Content
A boy describes a red balloon that he carries with him at all times, it acts as a metaphor for his Jewish heritage, a 'shame and joy', both a source of comfort and a target of violence.
Analysis
He repeatedly observes the balloon flying over him, signifying its superiority despite its omniscient presence of always 'landing where I stood'. The simile comparing its shining to 'living blood' not only makes it appear part of him but also suggests blood shed and the religious element to the balloon which gives it the 'notoriety' he describes. Describing it both his 'shame' and his 'joy', we later see the shame in the boys 'sigh' in tiresome of the religious priorities in Wales. The repetition of 'my' highlights that not everyone values his balloon as he does and although it soars high 'like happiness', it is poignant that it is going towards the 'deep blue sky'- towards an ominous horizon.
The comical teasing of the boys, 'lets get is circumcised' is uncomfortable and ignorant, displaying the feeling that racism is harmless yet the violence it erupts into exposes its problems. As they 'laugh' and 'curse' there is a clear conflict of pride and embarrassment. The physical 'lunging' with 'knives' not only displays a violent, physical attack on the religion, but implies a psychologically degrading attack seen in the imperative 'give up.'. Yet the boy goes unaffected as the strength of the balloon withstands the force and 'does not burst'.
The use of 'it' when we know it is part of him creates a detachment perhaps in fear but also in shame, which emphasises the later owned 'my balloon from me', which comes after the boys pair him with the balloon- it defines him to others and becomes his whole identity, 'it's a Jews Balloon', yet the lonely 'me' suggests his victimised and isolated position in society unable to share or praise his heritage in public. The graceful motion of it 'floating down' is mirrored in the long stanzas of enjambment.
Thursday, 14 May 2015
Down the M4- Dannie Abse
Content
As a man drives back into his home town, to visit his family, he is haunted by the prospect of bad news- death. Yet perhaps this poem can be interpreted as a dying out of ones traditional heritage, the 'mother' acting as a metaphor for the 'mother tongue'- either way, the poem explores the fears of approaching death.
Analysis
There is a clear lexical field of death from the start, 'disrobed' 'perishable' 'into the hole', yet still there is an underlying tone of affection as his acknowledges the 'beautiful face' and grace of his mother in her 'ninth decade'. Along with this affection, there is a comical element too- the common occurrence of boring family stories that we can all relate to turning our own hair grey, though perhaps this has a deeper meaning of life's cyclical nature, always concluding in death. The river Tawe, as an image, is used throughout Abse's poetry, here the transition of it running 'fluent' to 'stones stonier' reflects the congestion of the water, but also the narrowing freedoms, much like the vibrant, youthful 'leaping' of bridges in the side mirror, that disintegrate into the 'shrinking' image of constricted elderly years. The final declarative, 'it won't keep.' ends the poem on a very sombre note, that nothing lasts.
Yet the pronoun 'it' invites a new reading of the poem, perhaps not referring to life but to the Yiddish Heritage instead. Towards the end, he does not sing a 'Hymn' but an 'old Yiddish tune' highlighting the religious devotion he shares with his culture, just as he acknowledges that his 'mothers mother spoke with such an accent', the key here is the past tense 'spoke' which imitates a nostalgic tone of sorrow, the dying out of heritage across cultures which leads us to question whether it is this tradition that 'won't keep' in an age of secularization.
The very title, 'down the m4' connotes journey and movement, synonymous with the fluent movement of the Tawe and the drive towards Cardiff, yet it also suggests disintegration of some sort, an anit-climax idea. The run on lines of the early stanza create a confusion, accentuated by the caesura, 'my mothers news.' This declarative is emulated in the final closing declarative, 'it wont keep' creating a circular structure of finality and death.
As a man drives back into his home town, to visit his family, he is haunted by the prospect of bad news- death. Yet perhaps this poem can be interpreted as a dying out of ones traditional heritage, the 'mother' acting as a metaphor for the 'mother tongue'- either way, the poem explores the fears of approaching death.
