Nothing To Be Said - Larkin

From within the first stanza of this poem we get a negative portrayal of life. The whole of this stanza highlights the fact that wherever you come from in the world and whatever we do with our lives you will die one day. This reinforces Larkin's idea that is there any point in making the right life choices if we are all just going to die one day. Larkin also comments that 'life is slowly dying' reinforcing this idea that everyone is slowly dying in life and no one not even religion can prevent this from happening. This view further reinforces Larkin's beliefs as a person.

The second stanza represents the view that we do stuff in life to deter from the idea of death. This is represented through the quote 'So are their separate ways of building, benediction, measuring love and money, ways of slowly dying'. 'So are their separate ways' links to this idea of life choices, that people do different things in life but at the end of it all we all die. The quote 'The day spent hunting pig or holding a garden-party' comes across as fairly colloquial. This could suggest that the everyday stuff or characteristics we have as human beings are slowly forgotten when we die, which suggests that the things you have done in your life are slowly forgotten once you are dead.

The last stanza represents the time span of life itself. 'Others it leaves' conveys the idea that 'it' is life, in this case, Larkin describes life rather abstractly suggesting that there is no point to life. We also get the circularity of this poem through it ending with 'Nothing to be said' this could suggest a lack of progression in life and this is why in this poem Larkin views it negatively. Everyone seems to follow the crowd almost which makes life pointless so therefore there is 'Nothing to be said'

This poem could link to the poem by Abse A Wall as the wall in that poem is represented as having no purpose as it just stands in the middle of a field, life is represented in this poem as being pointless similar to how the wall is represented.

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.

A Letter from Ogmore - Abse

From within the first stanza we get the impression that time has slowly gone by. 'Goodbye 20th century' suggests that this century has passed on by. There is also the mention of 'Hiroshima and Auschwitz' which conveys that the persona is remembering and preserving historical events of the 20th century.

The second stanza is much like the first using the repetition of 'Goodbye, 20th century' this again reinforces this idea of the passing of the age and maybe the fact that this is a memory poem. The quote 'even my nostalgia is becoming history' suggests that the persona's longing for the past is now in the past, maybe the persona doesn't like the speed in which time moves on. The persona also mentions the 'genealogy of ghosts' so he is reflecting on how time moves on and how fast generations of people live on, reinforcing that if the dead aren't preserved then they are forgotten like ghosts.

Within stanza three the persona contemplates his own existence, the remembrance of the pass makes him realise how lucky he is to be alive. The present is described positively through words such as 'mellow, unrolling and holy'. The persona comments 'I survive'.

It is clear that the persona starts to remember certain legends that have happened by the coast that he is at in the present. This is represented through the quote  'a fabulist like lolo who, from this same coast, would see seven sails where there was but one'. The person who is lolo is described as a 'fabulist' suggesting that he this person also reminisces over the past and especially fables. This reinforces that the place the persona is in within the present holds legends, fables and an ancient history.

The repetition throughout this poem of 'Goodbye 20th century' represents a passing of time from within the present. As the persona also comments 'Goodbye, I-must-leave-you-Dolly, goodbye Lily Marlene'. This suggests something negative about the passing of time, that it will pull away the persona's loved ones.

Within the last stanza the persona reflects his hate for the modern world and uses the natural world positively as something that shouldn't be consumed or industrialised over with. He comments that 'now secular strangers come sealed in Fords and Nissans'. The persona is commenting that the modern world has taken over everything we do and this is why the persona reminisces over the passing of the past because there is no longer any of it left. He comments about the 'congregation of cars' suggesting that we are surrounded by the new. We get a sense that the natural world reminds the persona of the past through the quote 'to this opening estuary, so various, so beautiful, so old'. The persona is commenting that the natural world is not damaged yet, however the congregation of cars are going towards this natural landscape suggesting that everything new will consume the world one day.

This poem links to the poem by Larkin Here, as it uses setting to make a comment about industrialisation and how it is effecting the world and Larkin also uses the natural world to convey this idea similar to how Abse does. It also links to An Arundel Tomb by Larkin as both poems look at the passing of time.

