The Malham Bird (For Joan) - Abse

The structure of this poem is similar to Larkin. The first three stanzas convey a rather concrete idea across to the reader, whereas the last two stanzas convey a more philosophical idea to this poem.. Larkin and Abse also both use metaphors to show their views, this gives their poems a more abstract nature to them. Unlike Larkin, Abse conveys more positive views about love, that it is actually genuine love and it is not just a facade that seems to be the case with Larkin. We have also got the religious imagery that is highlighted in a lot of other Abse poems as well. We can see this through the first stanza where he says 'I a jew'. The Malham Bird also has some significence in this poem as well, as it is a religious symbol to Judaism and it is something that they beleive in. Again through this poem, we get a sense that Abse conveys his feelings in a more intimate manner than that of Larkin. The difference is that Larkin usually uses the persona, which confuses the reader into how Larkin is really feeling and makes Larkin's feelings seem less personal.

Firstly, the poem is called The Malham Bird. This has some significence as The Malham Bird is a Jewish legend that The Malham Bird of Eden obeyed the commandment not to eat off the forbidden fruit and so lives forever in paradise. This meant that it could not taste the joys of the world, and one example of this would be marriage. During the last part of the stanza we get the reinforcement that the couples love is very intimate. 'In love-you a Gentile and I a Jew!' Considering that a Gentile is a person who isn't Jewish it justs shows that they can still love one another, even if their beliefs are different. This shows a strong connection of love between the two people.

The second stanza reinforces this strong nature of love. Abse starts this stanza off with 'Dear Wife'. This shows that he cares a lot about her and is showing this through recalling all of the memories they had with one another during their holiday. 'The rented room, the hidden beach in Wales, the tame seagull that seemed portent'. This is very descriptive detail of the hoilday that they once had together. Abse remembers all of the details very clearly so it's obvious that he treasures this memory as it reminds him of his intimate love that he feels for his wife. Abse seems to be recalling memories with his wife, these happy memories enable his wife to live on, as she died in a car crash recently.

Within the third stanza Abse seems to use a metaphor to represent his wife's sudden death. 'Two chalk lines kiss and slowly disappear'. This just shows how quickly things can change in life. Someone can be there one minute, then they can be gone the next. Abse is commenting that make the most of what you have got because it won't last forever. When it comes to death, Larkin seems to have a more depressing view on it. He thinks there is no life after death. However, Abse uses positive imagery within this stanza to enable his wife to live on inside him. She may be dead, but Abse still has the ability to remember her and this is how she keeps on living in his mind.

The fourth stanza of this poem then moves onto a more philosophical meaning and this is similar to how Larkin structures his poems. This stanza moves onto the theme of choices. 'When others singing pecked forbidden fruit'. The forbiddent fruit in this quote symbolises the wrong choice made by the bird. However it 'pecked' it and it is 'singing'. This shows that the birds are actually happy with the choice they have made, even if it is the wrong one. The bird is used to convey that as humans we think we have made the right life choice, however sometimes without realising it, we may have made the wrong one. It acts as a metaphor that everyone makes different life choices in life, therefore each life choice you make will have different consequence. This poem is about making the right choice in life. This bird that they meet followed the rules yet they talk about other birds singing and making the right choice. The theme of life choices can be closely linked to many Larkin poems. A few of these would include 'Dockery and Son', 'Self's the Man' and 'Wild Oats'.

Within the last stanza it is clear that one bird has made separate choices from all of the other birds. The bird has made different choices to the other birds which has resulted in it ending up alone. However it is now 'forever winging over the vanished gardens of paradise'. This is something positive because it is now flying around the gardens of paradise and is also now 'immortal'. Again the birds in this poem are an accurate representation of human life choices. When making life choices don't just follow the crowd because that may not get you the best outcome in life. However if you are like the bird who made the different decison to that of the other birds, then you may be more succesful in life because through making your own life choice you know what is better for you.

This poem can link to the poem 'The Whitsun Weddings' due to the fact that love is represented postively in both of the poems. This can also link to the poem 'As Bad as a Mile' where there is a reference to the Garden of Eden. However, in As Bad as a Mile Larkin is a lot more negative through his portryal of failure in life.