Analysis
There is a clear lexical field of death from the start, 'disrobed' 'perishable' 'into the hole', yet still there is an underlying tone of affection as his acknowledges the 'beautiful face' and grace of his mother in her 'ninth decade'. Along with this affection, there is a comical element too- the common occurrence of boring family stories that we can all relate to turning our own hair grey, though perhaps this has a deeper meaning of life's cyclical nature, always concluding in death. The river Tawe, as an image, is used throughout Abse's poetry, here the transition of it running 'fluent' to 'stones stonier' reflects the congestion of the water, but also the narrowing freedoms, much like the vibrant, youthful 'leaping' of bridges in the side mirror, that disintegrate into the 'shrinking' image of constricted elderly years. The final declarative, 'it won't keep.' ends the poem on a very sombre note, that nothing lasts.
Yet the pronoun 'it' invites a new reading of the poem, perhaps not referring to life but to the Yiddish Heritage instead. Towards the end, he does not sing a 'Hymn' but an 'old Yiddish tune' highlighting the religious devotion he shares with his culture, just as he acknowledges that his 'mothers mother spoke with such an accent', the key here is the past tense 'spoke' which imitates a nostalgic tone of sorrow, the dying out of heritage across cultures which leads us to question whether it is this tradition that 'won't keep' in an age of secularization.
The very title, 'down the m4' connotes journey and movement, synonymous with the fluent movement of the Tawe and the drive towards Cardiff, yet it also suggests disintegration of some sort, an anit-climax idea. The run on lines of the early stanza create a confusion, accentuated by the caesura, 'my mothers news.' This declarative is emulated in the final closing declarative, 'it wont keep' creating a circular structure of finality and death.
Boasts of Hywel Absowain Gwynedd-Dannie Abse
Analysis
This poem explores a mans appreciation of his wife, the endless natural imagery of 'busty nest' and 'pigeon coos' connote a warmth and belonging as well as a mating call. The repetition of 'MY', 'my devotee' 'my epic regular', though perhaps signifying ownership, implies a complete affection with all attention on her. The cyclical nature of the 'epic regular' depicts a faithful, timeless nature to their marriage and yet within this cycle, the love is still clearly 'epic' and 'powerful'. Comparing her to a 'peach' and 'orchard' gives love and natural, fruitful association, full of life and vitality that confirms the reading that by 'regular' he does not mean monotonous but ever- lasting. In a plead to 'let her name be secret', the value of the relationship is clear, their sacred love needs to be kept hidden and protected.
The position of pronouns exemplify the husbands sheer devotion to his wife, 'I thrust to woo her' it is poignant that here it is he who fights to please her, in an image much like the 'surrendering waves' of Abse's A Scene From Married Life. The final declarative, 'I adore.' asserts a confidence to his feelings, combining both natural elements to their affection with an assured affair.
This poem explores a mans appreciation of his wife, the endless natural imagery of 'busty nest' and 'pigeon coos' connote a warmth and belonging as well as a mating call. The repetition of 'MY', 'my devotee' 'my epic regular', though perhaps signifying ownership, implies a complete affection with all attention on her. The cyclical nature of the 'epic regular' depicts a faithful, timeless nature to their marriage and yet within this cycle, the love is still clearly 'epic' and 'powerful'. Comparing her to a 'peach' and 'orchard' gives love and natural, fruitful association, full of life and vitality that confirms the reading that by 'regular' he does not mean monotonous but ever- lasting. In a plead to 'let her name be secret', the value of the relationship is clear, their sacred love needs to be kept hidden and protected.
The position of pronouns exemplify the husbands sheer devotion to his wife, 'I thrust to woo her' it is poignant that here it is he who fights to please her, in an image much like the 'surrendering waves' of Abse's A Scene From Married Life. The final declarative, 'I adore.' asserts a confidence to his feelings, combining both natural elements to their affection with an assured affair.
