Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about memory and time. In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of at least two Larkin poems.
Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about memory and time. In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of at least two Larkin poems.
Larkin and Abse have both written poems which look back over how time has changed their lives and surroundings. They explore the journey from childhood to adulthood and the feelings which surface from looking back over the memories.
In Reference Back, Larkin explores the theme of time and memories and emphasises the speed in which these memories pass. For example, ‘From the unsatisfactory hall To the unsatisfactory room’, it’s as though the different areas, the hall and the room, represent different periods of time in Larkin’s life. Another theme of Larkin is his dissatisfaction when looking upon his memories and the way in which time has defeated him and this is evident in the repetition of ‘unsatisfactory’. In comparison, Abse looks back upon his life growing up in Cardiff in ‘Return to Cardiff’ but he almost mocks his immaturity and his anticipation of what to expect, ‘less a return than a raid’, when he did look back on his childhood. Larkin’s tone is much darker and negative, for example he says he ‘idly’ wasted his time when he reminisces. In a Study of Reading Habits, Larkin disregards his childhood memories as a waste of time and almost as insignificant, ‘Seem far too familiar, Get stewed:’
