Two Photographs

Analysis of Two Photographs by Dannie Abse

I'm really glad my camera is so good that you can read my notes. It really does help.

Sons

Analysis of Sons by Dannie Abse

Imitations

Analysis of Imitations by Dannie Abse

Welsh Valley Cinema

Analysis of Welsh Valley Cinema by Dannie Abse

In The Theatre

Analysis of In The Theatre by Dannie Abse

The Mistake

Analysis of The Mistake by Dannie Abse

The Boasts of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd

Analysis of The Boasts of Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd by Dannie Abse

Return to Cardiff

Analysis of Return to Cardiff by Dannie Abse

I don't know if I'm just not very good at finding good stuff to analyse, or if there's actually not as much to write about these poems, compared to the Larkin poems.

Down the M4

Analysis of Down the M4 by Dannie Abse

Leaving Cardiff

Analysis of Leaving Cardiff by Dannie Abse

I was going to type out some notes, but they would be exactly the same as the ones shown on the picture of my written notes.

Self's the Man

Analysis of Self's the Man by Philip Larkin

- Appears to show a negative view of women. "He married a woman to stop her getting away/ Now she's there all day". Arnold is stuck with this woman whom he regrets marrying, he didn't know what he was getting himself in to. His money "She takes as her perk", making her sound like a prostitute. When he's not "wasting his life on work", she commands him to "Put a screw in the wall", making her seem controlling.

- Actually, the money goes towards "the kiddies' clobber and drier/ And the electric fire", which he would surely miss if she didn't pay for them.

- "And if it was such a mistake/ He still did it for his own sake" - Arnold married the woman because he didn't want to be alone without her, so would probably be in a worse position without her around.

- Persona compares himself to Arnold: "So he and I are the same,/ Only I'm a better hand/ At knowing what I can stand" - knows the deal breakers that would stop him getting married.

Ignorance

Analysis of Ignorance by Philip Larkin

"Strange to know nothing, never to be sure"

- Uncertainty towards beliefs and what is believed to be true.

"Someone must know."

 - Questioning tone, doesn't like not understanding, almost desperate need to know.

"Strange to be ignorant of the way things work"

- People take things (life) for granted and don't try to understand any deeper meanings.

"Willingness to change"

 - People will change their lives to adjust to the world they know nothing about.

"Even to wear such knowledge - for our flesh/ Surrounds us with its decisions"

- We're not in control of what we do and believe.

"And yet spend all our life on imprecisions"

 - Everything we think - like our explanations for life - aren't correct.

"When we start to die/ Have no idea why"

- We die still ignorant of life and the truth is never revealed to us.

Broadcast

Analysis of Broadcast by Philip Larkin

- Larkin is listening to radio broadcast of a concert which Maeve Brennan is at.

- 'I think of your face among all those faces' - picks her out from the crowd.

- 'One of your gloves unnoticed on the floor/ Beside those new, slightly out-moded shoes.' Inside jokes about her clumsiness and her clothing choices.

- Onomatopoeia: 'whispering' 'coughing' 'scuttle' 'snivelling' - helps us picture the scene.

- 'Here it goes quickly dark. I lose/ All but the outline of the still withering' - loses her in the darkness and becomes desperate to her 'hands, tiny in all that air, applauding'.

Send No Money

Analysis of Send No Money by Philip Larkin

- Talking to personified 'Time', asking to 'Teach me the way things go' - tell him about life.

- 'Sit here and watch the hail/ Of occurence clobber life out' - sit and let life pass you by.

- 'Oh thank you' 'Oh yes please' - gullible, naive.

- 'I spent youth,/ Tracing the trite untransferable/ Truss-advertisment, truth' - wasted his life not doing anything, like someone gullible watching an advert.

Naturally The Foundation Will Bear Your Expenses

Analysis of Naturally The Foundation Will Bear Your Expenses by Philip Larkin

- Self-centered persona; possesive 'my Comet' 'made my taxi late' - doesn't care about the memorial, just annoyed it's made him late to catch his plane.

- 'I pondered pages Brekley/ Not three weeks since had heard' - plagiarism; recylcing essay.

- 'Queen and Minister/ And Band of Guards' - people reminiscing are the ones who made the decision for soldiers to go over the top.

- 'When will England grow up?' - stop wasting time thinking about the dead and get on with your own life.

- Most Larkin poems: mundane before serious. This: Serious, then forgets about it and moves on to something mundane.

A Study of Reading Habits

Analysis of A Study of Reading Habits by Philip Larkin

"When getting my nose in a book/ Cured most things short of school"

- Reading is his escapism, lets him have fantasies about himself where he is this strong, powerful heroic character.

"Evil was just my lark:/ Me and my coat and fangs/ Had ripping times in the dark."

- Thinks everyone fancies him, some kind of sex machine.

"I broke them up like meringues." 

- Thinks he awesome, but it doesn't take much effort to break a meringue.