In Llandough Hospital- Dannie Abse
Content
A son reverts back to his childhood as he sits with his sick father in hospital. He reflects that though his father's life is coming to an end, the love and memory of him will live on, evident in a moment of realisation when he holds his fathers hand.
Analysis
In the 'slow sunset' that approaches, we see the very natural descent towards death, later supported as Abse acknowledges that 'death makes victims of us all' stating its inevitability in a Larkinesque manner, yet also that this time it is prolonged pain, the 'first star pain'. Elements to the poem give it an autobiographical form, his 'pleading' suggests a heart felt desperation, perhaps synonymous with how he felt in the face of death with his own father. The 'bright butchers hook' forms a metaphor for the stars, implying that death is written in our fate and future, the inevitable 'butchers hook' for 'man and meat'- for all. An immense pathos is created in the simile, 'thin as Auschwitz' which not only compares his fathers fragility to the starved skeletons of the death camps, yet also engages with his Jewish heritage and scale of death within the Holocaust.
Yet despite his pain and suffering, there is an underlying beauty about this father figure, an admiring appreciation from the son who 'like a child' returns to idolise his father and all he has done for him. The central image of the 'maimed bird' creates a sense of damage and immobility yet also the beautiful and delicate side that reflects the affection he felt for his father. There is a sheer admiration, the 'courage' of the man at such a frightening time, the references to Philosophers, 'Hemlock' and 'Winkle Reid' connote mental power, cognition and superiority- despite his physical frailty. All of this is tied in on the moment they 'grasp' each others hand, the rest of the poem seems to stop at the moment of powerful love as the son is surprised by the 'warmth' symbolising the love that is present. The final image of 'night without an end' is somewhat ironic, as nights do dissipate into morning, just as this poem comes to a close and the father's life inevitably ends, yet this idea that reflects the limitless, 'omnipotence' -Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road, that memories are timeless and love will remain in spite of the ending of life. This ties it back to the initial 'sunset' image, that the sun will never set- that light and guidance will never die out.
Death's inevitability is reflected in the regular quatrains lacking caesura, creating this ongoing journey towards that 'sunset', the personal touches 'my father' and direct speech in the centre very much makes gives it an elegy form yet despite its personal side, it closes on ideas we can all reflect upon.
A son reverts back to his childhood as he sits with his sick father in hospital. He reflects that though his father's life is coming to an end, the love and memory of him will live on, evident in a moment of realisation when he holds his fathers hand.
Analysis
In the 'slow sunset' that approaches, we see the very natural descent towards death, later supported as Abse acknowledges that 'death makes victims of us all' stating its inevitability in a Larkinesque manner, yet also that this time it is prolonged pain, the 'first star pain'. Elements to the poem give it an autobiographical form, his 'pleading' suggests a heart felt desperation, perhaps synonymous with how he felt in the face of death with his own father. The 'bright butchers hook' forms a metaphor for the stars, implying that death is written in our fate and future, the inevitable 'butchers hook' for 'man and meat'- for all. An immense pathos is created in the simile, 'thin as Auschwitz' which not only compares his fathers fragility to the starved skeletons of the death camps, yet also engages with his Jewish heritage and scale of death within the Holocaust.
Yet despite his pain and suffering, there is an underlying beauty about this father figure, an admiring appreciation from the son who 'like a child' returns to idolise his father and all he has done for him. The central image of the 'maimed bird' creates a sense of damage and immobility yet also the beautiful and delicate side that reflects the affection he felt for his father. There is a sheer admiration, the 'courage' of the man at such a frightening time, the references to Philosophers, 'Hemlock' and 'Winkle Reid' connote mental power, cognition and superiority- despite his physical frailty. All of this is tied in on the moment they 'grasp' each others hand, the rest of the poem seems to stop at the moment of powerful love as the son is surprised by the 'warmth' symbolising the love that is present. The final image of 'night without an end' is somewhat ironic, as nights do dissipate into morning, just as this poem comes to a close and the father's life inevitably ends, yet this idea that reflects the limitless, 'omnipotence' -Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road, that memories are timeless and love will remain in spite of the ending of life. This ties it back to the initial 'sunset' image, that the sun will never set- that light and guidance will never die out.
