At Ogmore-by-Sea this August Evening - Abse

From within the first stanza we see a description of something positive. There is the description of the 'estuary'. From this word we get the idea of something small being a lot bigger in the world. This links to the poem by Larkin Here where the persona looks out towards the beach and thinks about this never ending freedom, we get the same connotations through the estuary in this poem. There is also a room described as 'darker than the darkening evening'. This could be reflective of self environment and the personality of the owner could reflect the description of the room much like in the poem by Larkin Mr Bleaney.

We also get the reference to 'music' in the second stanza, however it 'summons night' which could suggest something negative or dark. We also get further negative connotations through when the 'sun sinks to Australia' suggesting that it is now far away reinforcing that there is no hope. We also get a mention of a 'death boat' in this stanza. This could represent a loss that is remembered through the music being played and through this link to Reference Back by Larkin.

We get a contrast in stanza three with the word 'carnival' considering the dark nature to this poem. 'No foghorns howl', animals usually howl when they are in distress conveying this idea of the loss of somebody in this poem. Towards the end of this stanza the persona is reminiscent of his father through the quote 'Here, father, here tonight we'll catch a bass or two, or dabs, or cod'. This is similar to the poem by Larkin Home is So Sad where Larkin remembers his mother through material objects in her house that she used to own.

Within the last stanza we get the comment that only his father's skeleton stands, reinforcing this theme of death. On a positive note however it could suggest the son remembers the father even though he is not in the flesh anymore. The record also stops in the last stanza and we are left with the 'tumult of sea'. This suggests that the music itself reminds the son of his father and when it stops he is back to usual everyday reality.