A Winter Visit- Dannie Abse

Key Themes: Death, Time, Love, Ageing, Life Decisions
Links To Larkin: Dockery & Son, Love Songs In Age, Reference Back
Summary Of 'A Winter Visit': The persona in the poem talks about the way that the one they care about is getting old and talk about dying, and the persona can't show emotion as they must remain professional. Furthermore it talks about the way time passes so quickly and how much can happen even if you don't really acknowledge it, and how small things can trigger memories. Also Abse uses a consistent rhyme scheme throughout the poem as the first and the last line of each stanza rhymes, which Larkin did in some of his poems. However Abse differs from Larkin as he doesn't have a philosophical shift at the end of the poem, so this entire poem is based on a concrete idea and we know what he's talking about. Furthermore Abse doesn't appear to use personification or bring inanimate objects to life in anyway, which Larkin tends to do. This poem also seems to be more personal to the persona than Larkin's and it seems as though Abse/persona has more vivid memories and more close to the person that is being talked about in the poem.

Last Visit To 198 Cathedral Road

Key Themes:  Memories, Death, Life Decisions

Links To Larkin: Love Songs In Age

Summary Of 'Last Visit To 198 Cathedral Road': In this poem the persona is returning to an old house of some significance to them, such as a dead relative/close friend, from their childhood or something similar. The poem later suggests that the persona sits in his father's old armchair, so the house was probably either their father's or parents or where they lived as a child. The persona then goes onto flash the torch around to see what is in the room. Throughout stanza 2 Abse uses personification is used frequently, as the fruit bowl is described as 'awakened' , the vase is 'yawning' and the pattern is 'running' up the curtain. So it's as though this house died when the owner passed away or left it, but now someone is in it, it's all come to life again, this then suggests that the persona isn't alone in the room as all the objects are becoming personified, so it could be that the spirit or ghost of the deceased relative is trying to say that they're still here. Furthermore Abse could be suggesting that the person in the poem has a close connection with the objects as they were a part of his life for so long. 

The Malham Bird

Key Themes: Life Decisions, Choices, Religion

Links To Larkin: 

Summary Of 'The Malham Bird':  The structure of the poem is similar to Larkin's style as in the 4th stanza it seems to have a philosophical shift, also both Abse and Larkin use metaphors to show their views, thoughts, feelings, opinions etc. Unlike Larkin, Abse has a different view as he shows himself to be a religious man whereas Larkin comes across as quite an atheist. We can see that Abse seems to be a religious person by 'I a Jew' and also The Malham Bird is a religious symbol and it's something that Jewish people believe in. Although we can't say these are definitely Abse's views, as Abse could use a persona to portray his thoughts/feelings/beliefs etc. However this poem does seem more personal than any of Larkin's poems. 

In this poem the bird seems to be symbolising choice and freedom by making the correct decisions that are honest and the right thing to do in life, as these can be the difference between having a very good life and having either an average or bad life. But because the 'Malham Bird' makes the right choice it gets to be immortal and live in paradise for the rest of it's life, so is suggesting that if we follow this we can live in paradise for the rest of life and that we can go and be immortal in heaven.

A Scene From Married Life

Key Themes: Love, Decay, Marriage,

Links To Larkin: Afternoons, The Whitsun Weddings, Talking In Bed

Summary Of 'A Scene From Married Life': Throughout this poem it seems to talk about the decay of marriage. It has some similarities to Larkin as many of Larkin's poems use nature to make a big philosophical shift just as this poem does. However it does have it's differences as Larkin's poems seem a lot more realistic and aren't as in depth as Abse's, also they aren't as personal as Abse's. Furthermore in this poem metaphors seem to be used to describe emotions, and feelings such as 'our own cold wars' this helps to show the significance of events in their lives so that it gives the reader an idea of what it feels like to them. But this is a fairly personal metaphor to use as it describes the way it affects the couple and the way that they feel about the impact of the argument.