Death's inevitability is reflected in the regular quatrains lacking caesura, creating this ongoing journey towards that 'sunset', the personal touches 'my father' and direct speech in the centre very much makes gives it an elegy form yet despite its personal side, it closes on ideas we can all reflect upon.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
The Malham Bird- Dannie Abse
Content
The speaker reflects on the beginnings of his relationship with his wife, valuing it and pitying the isolated Malham Bird who never will experience such beauty.
Analysis n
The pause after 'in love-' allows us space to acknowledge and appreciate the confidence and ease to which the speaker can say this to his loved 'dear wife', in a direct and intimate tone. There is lots on natural imagery which connotes peace and tranquillity perhaps reflecting their close relationship, in the 'beach' and 'seagull' as well as the liberty of the 'high in blue' skies which create a sense of limitless possibility to their love. Their extremely close proximity is seen as they 'lay on (their) shadows', much more intimate and assured than any of Larkin's expressions of love. A sense of pity is created towards the 'resolute' Malham Bird, the triple structure: 'lonely, immoral, forever winging' exemplifies both his isolation but also in the forever winging yet never flying, perhaps an unfulfillment in suggested, that to the speaker marriage is completeness.
Their complete faith to each other is seen in the use of pronouns, from the separate 'you' and 'I' to 'we' and 'our' embodying that indeed they are 'more than together', it is clearly a uniting process, 'you a gentile and I a Jew!'. In contrast, the Malham Bird is seen as 'it', completely detached and alone. The absence of caesura in the opening stanza creates a quick pace synonymous with the speed at which the couple fell in love as well as supporting that earlier imagery of limitlessness. The tercet to close creates a Larkinesque structure yet in the reverse, it is symbolic of the Malham Bird's unfulfillment as he is not married which implies the speaker and abse, highly value marriage
The speaker reflects on the beginnings of his relationship with his wife, valuing it and pitying the isolated Malham Bird who never will experience such beauty.
Analysis n
The pause after 'in love-' allows us space to acknowledge and appreciate the confidence and ease to which the speaker can say this to his loved 'dear wife', in a direct and intimate tone. There is lots on natural imagery which connotes peace and tranquillity perhaps reflecting their close relationship, in the 'beach' and 'seagull' as well as the liberty of the 'high in blue' skies which create a sense of limitless possibility to their love. Their extremely close proximity is seen as they 'lay on (their) shadows', much more intimate and assured than any of Larkin's expressions of love. A sense of pity is created towards the 'resolute' Malham Bird, the triple structure: 'lonely, immoral, forever winging' exemplifies both his isolation but also in the forever winging yet never flying, perhaps an unfulfillment in suggested, that to the speaker marriage is completeness.
Their complete faith to each other is seen in the use of pronouns, from the separate 'you' and 'I' to 'we' and 'our' embodying that indeed they are 'more than together', it is clearly a uniting process, 'you a gentile and I a Jew!'. In contrast, the Malham Bird is seen as 'it', completely detached and alone. The absence of caesura in the opening stanza creates a quick pace synonymous with the speed at which the couple fell in love as well as supporting that earlier imagery of limitlessness. The tercet to close creates a Larkinesque structure yet in the reverse, it is symbolic of the Malham Bird's unfulfillment as he is not married which implies the speaker and abse, highly value marriage
Welsh Chew Valley Cinema-Dannie Abse
Content
The poem opens in the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood movie, before disintegrating into the return to the cinema audience's dull, mundane lifestyle. Set in the 1930s, this poem explores the effect of commercialism on a deprived society.
