’ – a sexual innuendo is used, to express his passion, and show his feelings for all the woman, and that he can have who ever he want, along as his ‘’busy tongue keeps quiet’’. 

Welsh Valley Cinema, 1930's

Introduction

This poem is about Abse remembering a trip to the cinema. The poem also talks about the idea that the cinema is in a poor area and is filled with working class families. As well as this is talks about  how the films portray the ideal lifestyle for the audience, however when the film has finished, the audience is brought back to reality and away from the ideal lifestyle.

Themes 

• Dreams/Ideals- This theme is presented by the speaker talking about hot the film being shown is like the life they want to live. "it sank to disappear, as dream, underground". 
• Memories-  this is because the poem is about the speaker recounting a time when they went to the cinema. "I remember it".

 Structure

the structure of the peace is four stanza's each with a different amount of lines. The first stanza has ten lines, the second stanza has 5 lines, the third stanza has 8 lines (including 2 bracket lines) and the fourth stanza has 9 lines. There is no rhyme scheme to the poem.

What each stanza is about (Quotes):

1. This stanza highlights the poverty of the people. " the thrill". This suggests they are exited about watching the film and also suggests their poverty because they are really exited  just to watch a film 
2. This stanza talks about what the films show."sank to disappear, a dream underground". This supports the idea that the audience are being shown their dreams through the films and when it is finished their dream to disappears.  
3. " poor ragged Goldilocks". The idea of a fairy tale being introduced  makes the dreams of the audience/ the film more fake. " Observed a miracle". This highlights  how they are seeing  their ideal life  because they think they are seeing a miracle. " dab away her glycerin tears". The fake tears emphasis how the film only talks about the dreams of the audience. 
4. "till THE END- of course, upbeat". This shows that the film has ended, their dreams have disappeared. The last few lines of the poem become negative e.g. dreary, glum damned ect. 

Extra context

The poem refers to Wales in the 1930's. Abse would be 17. "The Palace"  could be the name of the cinema and there is a Welsh cinema in Haverfordwest called "The Palace". The speaker could be Abse because he is young.  

The Game

Introduction

The Game is a poem which compares the game of football to the Faustian Legend. Abse uses gothic imagery to portray a vivid contrast between the two teams of football players and also between angles and demons. His home team is good which of the side of God, he shows this by using angelic phrases such as 'cherubs' which is referring to angles wings. The away team is bad which is the side of the devil  and refers to 'Mephistopheles'.

Themes 

• Sport 
• Religion
• corruption 
• passing time

Structure

The poem is nine stanzas long each with 5 lines in them. The rhyme scheme of the poem consists of ABCBC. 

What happens in each stanza:

1. gives of an impression in the scene
2. gives of an impression in the scene. Talks about facts and legends of the past. 
3. The game starts. Personal experience made universal. Use of Hellish imagery (heaven vs. hell)
4. There is a superb save by the opposing goalkeeper and then the signal for half timr 
5. Thinks of a past game that happened 
6. the game recommences 
7. Game is continuing. reference to distance in the poem. 
8. The game ends. 

The Faust Legend 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust_legend#Summary_of_the_story

Return to Cardiff

Return to Cardiff is about about Abse returning to Cardiff and how it is changed from when he left. the poems includes the the themes Journey, memory and change. In Return to Cardiff Abse looks back upon his life, growing up in Cardiff but he almost mocks  his immaturity and his anticipation of what to expect. There are 7 stanza's each with four lines in theme. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABCA x7, which shows a sense that the the forth line always returns ti the same rhyme has the first line.

 the first stanza talks about " first everything" which is not a great time and quite a time for adolescents (  a young person in the process of developing from a child into an adult). The second stanza talks about "not as in... gothic dream" which shows that this is not what Abse remembers of Cardiff when he was a boy.  The third stanza of the poem talks about " unfocused voices" which could suggest either the people of Cardiff, or memories from the past that are unfocused . the forth stanza in the poem talks about the people in Cardiff are " strangers, alien and bleak". This shows that Abse is disappointed that the people in Cardiff have changed and are not what they are used to. The fifth stanza is just one big extended simile about the "city of strangers".  The sixth stanza talks about Abses memories which is Only real this smell of rip, damp earth when the some comes out. This is Abses memories of everyday smell.