Uncle Isidore - Abse

Uncle Isidore is a poem by Abse in the eyes of the persona who seems to look upon this Uncle Isidore. Within stanza one the persona seems to 'observe' Uncle Isidore'. This suggests that this persona maybe acting as an all seeing presence, he doesn't just look at him he observes him which suggests he is looking at him however in a thoughtful manner. The persona also comments that this person is 'sprawled like Karl Marx' suggesting he has some importance in this poem. Karl Marx is a memorable person. This could link to the poem by Larkin For Sidney Bechet, where Sidney Bechet is the memorable person being remembered. However he is 'slumped, dead or asleep', which represents the view that the character has an unproductive, repetitive lifestyle that he maybe poor or a tramp. This links to the poem by Larkin Mr Bleaney and the persona in Mr Bleaney where they both don't have a purpose in life. The persona seems rather harsh in the first stanza, he comments 'I think of Uncle Isidore - smelly schnorer'. This reinforces the view that a lesser human being reminds him of his Uncle Isidore. The persona may view his uncle as lesser than him in status. After all, 'schnorrer' refers to the aspect that he is a beggar. The mention of Karl Marx could suggest a historical context to this poem. The persona also comments 'my foreign distant relative, not always distant' suggesting that Uncle Isidore is the persona's relative. 'Not always distant' suggests that the two know each other fairly well.

In stanza two we begin to think that Uncle Isidore may be a character that is an illusion in the persona's mind. The persona comments 'Before Auschwitz, Treblinka, he seemed near, those days of local pogroms, five year programmes'. The persona comments that his Uncle was near to him until this happened, suggesting that like Abse, his uncle was also Jewish so may of experienced being in a German concentration camps. However his uncle may now just be an illusion as he is probably dead. However, the persona compares him to Karl Marx suggesting that he views his uncle as a memorable person in his own way. The last part of stanza two conveys the idea that Uncle Isidore looked to God for guidance in such a horrific time period of history.

Within the third stanza Uncle Isidore is commenting that men can take a stand and become memorable people through the quote 'what difference between the silence of God and the silence of men?' The persona also talks about a 'land of uz' reinforcing the idea of an equal world, where Jewish people are not persecuted.

In the last stanza Uncle Isidore plays 'to the master of the universe', the master of the universe is obviosuly God, so this reinforces Uncle Isidore's Jewish religion.

The main theme of this poem seems to be about our morals as human beings, we don't want a repeat of the persecution of the Jewish race. The persona is rather judgemental of Uncle Isidore at the beginning  and this could link to the poem Mr Bleaney where the persona is judgmental of the person who prevously stayed. We also have relgious imagery explored which could link to some of the smaller Larkin belief poems. However, this is also a contrast to Larkin, who is an atheist. Abse is Jewish and it seems as if Uncle Isidore is as well. It also links to For Sidney Bechet because both Abse and Larkin convey the ideas of being respectful and remembering memorable people.

Imitations - Abse

Imitations is a poem by Abse about a mother and her son. We come across an immediate link with Larkin through the quote 'my son and I' this links to Dockery and Son through the fact that the poem is about a father and his son. 'snowflakes whitewash the shed roof and the grass' represents something that is fresh, pure and clean. Maybe this is a metaphor used by Abse to represent a good and genuine relationship between the mother and the son. This idea of freshness or new life is further reinforced through the word 'April' which is Spring. It is clearly the mother's name so this could suggest something about her overall personality. It is interesting that she describes her son as a 'chameleon'. Chameleons are a species of lizard that change colour to adapt to the background. This could be a metaphor for her sons emotions as he is '16' so he is in his teenage years. We also get further comments about the son through the quote 'my soft diamond'. Diamonds are the hardest stones, so the mother could be saying that her son is hard on the outside but soft on the inside. He is also described as a 'deciduous evergreen' in this stanza. 'Deciduous' means the falling of maturity or the dropping of a part that is no longer needed. However, an evergreen tree withholds all of its leaves for all four seasons. This could be a metaphor used by Abse that the boy is withholding all of the important things in life from his mum, but he's also losing his youth the older he gets. He is letting go of the unimportant things in life, like a deciduous tree and becoming a mature adult, like an evergreen.