Analysis
The immediate contrast of the beautiful 'palace' with the dirty 'slums' gives an impression of unattainable ideals against dull realities. The changing tone of language from the opening stanza to the end reflects the 'sinking' feeling within the characters, disappearing into that 'familiar malice'- that monotonous routine that haunts them, the antithesis of that 'palace'.
The Economic Depression of the 1930s is evident in the 'wheezing' asthma of the audience, a chronic coughing that's masked by the 'bright' film music that runs above it. This dream-like, utopian picture that is painted to the audience is seen in the superficial, 'glycerine' tears as well as in the imagery of the 'poor, ragged Goldilocks' associated with fairy tales and optimism. Through the italic, 'no holes in his socks', we see the audience's jealous frustration that perhaps Abse is attacking, in this sense the poem can be seen as a critique of modern advertisement for stirring such resentful materialistic ideals. This is emphasised in the description of them 'shoeless on mecca carpet', the deprived state of the people against the religious paradise, a symbol of our idolisation of possessions we cannot have.
'THE END' not only accentuates the end of the film, but the end of that short-lived fantasy and we are left with the pivotal image of the 'striking of the small towns clock'. The loud, persistent 'striking' is a reminder of the monotonous pace of their life, revolved around time as oppose to the limitless freedoms of the film. The town is 'small' and insignificant against the mighty 'Mecca' lives of riches and with the final image of the clock comes a reminder of time, a dull waiting for death with no sense of living in between. Abse perhaps chose the literal cinema visit to stand as a metaphor for the idealistic, fantastical images of advertisements that tease us everyday, a reminder of what we are lacking and potentially what we most have, inviting a grotesque thirst for materialism psychologically but also physically in the increase of rioting in recent years.
The poem opens in the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood movie, before disintegrating into the return to the cinema audience's dull, mundane lifestyle. Set in the 1930s, this poem explores the effect of commercialism on a deprived society.
Analysis
The immediate contrast of the beautiful 'palace' with the dirty 'slums' gives an impression of unattainable ideals against dull realities. The changing tone of language from the opening stanza to the end reflects the 'sinking' feeling within the characters, disappearing into that 'familiar malice'- that monotonous routine that haunts them, the antithesis of that 'palace'.
The Economic Depression of the 1930s is evident in the 'wheezing' asthma of the audience, a chronic coughing that's masked by the 'bright' film music that runs above it. This dream-like, utopian picture that is painted to the audience is seen in the superficial, 'glycerine' tears as well as in the imagery of the 'poor, ragged Goldilocks' associated with fairy tales and optimism. Through the italic, 'no holes in his socks', we see the audience's jealous frustration that perhaps Abse is attacking, in this sense the poem can be seen as a critique of modern advertisement for stirring such resentful materialistic ideals. This is emphasised in the description of them 'shoeless on mecca carpet', the deprived state of the people against the religious paradise, a symbol of our idolisation of possessions we cannot have.
'THE END' not only accentuates the end of the film, but the end of that short-lived fantasy and we are left with the pivotal image of the 'striking of the small towns clock'. The loud, persistent 'striking' is a reminder of the monotonous pace of their life, revolved around time as oppose to the limitless freedoms of the film. The town is 'small' and insignificant against the mighty 'Mecca' lives of riches and with the final image of the clock comes a reminder of time, a dull waiting for death with no sense of living in between. Abse perhaps chose the literal cinema visit to stand as a metaphor for the idealistic, fantastical images of advertisements that tease us everyday, a reminder of what we are lacking and potentially what we most have, inviting a grotesque thirst for materialism psychologically but also physically in the increase of rioting in recent years.
Sons- Dannie Abse
Content
An expression of the awkward, in between teenage stage of life yet rather than complaining about it, Abse adopts an affectionate, admiring attitude of this time in a nostalgic tone that very much replicates the 'chameleon' imagery of 'Imitations'.