Down the M4

Down the M4 

Down the M4 is about Abse who is going to south Wales to see his mother, who he thinks is dying and is afraid that there will be be bad news when he arrives. The themes of the poem include: 

• Journey 
• Old Age 
• Death 

  The poem contains 4 stanza each with four lines.

what the stanza's are about 

1. The first stanza is about Abse being surprised that he is going back to South Wales to see his mother, because he is afraid of what will happen. He also talks about his mothers friends and his Aunties/Uncles who are also dying " one by one" because they to are really old. He also says that his mother is in her " ninth decade". 
2. the second stanza talks about time however focus's on his mother. He says that every-time he visits she tells a boring story of clocks that makes him feel old. 
3. the third stanza talks about his " mother's mother, and reflects on her accent and what she said in the past. 
4. the last stanza links back to the title of the poem because it talks about " driving down the M4". He looks back at his life and talks about being Welsh and being a Jew. 

Links to Larkin 

• Here - journey of thoughts and they both talk Larkin talks about there surroundings and isolation.
• Old Age. This is because the women in 'Old Age' wants to go back in time because they dont want to die but in this they are not scared of death.  

Red Balloon

Red Balloon

In Red Balloon Abse talks about his beliefs in his religion which is Jewish. The poem talks about other peoples opinions on him because of his religion and the bullying that he it caused him. The structure of the poem is 10 stanza's, each with 4 lines in them.

The Red Balloon suggests a number of things for the poem:

• Vibrancy
• happiness
• Hope
•  freedom
•  innocence
• His Religious Beliefs about being a Jew 
• The red balloon could have a similarity to the girl in the red coat in Schindler's list

The Girl in the Red Coat

The girl in the red coat is the most obvious symbol in Schindler’s List, simply because her coat is the only color object, other than the Shabbat candles, presented in the main body of the film. To Schindler, she represents the innocence of the Jews being slaughtered. He sees her from high atop a hill and is riveted by her, almost to the exclusion of the surrounding violence. The moment Schindler catches sight of her marks the moment when he is forced to confront the horror of Jewish life during the Holocaust and his own hand in that horror. The little girl also has a greater social significance. Her red coat suggests the “red flag” the Jews waved at the Allied powers during World War II as a cry for help. The little girl walks through the violence of the evacuation as if she can’t see it, ignoring the carnage around her. Her oblivion mirrors the inaction of the Allied powers in helping to save the Jews. Schindler later spots her in a pile of exhumed dead bodies, and her death symbolizes the death of innocence.  (http://www.sparknotes.com/film/schindlerslist/themes.html)

The poem 

In the first couple of stanza's in the poem, Abse talks about the balloons journey over different places, until " it landed where I stood". At first Abse is confused about the balloon and therefore confused about his religion.  In the third stanza Abse says that " It was my same and it was my joy", this suggests that Abse is told to be a christian like his friends but he wants to be a Jew like his family.  It also suggests that Abse feels humiliated by people by being a Jew, however he really enjoy's being a Jew. The sixth stanza talks about Abse's best friend, who is christian and is saying the being a Jew is wrong and evil to God. The seventh stanza talks about being "circumcised" which is to purify spiritually, this means that he wants to purify Abse of Judaism.

The eighth stanza talks about boys trying to destroy his religion, however Abse is fighting for his religion and will not stop being a Jew just because people are threatening him. The last two stanza;s are about the boys destroying Abse's belief in being a Jew because he is different from them.          

Comparisons  to Larkin:

• Faith Healing because it also talks about religion. 

Leaving Cardiff

Leaving Cardiff is about Abse leaving Cardiff and he feels that he does not want to go. The poem contains  5 stanzas each with 4 lines in them. The themes in the poem include change and belonging because he knows he belongs in Cardiff and that when he comes back things would have changed. The rhyme scheme of the peom is ABAC,ABCC,ABAB,ABAB,ABAB. This change in rhyme scheme suggests the change in Cardiff and the change in himself.

The first stanza talks about his feeling towards Cardiff and that he finds the sea relaxing. The next stanza in the poem ,Abse questions why he is leaving Cardiff and talks about familliar souroundings as if he will never see them again  . In the third stanza Abse feels sad that he is leaving as he  says " my eyes,, like spaces, fill, and the knots of the water floww, pump to my eyes and spill".and he talks about leaving his childhood behind in Cardiff. The forth stanza says that if Abse stays in Cardiff, he cannot be the person he wants to be. In the fianl stanza, Abse knows that when he comes back to cardiff, things would have changed, wich is why he does not want to leave.

