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.

Dockery and Son- Philip Larkin

Dockery and Son is a poem about contrast mainly between Philip Larkin's single and childless life and that of his old university friend Dockery who has married and had a child since they both left university. Larkin considers the differences between his choswen life path and Dockery's, Having an internal debate over who has made the right decisions Larkin thinks about how Dockery must have made his mind up on what he wanted from life at the young age of nineteen when Larkin still hasn't decided what he wants from life himself yet

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However by the end of stanza five Larkin begins reckoning with himself that Dockery is only diluting his life by adding children and a wife not actually improving the quality of it. By the final stanza of the poem Larkin looks at life in an extremely pessimistic way saying it is "first boredom, then fear" which in some ways is true however as a reader it made me think that surely in between the fear and boredom there is a time of enjoyment and properly living which perhaps Larkin overlooks. 

Here- Philip Larkin

Here is a poem about a journey into Hull (Philip Larkin's home town) and it give his perspectiveon his home town and the people who live their. It has three main focuses throughout. Those being; movement and speed, attractive descriptions of place and other (less positive) descriptions of place.

Firstly the movement references, Larkin talks about "swerving east" which gives us a sense of speed and direction as well as an understanding of sharp movements. He continues to use the word swerving, which could also be interpreted as the train avoiding things or more metaphorically Larkin avoiding things himself. Once into the city Larkin describes the "dead straight miles" this suggests the city is repetitive, or boring and goes on for as far as he can see. Finally in the fourth stanza the movements become more free and natural, he talks about how "leaves unnoticed thicken" and "neglected waters quicken" both of which are natural movements rather than that of a train or man made streets. Also the quote "luminously-peopled air ascends"is an image of the smoke and fumes of the city rising away and leaving behind fresh and natural air of the outskirts.
Next the attractive descriptions of place, these seem to stay outside the city centre and away from new and industrialised parts. Larkin describes "meadows" and "skies and scarecrows, haystacks, hares and pheasants" in a seemingly fond way and also talks about "widening rivers" "gold clouds" and "shining gull marked mud" the way theses are listed and the fact he uses alliteration emphasises his positive view on these things which are mostly natural and agricultural images. However in the second stanza Larkin does provide a seemingly positive view on the "domes and statues, spires" of the city, creating a nice image of the skyline. Again in stanza three the only attractive description is of the thriving land, when Larkin says "wheat fields running high as hedges" which puts the image of successful farming and healthy land into the mind of the reader. Finally in the last stanza he describes "poppies" and the beach and sun, giving us an ending image of natural beauty.
In contrast Larkin gives a lot of more negative descriptions of place including that of "cranes" and "grain scattered streets, barge crowded waters" making Hull sound dirty and crowded. These kinds of description continue into the third stanza when Larkin describes his surroundings as "urban yet simple" and "fishy smelling" both of which are almost repulsive descriptions which certainly do not make hull seem like a place someone would want to visit. However there are no more unpleasant descriptions after the third stanza and the poem ends on an attractive and natural, yet thought provoking image. 

The Whitsun Weddings- Philip Larkin

The Whitsun Weddings is a poem based on a journey made by Larkin one Whitsun weekend. Whitsun (White Sunday) is the 7th Sunday after Easter, a bank holiday weekend in may which was a very popular time for weddings to take place. 

In the first stanza of the poem, all movement seems slow and sluggish and delayed. Larkin leaves verbs to the end of lines in order to emphasize the delay in motions, for example he waits until the end of the fourth line  to say "pull out".

It isn't until the third stanza that Larkin begins to describe the weddings, and it is clear almost immediately that he has a negative view on them. He describes almost everyone present negatively, for example "fathers with broad belts under their suits and seamy foreheads; mothers loud and fat; an uncle shouting smut" he makes it seem as though these people are not made for such a setting as a formal wedding. His description of them and their "jewelry substitutes" tells us he feels they are all pretending to be something they aren't for the sake of others.
From his observation and judgement, Larkin goes on to make assumptions and speculations on where they have been for the wedding and reception. He describes "banquet-halls up yards, and bunting-dressed coach-party annexes" all of which seem cheap and tacky in comparison to the hotels and manor houses that would be the venues of wealthier weddings.
Towards the end of the poem Larkin provides a more philosophical view on the weddings and the lives of each of the newly weds. for example he describes how "none thought of the others they would never meet or how their lives would all contain this hour" this imagery of lives passing only for a short time before swerving away from each other again just as swiftly as they joined is an extremely interesting perspective from Larkin that encourages us to think about our own lives and the people we have shared journeys and such like with but will never know.
The final lines of the poem provide an equally interesting image. He likens the couples after the train journey ends to "an arrow shower sent out of sight, somewhere becoming rain" this image is suggestive of many ideas. One being that the couples are all set to spread across different places not to meet again and another being the rain possibly suggesting that the relationships will end stormily in Larkin's view.
Overall this poem gives us a clear insight into Larkin's views on many things, weddings and relationships, people and places, all of which seem rather pessimistic but relatable.