In stanza two we get the reference to 'music' and we automatically link this to the poem by Larkin Broadcast. The mum comments 'how hard it is to know' conveying the view that she doesn't know his music taste further reinforcing that the two maybe drifting apart from one another as the boy is in his teenage years. She also comments that 'dreams of some school Juliet I don't know'. This again reinforces that he's a teenage boy; he doesn't discuss his personal life with his mother. However she describes 'despite a sky half blue, a blur of white blossom'. The fact that it is 'half blue' and 'a blur' could suggest the mother's uncertain feelings towards her son. Maybe she doesn't want him to mature and grow up from her safe grasp.

The use of the word 'cool' in the last stanza comes across as very colloquial, like modern day language. The mother comments about 'my father alive again' which suggests she is thinking back to when she was her son's age. A memory of when her father was alive, them both being together. It also represents the view that her father's no longer around. We also get the symbolism of the 'white butterflies'. The white butterflies symbolises the soul of the departed ones. They could be the spirit animal of her father, so some religious imagery is conveyed to us through this poem. It's also described 'as if by elastic'. This suggests that this is a bond that will never break, even though she has lost her father this bond will never break. The poem ends with the word 'pass' conveying the view that the mother is out of her daydream and she is back to reality with her son. The mother may wish to live in a dream world where she will be with her father once again, reinforcing he was an important figure to her in her life.

We also get rhyming words in this poem. For example in stanza one 'glass and grass'. In stanza two 'know and window' and in the last stanza 'glass and pass'.

There is a link between this poem and Larkin's Broadcast poem because to the mum, she thinks that music is a key element in her son's life because it seems she doesn't really know a lot about his personal life as she says 'how hard it is to know'. Broadcast is an important part of her life, and even though the persona and the woman are separate in some ways they are together. And it's also linked to Dockery and Son because this poem is about her son and herself, whilst Larkin's is about a father and his son and how they've made the right decisions in life. Also the last stanza in this poem describes the daydream she is having, looking back at when her father was alive and thinking of how vivid the memory is and how long it was since he left her, similar to Dockery and Son because the persona realises by the last stanza how much time had gone by.

Sons - Abse

Sons is a poem by Abse and is viewed through the eyes of the persona. The persona comments on his son in this poem. This poem links in well with Larkin's Dockery and Son becuase the son in both of these poems takes the persona back into their youth, this highlights the similarities between the two poems. This poem could also link to Reference Back by Larkin through the shared love of music that reimnds the mother of her youth, much like the persona does in this poem.

Within stanza one we get the alliteration and sibilant sound of 's' through the words 'sarcastic, sons and slam', this conveys a rather harsh tone to the beginning of this poem. We also get the representation that the persona is looking back on his youth within this stanza through the quote 'I think of Cardiff outskirts where, once, captured acres played at being small tamed gardens'. It seems as if a door slamming has triggered this memory of youth so this could have some significance in the poem. The persona seems to compare himself to his son at the end of this stanza through when he comments 'Now my son is like that, altering every day'. This conveys how much the father and son are alike in their youth reinforcing that they are both very similar in their personalities. His son is also 'altering' which could suggest a change in his personality, Abse is suggesting that the son is entering his teenage years.

Within the second stanza the persona also comments 'I was like that' again comparing himself to his son. We also get the quote in this stanza 'the frontier of Nowhere'. This could be referring to his youth, that he wants to find his true self again. The persona also comments that 'being adolesecent was both prim and brash'. This is a juxtaposition of two opposites 'prim and brash', this highlights the changing emotions that you experience as a teenager through your hormones which was also highlighted earlier on in stanza one.

Like many of the Larkin poems, this poem in stanza three then has a more philosophical meaning. This is represented in stanza three through the quote 'Strange a London door should slam and I think thus, of Cardiff evenings'. We get the impression that the persona doesn't know why this memory is triggered through the slaming of the door. Uncertainty is also conveyed during the end of this stanza through when the persona comments 'Awkward Anglo-Welsh half town, half countryside'. Since it is half an half this could reinforce his uncertain nature or mindset as a person.