The poem makes links to Larkin poems:

• Whitson Weddings
• Here

The is because in these poems They also talk abou there sourroundings.
 
more info
http://poetryandsuchlike.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/leaving-cardiff.html

As Bad as a mile

The poem is about eating a apple and trying to throw it in the bin and missing it. In the poem Larkin shows  at the start of the poem, that they (the people who are throwing the apple core) are going to miss the bin. This is because Larkin says " Striking the basket, skidding across the floor". The poem is written backwards because at the end of the poem the apple is "unbitten" which shows that they have not eaten the apple yet even though at the start of the poem they have and thrown it in the bin/ This shows that at the start of the poem the apple is predestined to fail.

This little poem with simple aaa bbb rhyme scheme is about failure. The description in the poem is of the “shied core” of an apple, “striking the basket” and “skidding across the floor”. It’s an image we can all relate to, and one that might set one over the edge: after a bad day, it all builds into the simple failure of missing the bin with an apple core. The word “failure” is stressed by the enjambment, (a feature common in Larkin’s poetry) appearing at the beginning of the second stanza.

 The poem has religious connotations because in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve. That Fall was the pinnacle of failure, and as with every other image, irreversible. It also shows that every throw is doomed to fail. Though short, ‘As Bad as a Mile’ is an effective metaphor for the idea of irrevocable failure and includes the themes repetition, Spiritual, and failure. 

Take one Home for the Kiddies Take One Home for the Kiddies

The title of the poem sounds really nice and the reference to Kiddies shows innocence and playfulness. The reference to " one" is a pet that the mother is taking home to her children to look after. the results of this is what the poem is about.  In the title Larkin is mocking and being sarcastic when he says " Kiddies", because Larkin actually thinks that the children are brats, Heartless and careless. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABAB, which is a small and simple rhyme scheme almost like/for a child.    

The first stanza talks about the life of the pet in the pet store and how it is being treated. The stanza starts by talking about "shallow straw" to show that it is uncomfortable and has a cruel life. The " shade less glass shows that there is no privacy for the pet and that is is unprotected from the outside world. The second line shows that the animal gets its warmth by huddling with the other animals (like  penguins) and that they have " empty bowls" which suggests that is does not get much food and is not being cared for. The next line, the constant repetition of “no” enforces the deprivation, with “no dam” means “no mother” and "no grass" means nothing natural. The final line of the stanza is the first piece of dialogue, the children’s words with the working class (formal) language“Mam”. The child’s speech shows an innocence that only comes in childhood, demanding one “to keep”. He or she doesn't appreciate that the animal will eventually die, believing in “always”. The comical speech is a sharp contrast to the dark image of suffering painted in the previous lines.

The second stanza starts of with "Living toys" which refers to the animals and shows that the children are treating the pet like toys. In the second line is shows that the kids have gotten bored of the pet (like toys). the third line " Fetch the shoebox, fetch the shovel" shows that the the pet is dead and they are going to bury it in the garden. In the last line of the poem the children are speaking again and they say " Mam we're playing funerals now.", this suggests that the kids are heartless and that the pet dying is just another game for them. In the end the pet died out of neglect because the kids treated it as a toy rather than a living thing.

In the poem, Larkin represents the children as spiolt and demanding by using imperatives. The poem could aslo been seen as Larkin having a rant about working class people and there behavior towards others.

The poem could be about

• the cruelty of keeping pets 
• the cruelty of children
• playing vs living or doing something serious.      

Days

Days-Philip Larkin 

The themes of the poem include Madness, Boredom and Repetition.  Larkin also uses the constant theme of mortality and the pointless brevity of life.

The first line of the poem "what are days for?" is a rhetorical question that Larkin asks himself. In the rest of the stanza Larkin answers his question by saying what days do and personifying them by using the word "they".

In the second stanza Larkin says  that " solving the question Brings the priest and the doctor". the priest represents birth and it also represents the death of things as well, which shows the life and death of days. The doctor on the other hand prevents death. The final line in  the poem " Running over the fields" suggest that it his an emergency like 'Ambulances' for example. it also suggests that they are ruing nature because they are " running over fields".

