'A Winter Visit' by Dannie Abse.
In this poem Abse shows concern and emotions to his aging mother. Abse begins 'A Winter Visit' with a casual tone which paints a simple and everyday picture of a grown man taking his mother on a "walk through the local park" on a cold winter day. However Abse then begins to realise that that very moment that both his mother and him are in, will not last and there it will not be long until it will just be him walking through the park by himself. Abse begins the poem by using simplistic language. This is a significant element within the poem because it reflects the casualness and comfort of the relationship that Abse has with his mother and it also shows the love between the two people which is ever lasting. As the poem progresses, Abse then contrasts the mood within the first stanza when the theme of loss, grief and decay are introduced.
Abse cites the peacock as an emblem of life and spirit. However, the beautiful and angelic representation is quickly shattered by his mother's response about death: "This winter I'm half dead. son." To be "half dead" means to metaphorically exhausted, but in Abse's mother's case it could have the literal meaning of being half dead because of her old age. This implies that slowly but surely progressing towards her death and because of her old age, she has become deprived of life and losing touch from life.
Interestingly, Abse compares his mother to someone who speaks for a deity as he writes "she like the sibyl". This simile shows that Abse sees his mother as a antique full of eloquence who has the voice of reason. The fact that Abse describes his mother as "sibyl" also shows the wisdom that she has of life that she has gained from living it, but now she is just an antique that only has stories to tell about its life. Although Abse knows what his mother said is true about her being "half dead" and slowly dying, it hurts him to imagine her not being there with him.
Abse writes about wanting to cry, but it is prevented by a familiarity with illness and grief as a qualified doctor. Here, Abse dramatizes the tension between the two positions as he is seen as a son grieving for his aging mother, but also as a professional doctor who must keep his composure like he would with any other patient that would be progressing towards their death. This is clarified furthermore when Abse says "I inhabit a white coat not a black even here - and am not qualified to weep." The colour is represents his profession as a doctor and the colour black, which contrasts to the colour white, is a colour that is worn at funerals. However, it is interesting how it could be seen by some readers that Abse uses the "white coat" to hide his true emotions although that is ironic as well because the colour white is a colour that should be clear and easily seen but in this case, Abse is using the colour white to camouflage his emotions.
The last lines of 'A Winter Visit' is a poetic embodiment that Abse uses to escape and distract himself from the harsh reality of his life behind the white coat that he wears. He makes it clear that he is wearing a white coat as an emblem of his profession as a doctor and not wearing a black coat. This could possibly show that Abse hopes that he will not have to wear a black coat, or in other words, Abse hopes that he will not have to experience the sorrow and grief if his mother passes away. Abse also seems like the type of person that doesn't like to mix his personal life with his profession and this is clearly shown when he says that he is "not qualified to weep".
'A Winter Visit' is reminiscent of 'Reference Back' by Larkin because both poets explore the theme of loss and their relationships with their mothers, however this is done differently by both poets. In 'Reference Back' Larkin philosophically thinks about how much things have changed in his life since his youth. The fact that Larkin describes the hall and room as "unsatisfactory" shows that Larkin was not happy spending most of his time at home living with his mother but at the same time it shows a stubbornness within Larkin and we get the impression that he does not want to move out. The repetition of "unsatisfactory" and the fact that Larkin was "idly, wasting my time at home" also gives the impression that Larkin was lost as well as helpless even though his mother was progressing towards her death. In fact, if anything, Larkin seems to be quite dismissive of his mother and he seems to focus on himself and on how his life is changing as he grows old. Yes he does mention how the music bonds him with his mother, but the only time Larkin makes a personal remark on his mother is when he mentions her "unsatisfactory age" which isn't even something positive and so this raises the universal question - are we ever satisfied with life?
In contrast, Abse is more in touch and expresses more emotion towards his aging mother in 'A Winter Visit'. Abse uses words such as "cold", "cry", "weep" and "dark" to suggest how he feels inside as he cannot fully show how he truly feels inside because he is a doctor and so his profession restricts him to what and how he should feel in such cases. What I also think is significant to point out in both poems is the fact that Abse is physically close to his mother as he walks by her side whereas Abse is geographically seperated from his. As I have learnt from reader other Abse poems, I know that he celebrates women and is loving towards the women is his life. Although Larkin on the other hand seems to see women in a very old fashioned way and is vague about the women in his life which shows that he didn't see women in the positive light that Abse saw them in.
'A Winter Visit' is reminiscent of 'Reference Back' by Larkin because both poets explore the theme of loss and their relationships with their mothers, however this is done differently by both poets. In 'Reference Back' Larkin philosophically thinks about how much things have changed in his life since his youth. The fact that Larkin describes the hall and room as "unsatisfactory" shows that Larkin was not happy spending most of his time at home living with his mother but at the same time it shows a stubbornness within Larkin and we get the impression that he does not want to move out. The repetition of "unsatisfactory" and the fact that Larkin was "idly, wasting my time at home" also gives the impression that Larkin was lost as well as helpless even though his mother was progressing towards her death. In fact, if anything, Larkin seems to be quite dismissive of his mother and he seems to focus on himself and on how his life is changing as he grows old. Yes he does mention how the music bonds him with his mother, but the only time Larkin makes a personal remark on his mother is when he mentions her "unsatisfactory age" which isn't even something positive and so this raises the universal question - are we ever satisfied with life?
In contrast, Abse is more in touch and expresses more emotion towards his aging mother in 'A Winter Visit'. Abse uses words such as "cold", "cry", "weep" and "dark" to suggest how he feels inside as he cannot fully show how he truly feels inside because he is a doctor and so his profession restricts him to what and how he should feel in such cases. What I also think is significant to point out in both poems is the fact that Abse is physically close to his mother as he walks by her side whereas Abse is geographically seperated from his. As I have learnt from reader other Abse poems, I know that he celebrates women and is loving towards the women is his life. Although Larkin on the other hand seems to see women in a very old fashioned way and is vague about the women in his life which shows that he didn't see women in the positive light that Abse saw them in.
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