Red Balloon- Dannie Abse

Red Balloon is a poem mainly about Antisemitism. the balloon itself is a metaphor for Judaism and as it is red, a bright visible colour, you can infer that he feels his background is fully on display and everyone knows he is different.

 

The fact Abse describes Judaism as a balloon, a fun childhood plaything, gives a sense of lightheartedness and freedom. however at the end of the second stanza he states that "it ceased to be a toy" insinuating that as he grew up his religion became a much more serious affair. The height of the racism is expressed towards the end of the poem, for example he explains how little boys teased and asked to get the balloon "circumcised" and he describes how "some unsheathed their dirty knives" which could be taken as a metaphor for their un-circumcised penises. He explains racial attacks, saying "they bled my nose, they cut my eye" and finally stating the message of how they tried to make him give up his faith saying "give up, give up your red balloon" enforcing the image of a struggle to stay true to his faith. 

Quests- Dannie Abse

Quests is a poem based mainly around the idea of the after life and the question of whether it, in any form, exists. The first line of the poem says "To reach the other world some sought hemlock in waste places" this expresses the lengths people will go to if they think it will earn them a place in heaven or the equivalent.

 The main religion discussed by Abse in this poem is that of the ancient Greeks. He discusses "Proteus" a Greek god, and "Homer" the ancient Greek poet who wrote about him as the "old man of the sea". In the final stanza Abse writes about the after life "Who knows? Not me. Secular, I'll never hear the spheres, their perfect orchestras" shows Abse is not partial to either side of the science versus religion after life debate. When he says "I'll never hear the spheres" we get the impression he is saying he will never have evidence either way, and the word "secular" means he is not allied with or against any particular religion and is therefore open to any of the theories.

Two Photographs- Dannie Abse

Two Photographs is a poem in which Dannie Abse discusses his two grandmothers. He talks about their differences mainly, for example how one was "slim...vulnerable. Pretty" and the other "portly...formidable. Handsome".

 This parallel descriptions continue as Abse describes one Grandmother as "pious, passive, enjoyed small talk" and the other as "pacy, pushy, would never pray". However in the last stanza, Abse expresses how both of these women, so different and opposite, have met the same end, left as nothing but photographs. He writes how "Happening on them, my children's grandchildren will ask "Who?". 

I feel that the main aim of the poem is to show that these women, so different yet the same, both "uxoriously loved" are still merely mortals such as the rest of us, and in a morbid point of view, the impression of Dannie Abse's thoughts is that however loved you are in life death is inevitable. 

Blond Boys- Dannie Abse

Blond Boys is poem about a young crush had by Abse. The memories of the crush are brought back when he sees the girl once again in Stockholm and remembers his "first shy love". He immediately names the woman, "Eva Jones", this gives us the sense of a real person and not only that but someone clearly very important to Abse due to his remembering of her full name coming so easily after all the time he hasn't seen her.

Abse portrays the feelings of his young love perfectly, showing how he felt inadequate by describing his "acne",an unattractive trait, and her "dimples" a cute and innocent aspect. He also tells of how he did things he was dared to by her, showing his eagerness to impress. 

Even the way he describes "the forever of an August Sunday evening" is extremely idealistic and shows that, despite as we see in the ending she turned him down because she preferred "blond boys", his memories of her are untainted by time and circumstance, and he still remembers the strength of the feelings of his young self. 

The Malham Bird- Dannie Abse

The Malham Bird is a poem Abse wrote for his wife, with a key theme of forbidden love. The entire poem is extremely metaphorical and Abse links his love for Joan, as the title shows, to the story of the Mahlam Bird. This story is a Jewish legend about the garden of Eden, which  essentially states that "the Malham Bird of Eden did not eat of the forbidden fruit and so dwells alone in paradise"

Abse metaphorically compares his love for Joan to the eating of the forbidden fruit, forbidden but almost irresistible. In the final stanza Abse writes about how as the Malham bird resisted eating the fruit "it was not banished but stayed, lonely, immortal, forever" this makes us reconsider whether the bird was really rewarded at all, and is also a justification for taking risks and doing things that might be forbidden because you never know where your actions can take you, and even though the Malham bird supposedly did the right thing it was still left eternally lonely. 

St Valentines Night- Dannie Abse

St Valentines Night is a poem about young love and Abse expresses his true view as a male on losing his virginity. Also throughout the whole poem Abse relates to Eros and Thanatos, the Greek Gods of love and of death. 

Abse takes an almost comical approach to describing his own experience, describing his "qbox of Black Magic chocolates" and her "healthy appetite". He uses alliteration frequently, using sentences such as "Slow and sensual and sweet" and "the soft-centred she coming into sight". However despite the mocking tone Abse never objectifies the woman, and in fact only truly mocks his own youthful excitement. 

Postcard to his Wife- Dannie Abse

Postcard to his Wife is a poem written by Abse following the death of his life long partner Joan. However the poem is written as if Joan has only gone to somewhere from which returning is possible. This poem conveys Abse's pain and mourning of his loss, for example he begins by describing how "the dulcamara of memory is not enough" expressing that he cannot fulfill his need for his wife even by remembering the memories they shared. He also says that he knows "the impoverishment of self and the Venus de Milo is only stone" this quote suggests that Abse has found a new perspective on what is important, and what the true riches in life are since his wife passed away, this is shown by his mention of the Venus de Milo which is a statue admired by many, but yet Abse is completely correct in saying that it is in fact "only stone".

In the beginning of the second stanza Abse expresses a simple pain of loss by saying "the bed's too big" which is something anyone after the loss of a partner to any means can understand. He also shows a slight denial of the fact his wife is gone forever by trying to plan excuses and reasons for her to return as well as things they could do together again upon her return. 

The final, and possibly most powerful, line of the poem says "absence can't make Abse's heart grow fonder". In saying this, Abse takes a famous saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and presents it in such a way that a readers view on the saying may change and also they may understand more clearly Abse's feelings by him relating them to something we are already familiar with.