The answer to the first question: "Days are where we live", implies a matter of fact, placatory tone as the simple question is answered by an equally simple (though worrying) answer. At first, the voice appears to be kindly, positive even, telling the questioner that days are "to be happy in." In the final lines of the poem, this second voice adopts a worldly, macabre tone, almost mocking and cruel, as it dryly observes that the only place people can inhabit, apart from days, is death.

The word "days" is repeated three times and this repetition forces the reader to think about the meaning of the word. In line two, the speaker tells the questioner "Days are where we live", raising interesting questions about the nature of time, how it is measured and its artificiality. Days are not a place, not a "where", but a when and it is this paradox that leads to the bleak response to the second question. Once a person no longer has any days left to live in, the only other place that person can occupy will be the grave.

The chief theme in "Days" is the futility of existence. As in many of his poems, Larkin examines with brutal honesty the inevitable truth that all life must end in death. The single image in the poem is of "the priest and the doctor" coming "running over the fields". This disturbing image implies that once a person has run out of days, the only solution is death, and if this is the case, then what is the point of filling endless days with living?

The only detail in the poem is the line that describes the "long coats" of the priest and doctor. This makes them appear sinister, frantic individuals, hurrying across fields towards they dying patient. Their haste seems indecent, as if they are greedy for death, not intent upon healing, or comforting.

 Larkin is no sentimentalist, but in sharing his fears and doubts, at least there is a commonality of despair and a community of hopelessness

Ignorance

Ignorance-Philip Larkin

The title of the poem "Ignorance", means that the person has a lack of knowledge and refuses to believe in anything else. Ignorance’ cuts to the heart of the collection’s doubtfulness about the future.

The first stanza of the poem talks about Larkin feeling strange to not know something and to be uncertain about something. He talks about being unsure "Of what is true or right or real".  

In the second stanza, Larkin continues to be unsure by saying "strange to be ignorant of the way things work", which suggests that the way life works is strange and Larkin is unsure about it. In the stanza is also suggests that people are unsure of life and what they need to know. 

The last stanza shows that people wear knowledge which means they know things, but they still don't understand why they the things happen. There is also a paradox at the beginning of the stanza and the end which is " Even to wear such knowledge... Have no idea why", which is what i just said. 

Te poem is filled with tentative and uncertain phrases which shows that Larkin is unsure himself. Overall the poem is about the uncertainty of life and that you do not understand the purpose of life, or the future. 

 Larkin comments on how strange it is ‘never to be sure / Of what is true or right or real’. This, and the question about death in the last stanza, point to religious doubt – Larkin was an agnostic – but also social uncertainty. The second stanza, which describes ignorance of ‘the way things work’ (a vague subject) ‘their sense of shape, and punctual spread of seed’ suggests again Larkin as an observer, noting others’ instinctive identity and reproduction, but unable to participate without questioning these. The body (‘flesh’) is predetermined, but the reason for life remains a mystery.

Home is so Sad

Home is so Sad

Home is so sad by Philip Larkin is a poem about a house that is personified ( anthropomorphism)  as a person who is sad. The themes in the poem include loneliness and negation and is a sad poem, based on Larkin’s return to his family house.

Summary

The first stanza in the poem is about the homes's feelings by saying that the "Home is sad". It also shows that the house is a dump because " it stays as it was left" which shows that Larkin left the house in a dump and it has been that way until Larkin came back. The stanza continues by saying that all it wanted to do was to comfort and to please those that it sheltered. The house is broken hearted and been left to rote and decay away.

The second stanza starts of with Larkin saying that the house feels unfamiliar to what it was before, and he wants to change it back to what it used be. Larkin then describes objects in the house ("pictures, cutlery, music, piano stool, vase") to show different memories of events that happened in the house that were happy and cheerful. However the poem is not about the home being sad, it instead is about Larkin being sad at home.  

analysis

Throughout the two stanzas, there is a lack of adjectives and imagery, such as the final list: “Look at the pictures and the cutlery. The music in the piano stool.” Larkin chooses to strip this description to the bare minimum in order to make in more universal; it could be anyone’s lost home.

