A Scene from Married Life

The third of poems studied yesterday:

 

Vocabulary

Daps- plimsolls (dialect word from West Country and Wales)
Tusker Rock- A rock in the Bristol channel named after a Viking
Psychopomps – Angel-like creatures who have the job of escorting newly deceased souls to where they need to go.

 

1)    The poem is set in Ogmore

2)    A couple fight throughout this poem but then, towards the end, they agree to stop arguing but they are soon fighting afterwards (suggested by “and then…”

3)    Abse never actually states that the persona is fighting – he uses words like “squabble” and “squirm”. The situation is developed through the use of imagery and metaphors to add more detail about feelings and the situation as time goes on.

4)    The title suggests that it is about a couple who are at a difficult time in their marriage. They feel trapped and try to keep control of the situation. The poem shows what marriage could be like and might act as a warning to those who might get married.

5)    It is structured into stanzas and ‘stages’ in the argument. The structure reflects the stages in the fight and the same amount of lines in each stanza might suggest that it is normal to fight and there is a sense of repetitiveness.

6)    Abse uses metaphors, imagery and is always comparing the situation with other things such as vengeance of the worm or the Cold War. This shows a use of hyperbole.

Links to Larkin Poems
This poem could be linked to ‘Wild Oats’ as Larkin also talks about a relationship.

However it differs from this poem because we are connected with Abse’s poems and because his poem describes a real marriage with a real woman we get a better insight into the relationship.

Elegy for Dylan Thomas - Abse

The second part of my students' group work:

 

This poem is about Dylan Thomas’ life and death and Dannie Abse’s response to this which shows how Abse looks up to him. It shows Thomas’ unhappy marriage and how this could have led to his death through alcoholism. His marriage could also be shown through the structure of the poem as it is unorganised and uneven. The rhyme scheme also reflects this as there is no regular proper pattern to which Abse writes this poem. 

 

This poem links to Larkin poem ‘For Sydney Bechet’ as it reflects Larkin’s admiration for Sydney Bechet and his love for his music. This therefore links to ‘Elegy for Dylan Thomas’ as both Abse and Larkin write about someone they admire and look up to. It also links to Larkin’s poem ‘Mr Bleaney’ in some aspects as it is writing about somebody else’s life and the writer is removed from the poem but is compared to the character he has written about.