Analysis
The idea of the doors slamming at the beginning of the poem initiates a stereotypical teenage act, the force and the aggression of the 'slamming' action and the harsh sibilance sounds embody this 'wild flowers' idea that describes the son- wild and lively. This description juxtaposes the 'tamed gardens', the idea of parental control and restrictions with the flowering connoting maturation, this explains the transition of the son. Yet the natural imagery establishes a beauty in this process and a tone of appreciation, that the father admires this cluttered idea that Larkin so often detests in the 'clobbers' of Selfs The Man. This conflict runs throughout the poem, perhaps a physical conflict and strained relationship between a parent and a child at this time, the clashing or 'order and chaos' of rules and liberty both 'prim and brash', but also an internal struggle for identity as the son tries to find himself, 'nameless becoming' is symbolic of his search for self worth. Like wise, the 'hesitant sense of not belonging quite' shows the child's awkward uncertainty, the odd manipulation of the syntax not only exemplifies that whole 'hesitant' idea but also the sons marginalised position, not feeling as though he fits within society. In the final line, 'savage darkness bright' the dark days of teenage years which Larkin focusses on are meant with a 'bright' affection, the use of light here depicts an adoration for the experience not only as a son, but as a nostalgic reflection at the fathers own teenage years. It is pivotal that the 'bright' comes as the final image of the poem, after the darkness, to affirm that is the memory that remains and argumentative conflict are only short lived.
The dark 'savage' persona of the son is embodied through the harsh sibilance that juxtaposes the affection the father describes, 'sarcastic sons slam front doors' initiates a forceful tone from the offset yet its rhythmic nature can also seem to depict a light, comical outlook of events from the fathers perspective. The increasing length of the sestets down the poem reflect the sons increasing confidence and responsibility as he descends into manhood and makes his way to a 'bright' future, yet the ABCCDC rhyme scheme creates this not quite fulfilled, fitting in image that the son battles throughout the imagery of the poem.
An expression of the awkward, in between teenage stage of life yet rather than complaining about it, Abse adopts an affectionate, admiring attitude of this time in a nostalgic tone that very much replicates the 'chameleon' imagery of 'Imitations'.
Analysis
The idea of the doors slamming at the beginning of the poem initiates a stereotypical teenage act, the force and the aggression of the 'slamming' action and the harsh sibilance sounds embody this 'wild flowers' idea that describes the son- wild and lively. This description juxtaposes the 'tamed gardens', the idea of parental control and restrictions with the flowering connoting maturation, this explains the transition of the son. Yet the natural imagery establishes a beauty in this process and a tone of appreciation, that the father admires this cluttered idea that Larkin so often detests in the 'clobbers' of Selfs The Man. This conflict runs throughout the poem, perhaps a physical conflict and strained relationship between a parent and a child at this time, the clashing or 'order and chaos' of rules and liberty both 'prim and brash', but also an internal struggle for identity as the son tries to find himself, 'nameless becoming' is symbolic of his search for self worth. Like wise, the 'hesitant sense of not belonging quite' shows the child's awkward uncertainty, the odd manipulation of the syntax not only exemplifies that whole 'hesitant' idea but also the sons marginalised position, not feeling as though he fits within society. In the final line, 'savage darkness bright' the dark days of teenage years which Larkin focusses on are meant with a 'bright' affection, the use of light here depicts an adoration for the experience not only as a son, but as a nostalgic reflection at the fathers own teenage years. It is pivotal that the 'bright' comes as the final image of the poem, after the darkness, to affirm that is the memory that remains and argumentative conflict are only short lived.
The dark 'savage' persona of the son is embodied through the harsh sibilance that juxtaposes the affection the father describes, 'sarcastic sons slam front doors' initiates a forceful tone from the offset yet its rhythmic nature can also seem to depict a light, comical outlook of events from the fathers perspective. The increasing length of the sestets down the poem reflect the sons increasing confidence and responsibility as he descends into manhood and makes his way to a 'bright' future, yet the ABCCDC rhyme scheme creates this not quite fulfilled, fitting in image that the son battles throughout the imagery of the poem.
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