Summary.
So this Abse poem is about his two grandmothers who are called Annabella and Doris. Through out the poem Abse maintains a distinctive difference between these two characters as they are opposites to the way they are, the way they dress, talk etc. This whole poem is triggered by two different photographs that Abse comes across, of Annabella and Doris and this brings back to life the memories that Abse has of them. In the first three stanzas, we see Abse going to detail when he describes the women's characteristics and in the last two stanzas the mood of the poem seems to become more serious for me as I got the impression that maybe, in a way, Abse is still deeply hurt and therefore yearning for the existence of his grandmothers.
Themes, ideas and quotes.
Celebration of women.
In this poem Abse celebrates the existence of these two women in his life, but he also celebrates women in general. As some have us have probably seen in other Abse poems, we can see that he loves women and seems to embrace the fact that they exist instead of being dismissive and patronising which I think Larkin is towards women in some of his poems.
Abse writes about his grandmother Annabella and "how slim she appears, how vulnerable. Pretty." Grandmother Annabella represents femininity and the elegance that women had. Also we see Abse observing this photograph of her with admiration because of the type she women she portrayed herself as and put herself out to be. The fact that Annabella is describes as being "vulnerable" highlights how young she must have been in the photograph and this probably contrasts to how invulnerable she as becomes by growing older over the years. I think this concept of Annabella being vulnerable in her younger years is significant because it shows that the older we grow, the more intolerant we become to certain things in life as we look back at some things in life that we let take advantage of us.
In contrast to grandmother Annabella, Doris is portrayed as a women of independence, words and discipline. "How portly she looks, formidable. Handsome." This description of Dories implies that maybe Doris was not the typical domesticated housewife and she was a women who preferred to live her life by her own rules. "formidable" means powerful and so not only do we understand that Doris was an independent women, but he she also power which could suggest that maybe she was educated, ambitious and had a strong personality. Abse then goes onto reinforcing this contrast between the two ladies as he writes "indecorous Doris devishly laughed" whereas "Annabella fasted - pious, passive, enjoyed small talk."
Abse contrasts Annabella to Doris to show the different types of women that there were and still are in the world as so we see Abse celebrating the diversity of women. Annabella and Doris are described by Abse with respect and admiration and it shows that Abse was closer to the female members of his family than the males and so therefore he felt more connected with the women in his family, but also the women outside of his family.
Youth and old age.
Abse also makes contrasts between the grandmother's youth and their old age. This is done by describing certain characteristics of theirs which we see slowly fade as they quickly progress to old age in the poem. One of the things that I also found interesting in this poem is that Abse draws our attention to this amber brooch and a string of pearls. The two pieces of jewellery are seen as something that reminds him of his grandmothers and it seems to be the only thing that has survived of them and the only things that haven't changed through time.
The way in which the two ladies dress also portrays how youthful they once were: "Doris, a lacy black gown with a string of pearls and Annabella wears a demure black frock with an amber brooch". However, this image fades later in the poem as Abse describes their "buns of grey hair" which highlights their 'unsatisfactory' ageing which is also explored in 'Reference Back' by Larkin.
Loss.
Loss is also another theme that is explored in this poem by Abse as he reminisces a lot about his two grandmothers. Abse's feeling of loss is shown when he mentions how he dreamt about his grandmothers the night before and so this shows that his grandmothers had been on his mind all day which causes him to dream about them.
Links to Larkin poems.
'Home is So Sad'
'Reference Back'
Abse writes about his grandmother Annabella and "how slim she appears, how vulnerable. Pretty." Grandmother Annabella represents femininity and the elegance that women had. Also we see Abse observing this photograph of her with admiration because of the type she women she portrayed herself as and put herself out to be. The fact that Annabella is describes as being "vulnerable" highlights how young she must have been in the photograph and this probably contrasts to how invulnerable she as becomes by growing older over the years. I think this concept of Annabella being vulnerable in her younger years is significant because it shows that the older we grow, the more intolerant we become to certain things in life as we look back at some things in life that we let take advantage of us.
In contrast to grandmother Annabella, Doris is portrayed as a women of independence, words and discipline. "How portly she looks, formidable. Handsome." This description of Dories implies that maybe Doris was not the typical domesticated housewife and she was a women who preferred to live her life by her own rules. "formidable" means powerful and so not only do we understand that Doris was an independent women, but he she also power which could suggest that maybe she was educated, ambitious and had a strong personality. Abse then goes onto reinforcing this contrast between the two ladies as he writes "indecorous Doris devishly laughed" whereas "Annabella fasted - pious, passive, enjoyed small talk."
Abse contrasts Annabella to Doris to show the different types of women that there were and still are in the world as so we see Abse celebrating the diversity of women. Annabella and Doris are described by Abse with respect and admiration and it shows that Abse was closer to the female members of his family than the males and so therefore he felt more connected with the women in his family, but also the women outside of his family.
Youth and old age.
Abse also makes contrasts between the grandmother's youth and their old age. This is done by describing certain characteristics of theirs which we see slowly fade as they quickly progress to old age in the poem. One of the things that I also found interesting in this poem is that Abse draws our attention to this amber brooch and a string of pearls. The two pieces of jewellery are seen as something that reminds him of his grandmothers and it seems to be the only thing that has survived of them and the only things that haven't changed through time.
The way in which the two ladies dress also portrays how youthful they once were: "Doris, a lacy black gown with a string of pearls and Annabella wears a demure black frock with an amber brooch". However, this image fades later in the poem as Abse describes their "buns of grey hair" which highlights their 'unsatisfactory' ageing which is also explored in 'Reference Back' by Larkin.
Loss.
Loss is also another theme that is explored in this poem by Abse as he reminisces a lot about his two grandmothers. Abse's feeling of loss is shown when he mentions how he dreamt about his grandmothers the night before and so this shows that his grandmothers had been on his mind all day which causes him to dream about them.
Links to Larkin poems.
'Home is So Sad'
'Reference Back'
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