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.