The house is personified throughout the poem, “It stays as it was left” “As if to win them back” “bereft / Of anyone to please, it withers so”. This personification adds to the sensitivity of the poem, and when it “withers” it is as if the house is dying, and persona feels the sadness of this loss. “Bereft”, in particular, is emotive, with its duel meaning of “without” and also “a sense of loss”. The house, for the persona, has been robbed of its inhabitants, “theft”, and no longer as “heart” to “turn again to what it started as”.

Yet, in the final stanza, that idea of “how things ought to be” for the house, even in the past, was merely “a joyous shot”, “long fallen wide”. Like the ‘Whitsun Weddings’ there is much promise in the idea of “home”, yet like marriage in that poem, it doesn't quite deliver. The “music in the piano stool”, similarly, reminds us of love’s failure in ‘Love Songs in Ages’.

“Home is so sad” because while time passes outside, it remains frozen within, a snapshot of how life once was. Those memories burst out on examination, but the house now, just as it was unable then, isn’t quite able to live up to its expectations.

Wild oats

This poem is based upon the only woman Larkin came close to marriage with: his first girlfriend Ruth Bowman. She had a friend called Jane, who is the model for the “bosomy English rose”, while sixteen-year-old Ruth was “her friend in specs I could talk to”.  The idea of “specs” reminds us of ‘A Study of Reading Habits’, because its about the tending to undervalue oneself and one's abilities poem, and in its way, this isn't . The title ‘Wild Oats’ comes from a common euphemism for sex: an encouragement for boys to go out and ‘saw some wild oats’ – sleep with lots of women before getting serious. During the 1950s, there was still a real dichotomy between males and females: men were encouraged to ‘get out there’, while women were advised to remain chaste.

Considering ‘A Study of Reading Habits’ and Larkin, though, this seems a somewhat ironic title: no matter the adolescent fantasies of the persona in ‘A Study’, Larkin doesn't seem the type to have cast many. Immediately in this poem, the persona is intimidated by the “rose” and “it was the friend I took out”. 

In the first stanza Larkin talks about two women where he works at. The first one is " a bosomy english rose" which is the one that Larkin fancies, however Larkin is not confident to talk to her and intimidated by her. The other one is the " friend in specs", this women is the one Larkin does not fancy but she is the one "I could talk to".  However Larkin decides that " it was the friend i took out". 

The second stanza says that the relationship lasted "seven years", which is a long time considering that you are in love with her friend and not her. They gave each other over "four hundred letters" and they tried to break up five times but it never went through in the end. 

In the final stanza Larkin admits that he has done wrong by saying " I was too selfish, withdrawn, And easily bored to love, then they break up with each other.  After twenty years though, Larkin still wants his fantasy girl however he knows that he cannot get her. 

Larkin uses objectification of women, because he says that he loves the "bosomy english rose" because of er looks and not her personality. The poem itself is about unwanted life and unsatisfied life. It is also about Love  

 http://www.writework.com/essay/analyzing-wild-oats-philip-larkin 

Water

Philip Larkin was an acknowledged agnostic, but also a poet seemingly fascinated by the Christian faith. Larkin is quoted as saying, after reading the bible: “It’s absolutely bloody amazing to think that anyone ever believed any of that. Really, it’s absolute balls. Beautiful, of course. But balls.” The very contradiction in terms of describing something as “beautiful”, yet also “balls” indicates a man who, although not of faith, found the subject of religion very interesting, and an irresistible creative influence. Larkin’s intriguing view on religion is apparent throughout his poem, Water, which itself is a beautiful and multi-faceted piece. The poem is, at first, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek account of how Larkin would adjust the religious institution to better suit his views. Upon deeper analysis, however, the poet seems somewhat mocking of his subject.