It seems as if the persona is empathising towards his son at the beginning of the last stanza. He comments 'Son, you are like that and I love you for it'. The persona is empathising with his son as it reminds him of himself when he was young. 'The nameless becoming' could reinforce that the persona is looking back with perspective, his warning to his son that this could happen to him too. Looking back with perspective could link to the Larkin poems Reference Back and Love Songs in Age. 'Wrongly named' could be a suggestion that he may not know his son very well yet and could reinforce the persona's uncertain mindset further. We also get the rhyme scheme in this poem and this is 3,4 and 6 line of stanzas 2,3 and 4. First stanza lines 4 and 6 rhyme. The pattern begins irregular and again this gives us a representation of his sons adolescence and changing emotions.

Return to Cardiff - Abse

Return to Cardiff is a poem by Abse that conveys how much time has passed. From within the first stanza we get the sense that Abse is conveying his memories of the past from when he was in Cardiff as a teenager. This is represented through the quote 'I cycled on to school, my first cigarette' these are the common stereotypical attributes of a teenager, reinforcing the view that Abse is in Cardiff, however reiminiscing over past memories.

However in stanza two we get the impression that Abse is unfamiliar with the setting around him. This is represented through the phrase 'mislaid identities'. This conveys this idea of how much time has moved on since Abse was in Cardiff as a child. We get a sense that through this the persona has recognised how much he has aged as a person and this is represnted through how much the setting has changed as well. This notion of change is represented through quotes such as 'the mile-wide taff now a stream, the castle not as in some black, gothic dream, but a decent sprawl, a joker's facade'. We get the sense that this setting has changed for the better. The castle for example is no longer 'black' and 'gothic' however it is now a 'decent sprawl' conveying this view that it is now a lively and bustling place for all people of society to experience. The persona seems to find this funny as it is probably where he hung around with his friends when he was younger.

Within stanza three we get the sense that some of these memories of the persona are now rather unclear. There are 'unfocused voices in the wind, associations, clues, odds and ends, fringes caught'. This are all rather abstract thoughts, which suggests that the persona's memory may be more faded and unclear now. We also get the notion of a loved one being conveyed in this memory. The description of the grandfather is 'white' and he has an 'enromous face'. This supports that the persona can remember the apperance of his grandfather very clearly suggesting that they were close. What is even more tragic is that the persona is 'suddenly aghast with certain news'. Through this we get the impression that the grandfather is now dead and that the persona has not returned to Cardiff ever since his death. The idea of shock is also conveyed in this poem, the persona is 'white' and 'aghast' suggesting that the grandfather's death may of been very unexpected and that the persona didn't take the death too well.

In stanza four we get the sense that Cardiff used to be a place that the persona used to enjoy living in. However after time has passed it has become a 'city of stranges, alien and bleak'. This also conveys this notion of how much time has passed. Abse is commenting that we recognise change once a setting is permanently changed itself, it gives us a better insight into time and change in life.

In the rest of this poem Abse reflects on the ideas of time and change and the contrasting setting between where the persona is now and the past. We also get this idea of two time periods passing over one another during the end of this poem through the quote 'where the boy I was not and the man I am not met, hesitated, left double footsteps, then walked on'. This conveys the difference between the two different settings, however it also conveys the view that the persona doesn't belong in Cardiff because he is not a man or boy in Cardiff, he is literally nobody. So the final stanzas to this poem have a more philosophical meaning.

In regards to linking with Larkin, I believe this poem links closely to the poem by Larkin Here because we are given the notion in both of these poems of a place and a home. Cardiff is Abse's hometown and Hull is Larkin's hometown, therefore they both have a sense of belonging in these two places. It also links closely with Dockery and Son through the idea of this conflict between the past and present. In Return to Cardiff Abse remembers his childhood and in Dockery and Son Larkin remembers his time at Oxford University.