Ambulances by Phillip Larkin

This poem has a very depressing message and it is mainly about death as many of Larkin's poems are. The rhyming pattern is repeated in all of the stanzas which could suggest that death is inevitable also the fact that the rhythm is a heart beat, again highlighting the inevitability of death. sometimes there are half rhymes which are less satisfying than full rhymes, maybe suggesting that life is not overly satisfying. Larkin says 'That lies just under all we do' maybe he is talking about death and this is suggesting that death could come at any time and it could happen to anyone. At the end of the poem we expect the last word to be die as it rhymes with 'by' but instead we get the word 'are' this could be Larkin's way of saying that death is not the end and that there is life beyond death. This is not a view that we would typically expect from Larkin.

Musical Moments 1 and 2

1)This poem appears to be about a young boy trying to escape his piano lessons and his piano teacher 'the upright piano teacher, knocks at the front door the boy's at the back door' this suggests that he is trying to get a way from the teacher he also 'nimbly scales the wall'. the image is created of the boy sitting inside and 'hearing in the park the pointless cries of children' this is suggestive of him being trapped in his house for a piano lesson that he does not want to take part in. The description 'a coffin of music' could possibly be foreshadowing what is to come in the next poem.

2) This poem appears to be about the death of the afore mentioned piano teacher 'Miss Crouch'. Although Abse states 'your going does not touch me deeply' he is obviously affected by her death and I think that he regrets trying to escape from her lessons 'sounding regret and then again regret'.  He also appears to appreciate her now compared to when he was younger 'you were so unassuming and gentle' which is something that he did not realise when he was younger. He almost seems to have a great respect for her now- more than 50 years later, 'yes, you and the piano triumphantly rising between the clouds higher and higher.'. This leaves the reader with a grand and happy image of this old lady, almost as if she is where she belongs, in a better place.

A Winter Visit

This poem is about Larkin's mother towards the end of her life. The fact that it is winter "too cold" could be symbolic of this. He talks bout peacocks and says that "from one pale dot of peacocks sperm, spring forth all the colours of the peacocks tail." this could be referring to the fact that life still remains in his mother and she still has the potential to live a fulfilling life. Also in the poem it says "for i inhabit a white coat, not a black even here" this shows that although Abse will mourn his mother, he will not be sombre because she no longer enjoyed life. This poem reminds me of 'Reference Back' as he also talks of his mother and remembers her life.

The Malham Bird

This poem is clearly reminiscent of the first holiday that Abse and his wife shared together and possibly was written after her death. Throughout the poem a seagull is mentioned 'a love message, as if Dafydd's ghost had sent it' Dafydd could be referring to the famous welsh poet from the middle ages who mainly wrote about love and nature. He could possibly be a hero of Abse's and therefore he could be describing the seagull as a blessing from him. Towards the end of the poem the bird almost becomes less lighthearted. He describes the bird and 'how it took advice, closed it's eyes resolute, when others pecked forbidden fruit'. This could be a symbol for Abse's marriage as it 'stayed' with him and 'the forbidden fruit' could possibly be a metaphor for cheating on your partner and it could be showing that this happened in other people's marriages but not his own. This poem reminds me of many poems by Larkin as it goes into a more psychological meaning towards the end it does not however bring a specific poem to mind as this poem is very personal and not many of Larkin's poems are.

Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road

I think that this poem is about Dannie Abse visiting the house where his mother and father lived (possibly where he grew up) after they have died. Abse uses the word 'dark' a lot in the poem which sets the mood as being very sombre and it also could signify death. He also uses the word 'freakish' to describe the light covering the room from his torch which suggests that it is abnormal for there to be light in the room as it has been left dark for so long it also appears to disturb the natural way of the room. The 'living room' is also described as the 'dying room' By Abse suggesting  decay and also loss for the poet. It is almost as if Abse is trying to contact or his parents by going back to there home but failing to do so 'not one comforting diminutive sound'.
       This poem reminds me very much so of Reference back by Phillip Larkin as it is also about him remembering his mother and thinking about her however he seems to distance himself from the situation whereas Abse lets the reader know his inner most thoughts.

A Scene From Married Life

I think that this poem is about a particular disagreement within Dannie Abse's marriage and how he feels when he and his wife argue. I think it is different to Larkin's poems because it describes feelings and you are much more involved with Abse's thoughts than when you are reading a poem by Larkin. However this poem does remind me of Talking in bed by Larkin although 'A Scene from Married Life' goes into much more detail than Larkin ever does.

Dannie Abse and His Poetry.

Dannie Abse was born in Cardiff, Wales on 22nd September 1923 to a Jewish family, the younger brother of politician and reformer Leo Abse and eminent psychoanalyst Wilfred Abse. Before becoming a poet Abse was a doctor and studied at the University of Wales College of Medicine, Westminster Hospital Medical School and King's college London. He then went onto become a chest specialist in London.
         Abse published his first poetic volume in 1949 it was called After Every Green Thing. His first autobiographical work was called Ash On a Young Man's sleeve published in 1954. Dannie Abse lived in North West London for many decades and wrote in the local newspaper for Hampstead where he lived. His wife was killed in a car crash in 2005 in which he suffered a broken rib, this tragedy sparked him to write The Presence a memoir of the year after his wife died published in 2007 and a poetry collection called Running Late in 2006.