'A Winter Visit' - Dannie Abse

'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.

'Broadcast' by Philip Larkin - First impression.

'Broadcast' is one of my favourite poems by Larkin because of the way he uses metaphorical techniques and abstract words to describe the music perfectly to make it seem as if we (as readers) are there ourselves with Larkin experiencing the same "cascades of monumental slithering" and the "snivelling of the violins". I found this poem to have a great and positive impact in the way I see Larkin now compared to what I thought of him at the beginning - at the beginning I saw him as an old, miserable and lonely man but through this poem, I have begun seeing Larkin from a different perspective although I still get the impression that Larkin is lonely here as well as he stayed home and listened to it on the radio by himself.

Having read this poem, I get the impression that the eloquence and beauty of the music being played had Larkin mesmerized as he consciously and beautifully describes the sounds that each instruments creates. One of my favourite lines of 'Broadcast' is when he describes the "cascades of monumental slithering" and strangely, this particular metaphor sends shivers down my back just thinking about what this overwhelming, yet smooth sound would actually sound like in real life as it fluently flows around the room. The way in which Larkin also describes contrasting textures and movements of the music is fascinating and this somehow makes the poem fluent to read just like the music would have been played. I admire how Larkin plays around with the volume of the musical performance to create different moods and atmospheres to symbolize different emotions. "Snivelling of the violins" symbolizes misery, sadness and to soothe someone or something, "it goes quickly dark" shows a state or feeling of being excited or anxious about something that may happen next and the "rabid storms" of the chording which is explosive, loud and sudden.

Love, Marriage, Relationships, Music.

I found 'Talking in Bed' an interesting poem and it is also one of my favourite poems by Larkin along with 'Broadcast', 'Love Songs in Age' and 'For Sydney Bechet'. I have always preferred reading poems about such topics as I feel like everyone can easily relate to poem just like these and also because it is something in life that we all experience at some point.

However, the first impression I get just by the title of 'Talking in Bed' is that it is a love poem but in fact it isn't a poem that is just about enduring love, but it is a poem that explores if a loving relationship really is true. It can be said that this poem speaks about the complexities involved in relationships, specifically in reference to true love's failure to withstand the test of time. In the last line of the poem, the persona is questioning whether true love is even the foundation of relationships at all and the persona's ambiguity is reinforced when he uses nouns such as "unrest", "none", "nothing" and "silently". This gives me the impression that the persona is bored of the relationship and although he enjoys the fact that he can fall back on his relationship for stability, he feels his love has gone stagnant.

On the other hand, this reminds me of how we open up so freely and deeply when we feel at ease and so in tunes with the other person thoughts are shared fears are calmed emotions flow easily and become even closer and more intimate. 'Talking in Bed' is a poem that represents unity between two people and a symbol of honesty for me and I found it clever and very typical of Larkin to bring a sense of movement which mirrors the talker's view of the world in relation to themselves. 

AS English Literature, Poetry. 'In Llandough Hospital' by Dannie Abse.

copy and paste: http://www.slideshare.net/laracarlos35/in-llandough-hospital-powepoint

'Dockery and Son'.

'Dockery and Son' - first impressions and reactions.

The first thing that I assumed and noticed when I first read 'Dockery and Son' is that Larkin is on another train journey and I found it interesting how Larkin seems to use the train journeys in some of his poems to possibly imply that life is a journey that changes constantly and moves in different directions and speeds and in a way, that is what life is like and Larkin uses platonic and philosophical concepts and ideas to show this.

Towards the end of the poem, I feel sympathy towards the persona that Larkin is writing in as he has come to realise that he was a middle-aged man where life had just gone past him - he doesn't have children of his own, unlike Dockery and he sees loneliness as a positive thing as he sees having a family as a burden as he compares his himself to Dockery's life choice of having a son so early. In stanza three, the persona falls asleeps but to me it seems as if he had been asleep for most of his life and he is shocked about Dockery having a son and shocked about the realisation of how much of life had gone past without him even having his own family.

First impressions and reactions to 'Here' by Larkin.

"Swerving east, from rich industrial shadows

And traffic all night north; swerving through fields"

These first two lines of the poem don't seem to grab my attention or trigger any thoughts or feelings as I just get the impression that 'Here' is going to be just like the beginning of 'The Whitsun Weddings'. The only thing that is portrayed is that it is yet another train journey and this time the movement is more violent and harsh. The fact that it is another journey, gives me the impression that travelling and seeing different surroundings was what was ordinary for Larkin and he enjoyed putting himself in a position where he was the observer of the things outside. For example, "the widening river's slow presence, the piled gold clouds, the shining gull-marked mud".

I think that 'Here' is a poem than is emphatic of the aspiration, hope, light and potential that Larkin is trying to portray through the man-made buildings and sights as well as potraying things in it's natural forms as he describes the country side. However, I still think of Larkin as a pessimistic person but a also an admiring poet that seems to see the good in everything bad such as death and loneliness.

Philip Larkin's 'The Whitsun Weddings' - first impression and reaction. Having briefly heard of Philip Larkin before, I wasn't sure what to expect from his poetry. From the outset of the poem, I know that Larkin is describing a journey that is he going on as his "three-quarters-empty train pull out" and as the train begins to move, the mood of the poem becomes relaxed and this notion of time and worries seem to disappear as "all sense of being in a hurry" is gone - this particular line in the stanza made me feel relaxed as I read through and it gave me the impression that Larkin was too and he wanted to make the reader feel the same way. 

I also find it interesting and significant how Larkin calls this poem the 'Whitsun Weddings' as the word 'Whitsun' is the name for a christian festival for pentecost, the seventh Sunday Easter. So, because christianity believes that this was when Jesus was brought back to life, it could symbolize a new beginning and life for new married couple.

I then get a sense of what the atmosphere is like and it gives me the impression that the journey is becoming monotonous and tiring as Larkin describes the "slow stopping curve" and the "tall heat that slept". I also found it fascinating how Larkin can make the reader feel as if they are or have experienced the same journey as the persona that he is writing in. However, one thing that I dislike about Larkin's poetry in general is how pessimistic he is about living life and the things in life as well as  the negative connotations that he uses to emphasize this, although, these negative connotations are creative, clever and effective on the reader's mood. For example, Larkin  describes the girls at the wedding being dressed in "paradies of fashion...posed irresolutely" and  the use of an oxymoron as he describes the women sharing a "secret like a happy funeral".