Compare the Ways in Which Larkin and Abse Discuss the Subject of Death in Their Poems

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Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse discuss the subject of death in their poems

When the subject of death is addressed by poets Larkin and Abse they imply that death is a certain and predetermined demise to our lives. However through analysing there style of poetic writing, readers can appreciate their different attitudes towards death. Larkin appears accepting of death, acknowledging fate in a realistic way. Abse however is emotionally impacted and overall unaccepting of the part it plays in our lives.

Larkin’s poem ‘Ambulances’ describes the fate of a person falling victim to death. The onlookers watch as an individual is put inside an ambulance which transforms a scene of a placid mood to a construct of an elegy. Throughout his…show more content…
If the word however is viewed as a noun it could show the deceit we are subject to whilst death is hiding. The fact that this sentence can be construed in two different ways shows similarities to another of Larkin’s poems ‘Talking in Bed’. His similar use of puns there (also the word ‘lie’) indicates Larkin’s belief that people often lie to themselves, and in this poem about the inevitable appearance of death, pretending they will not have to endear it. Larkin however is overall accepting of fate and death. This can be further highlighted though his lack of emotional language or personal attachment.
Alternatively we can determine that these affect everyone’s lives similarly. As all stanzas without dependence on matter begin and end in this conclusive manner. The bystanders in the poem can be seen as a symbol for humanity as a whole and their response to death. Their ordinary and individual lives are affected by death in the same way through projecting grief towards the victim but moreover focusing on ‘their own distress’. The idea that death is experienced by everyone is proven in the statement ‘all streets in time are visited’. He therefore concludes that we are all impacted by death, it is ‘all we are’, the one thing we all share in common. His realistic view of death shows his acceptance of the subject. In an alternate view we could argue he sees death optimistically. His collective nouns ‘all we are’, ‘all we do’ show a universal
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