"the dude/ Who lets the girl down before/ The hero arrives"

- More realistic view of himself, likes he's playing the supporting role in his own life story.

 

 

 

The Large Cool Store

Analysis of The Large Cool Store by Philip Larkin

"The large cool store selling cheap clothes/ Set out in simple sizes plainly"

- Could be a positive or negative view of the shop. 'Cool' - could mean trendy, or literally cold, unpleasant. 'Cheap' - would be an advantage to shoppers, but could mean tacky. 'Set out in simple sizes plainly' - could mean it's easier to find what you're looking for, but could be degrading to the shoppers, saying they are simple natured and can't handle complexity. 

"In browns and greys, maroon and navy"

- Boring, bland colours for the working class during the day.

"Lemon, sapphire, moss-green, rose"

- Feminine colours for nightwear - not just yellow, blue, green, and pink. Different sides to personality?

"To suppose/ They share that world"

- Incredulous; can't believe someone can wear such different clothing.

- Commoners have no taste, the clothes they wear are man-made and of poor quality, and it's weird that they can wear different types of clothes.

 

Home Is So Sad

Analysis of Home Is So Sad by Philip Larkin

"It stays as it was left" "As if to win them back" "bereft of anyone to please, it withers so"

- House is personified; adds sympathy. 'withers' - like the house is dying.

"Having no heart to put aside the theft"

- House has been robbed of its family.

"And turn again to what it started as,/ A joyous shot at how things ought to be"

 - House is supposed to have people in it, but the time has passed and it has to move on.

 

 

Reference Back

Analysis of Reference Back by Philip Larkin

- Get the feeling he doesn't want to be with his mother; in separate rooms, shouting to each other across the house, wasting his time.

"Three decades later made this sudden bridge/ From your unsatisfactory age/ To my unsatisfactory prime."

- Bridge - musical term - literally made a reference. He's in the prime time of life but is still no happier than his old mother. Can we ever be truly satisfied?

"They link us to our losses: worse,/ They show us what we have as it once was,/ Blindingly undiminished, just as though/ By acting differently we could have kept it so"

- Music - reminds you of what you've lost and what could have been, we shouldn't have long memories because remembering is too painful.

- Similar to 'Love Songs In Age' - unsatisfied with life.

As Bad As A Mile

Analysis of As Bad As A Mile by Philip Larkin

'Watching the shield core

Striking the basket, skidding across the floor

Shows less and less of luck, and more and more

Of failure spreading back up the arm

Earlier and earlier, the unraised hand calm,

The apple unbitten in the palm.'

- Presents the idea of human greed; the satisfaction of eating the apple wasn't enough, the persona wanted even more. Disappointment in life is inevitable because we always want too much.

- Such a simple task that when it's failed, it feels even worse - even if the apple core was only an inch away from the bin, it feels like a mile.

The Importance of Elsewhere

Analysis of The Importance of Elsewhere by Philip Larkin

"Lonely in Ireland, since it was not home,/ Strangeness made sense"

It makes sense to be an outsider in a new place because it's obvious to everyone that you're a tourist.

"Living in England has no such excuse"

 "Here no elsewhere underwrites my existence"

It's okay that he's different in Ireland because it's not his home, not where he belongs, but when he's at home there's no excuse, he should fit in but he doesn't.

Sunny Prestatyn

Analysis of Sunny Prestatyn by Philip Larkin

- Sexuality used to promote the place - mainly breasts and thighs.

- Uses crude language to describe how she has been defaced - makes a point of demonstrating the lack of maturity. The language becomes more degrading as the poster gets more defaced.

- We see something beautiful and want to make it more realistic so we give it flaws and things we can laugh about.

- Was the cancer poster there and being covered up by something nice? Or is it replacing a nice thing because the reality is life sucks and if you ruin one thing it leads to more bad things?

MCMXIV

Analysis of MCMXIV by Philip Larkin

"Those long uneven lines/ Standing as patiently/ As if they were stretched outside/ The Oval or Villa Park"

People lining up to go war - a lot of the time in the trenches was spent waiting around bored. Cricket - game ground were common places of recruitment.

"Grinning as if it were all/ An August Bank Holiday lark"

Happy - unaware of what they're signing up to - propaganda giving false reality.

"And the shut shops, the bleached/ Established names on the sunblinds,/ The farthings and sovereigns/ And dark-clothed children at play"

Everything that is being left behind, peaceful last image of life before going to war.

"And the countryside not caring"

Nature doesn't care for men, the war is so different to what they're used to - countryside is supposed to be a peaceful safe place.

"Never such innocence,/ Never before or since"

The war had a lasting effect on England due to what it brought with it - first time weapons etc - but did this innocence we long for actually exist before the fall? Or do the war memorials create the idea of something that never existed in the first place?

"Without a word-- the men/ Leaving the gardens tidy"

 Trying to leave things in a nice way because they probably won't be coming back

"The thousands of marriages,/ Lasting a little while longer"

Getting married in desperation before going to war - they can die together.