Larkin is very quick to reveal his non-religious standpoint in Water. The very idea that one could ‘construct a religion’ (Line 2) immediately implies religion to be a mere fabrication – a man made concept. This could be considered a rather firm dig at the church, reducing it to fiction and fantasy. This is very indicative of Larkin’s position of non-faith and his intention to encourage his reader to question their religious beliefs. The use of ‘fording’ (Line 5), however, is much gentler, although highly significant. The word is carefully chosen, as it leads the reader to view religion as escapism. In effect Larkin suggests that the church offers safe passage, perhaps to death, and helps one to accept the facts of life. The author is appreciating that religion is a pleasant comfort for some, although he, himself, does not appreciate it. Larkin is imparting his very strong opinions on religion by his selection of words with distinct connotations. The reception of these opinions could vary depending on the beliefs of the reader, but Larkin’s tone could easily be considered controversial and this was likely his intent. The poem is aimed to challenge religion and its followers. It is interesting to note that in one breath Larkin seems to strike at religion, yet in the next he seems to soften the blow with a certain air of understanding. He seems to say, ‘Religion is nonsense, but I appreciate what its uses are.’
The poem has an atmosphere throughout, which is rather aloof and disdainful. Larkin seems to scoff at religion as an institution. The grand, ever contentious subject of religion is briefly and whimsically mused over for a mere thirteen lines, as if it warranted no more of his time. This is compounded by the gentle, blasé and lazy rhythm, which flows like water itself, somewhat irregularly, but in a manner which seems to make perfect scientific sense. The first three lines seem to gush quite freely, yet the alliterative ‘dry, different’ (Line 6) and ‘devout drench’ (Line 9) seem to imitate, almost onomatopoeically, the slow drip-dripping of a tap, allowing the reader longer to dwell on these lines.
Larkin makes direct reference to science with ‘Where any-angled light/Would congregate endlessly.”(Lines 12-13) This is seemingly a reference to the theory of refraction appearing to capture light within the glass of water. Science is often coined as an opponent to religion and Larkin is aligning himself and his own religion alongside it. This is another strong anti-religious statement, yet the religious reference of ‘congregate’ (Line 13) indicates Larkin is pulling his punches again somewhat. He seems to suggest that it is acceptable for science and spirituality to coexist peacefully, both in the world and within a person’s mind.

Larkin’s utilisation of the first person perspective is a highly charged tool which has a distinct effect. To speak of recreating religion in the first person and in such a matter-of-fact way seems to elevate the author to godlike status. The arrogant and conceited idea is supported by the seeming honesty of the message. The perspective leads to a feeling of real sincerity, as if the reader is being spoken to personally. Larkin seems to laugh at religion and really means it. The effect of this upon a religious reader could be of real shock and outrage. The very fact that Larkin is seeking to change religion rather than abolish it altogether, though, suggests that his attack is against Christianity or organised religion, as opposed to the idea of a god or spirituality itself.

The use of water throughout the poem is a powerful symbolism. Larkin parallels religion and water in: ‘And I should raise in the east/A glass of water’ (Lines 10 – 11). He substitutes the blood of Christ, as presented during Holy Communion, for water. By replacing blood or wine with water, Larkin removes religion’s colour, potency and flavour. This is a very potent message, which suggests that religion is impure. Larkin is hinting that religion should perhaps be more transparent. The message being expressed is that religion is inherently corrupt due to it being man made. Water, being the pure, natural, life giving substance that it is, would be a cleansing force to rid religion of its many flaws and downfalls. ‘A furious devout drench’ (Line 9) is supportive of the idea of cleansing. The line is representative of a baptism, but the word ‘furious’ is of particular significance. The suggestion is that Larkin is angry at the state of religion, but he feels that vigorous washing with water could purify it. Larkin is suggesting that organised religion is no longer truly spiritual due to it being so strict and controlled by men. If it were given the freedom, purity and clarity of nature’s power, water, then perhaps it would be more useful and godly.

The depth of this poem is disguised somewhat by its brevity. Some other interpreters have seemed to allow as short a time for their analysis as it takes to read Water. It is easy for one to hastily and flippantly describe the work as ‘a comment on religion’ (Anderson 2004), yet it somehow falls far short of doing justice to the piece. More than simply being a comment, it is a distinct expression of an ideology. The poem gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of the poet.

To conclude, Water is an intentionally enigmatic piece. Larkin seems to toy with his reader, whether they are religious or not. The underlying message is that religion seems a foolish fancy, yet one cannot dismiss or ridicule it fully, due to the power it holds over so many people and the fact that one can never be absolutely certain whether or not God exists. Larkin seems at ease with the idea of there being a God, but not with the way organised religions manipulate this idea. A deeply religious audience may find much at fault with Larkin’s egotistical opinions of their church. An atheist reader of this poem may feel slightly disappointed that Larkin seems to hold back from a knockout blow on occasion. It is Larkin’s uncertainty, however, which makes the poem so beautiful. The lack of a totally clear-cut message mirrors the beliefs of the poet. As an agnostic, Larkin had not dismissed spirituality completely, even though he did not embrace Christianity.