Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about love Essay

Comp argon the ways in which Larkin and Abse write round Love, in your response you should write active at least two of Larkins poesys Larkins worldwide view on manage and hymeneals is that both are a liability. This is go forn throughout many poems including selfs the man where Larkin talks about a man being held back down and worked to death by his wife. Abses views are somewhat contrary to Larkins. He has a much softer attack when talking about love and feels that it connects himself with his family, as seen in his poems postcard to his wife and The Malham Bird where he expresses his love for his wife. Love as a theme is present in many of Larkins poems and Selfs the man illustrates his unimaginative outlook on marriage and love. In the first gear stanza Larkin directly compares himself to his made up character of Arnold, who represents alone the lower class custody in a marriage. The first two lines Oh, no one sewer deny/ That Arnold is less selfish than I adjudg e a humorous tone in with the office of a rhyming disticht, Larkin is patronising the reader. In the next line he writes how Arnold married a cleaning lady to stop her getting away. In comparison, the poem The Malham Bird Abse writes of love in a diametrical way in love, you a Gentile. His soft tone creates a slower pace to the poem which shows his love for his late wife.On the other hand Larkin doesnt use the word love and he uses a faster case-of-fact tone. Larkin is often viewed as sexist nonwithstanding here he could be seen as saying that women dont get a chance to live their lives how they want to because men marry them Now shes at that place all day. In the second stanza Larkin continues to paint women in a poor light And the money he gets for wasting his life on work/ She takes as her perk. The first line uses enjambment which makes the poem sound like a list of moans. She appears to be greedy by taking his money. Larkin displays an air of snobbery about the lower cla sses hard labour jobs. He delineates the woman as interfering and domineering. Larkin then uses colloquial language to make fun of the lower classes and how they babble out To pay for the kiddies clobber and the drier/ and the electric fire. He does non rate family life real highly. Larkin states that the roles have reversed in the third stanza. Arnold told his wife to marry him and she did and now she is telling him to work, to do the chores etc int shutdown to have a read at the evening paper/ Its Put a get it on in this wall-. The fourth stanza uses colloquial language again and the fifth and uses a sarcastic and patronising tone.Larkin does not look uponmarriage favourably. Moving into the sixth stanza, the poet claims that Arnold, too, was just out for his own ends and if it was such a skid / He still did it for his own sake / Playing his own game. He concludes that he and I are the same and both are selfish, but he is better At knowing what I asshole stand / Without th em sending a van. The van is a mental institutes order of transportation, suggesting that Arnold is going mad in his situation. Much of this poem is unsympathetic towards Arnolds situation. However at the end Larkin reveals an uncertainty. Suddenly the poet is faced with the reality of his own situation But wait, not do fast/ Is there such a contrast? Has he realised the loneliness in his own life because he was too selfish to share. Another poem which presents love as a theme is Talking in Bed. In this poem Larkin describes a couple in a failing relationship because they are separate and find it difficult to communicate. Themarital bed is used as a symbol for marriage a haven for spouses to come together. The bed should be the place where a couple feel united, but in this poem, the bed makes the couples detachment from one another glaringly obvious.The word lying has an ambiguous meaning in this poem on one hand it means that the couple in presume a horizontal position together , and on the other hand, it appears there is some fabrication among them. Goes back so far also presents some ambiguity first, the couple have been lying together in their bed for years which is an indication of a lengthy marriage and second, they have been living a inhabit for many years. The couple are clearly unhappy with their marriage. This was a time when separation and divorce was frowned upon but couples stayed together unhappily because it was the right thing to do. There was a sense of accountability within the marriage contract and it was difficult for women in particular to walk away from their husbands. The second stanza describes the turmoil of their marriage metaphorically by using nature. The awful silence is deafening and an indication of the tense, nervous atmosphere between the two, deterioration as they continue to remain silent. The outside is a reflection of the couple inside the tension heightens between them, and is never relieved. The wind is turbulent, s cattering the clouds across the sky. Builds and disperses could be a metaphor for an argument the environment is fraught(p) and situations cannot be resolved. Clouds have both a dark and threatening aspect, and can be difficult tosee through.Metaphorically speaking, a clear sky would represent a marriage at peace, but in this case the clouds suggest a marriage at war with itself these wars could potentially harm the marriage, so the clouds get across them, if you cant see something then it doesnt exist. Dark towns can be used to describe a number of different things faults, disagreements, difficulties, isolation and pain. The contrast of their marriage to the tumultuous winds are a knockout reminder of what their future holds. They have to try and work things out to arrive at an amicable solution. It is not understood why their marriage has failed why at this unique distance (lying side-by-side) that they feel so isolated from each other. The husband cannot understand why communi cation between him and his wife have broken down. voice communication are not forthcoming and he is at a loss as to how the marriage appears to be irretrievable. Was he ever really in love with his wife? Did he ever feel a softness towards her? It becomes more difficult to find/ Words at once true and kind. He wonders if their marriage was based on a lie or was it inevitably going to fail. Dannie Abses approach to love is different in comparison to Larkin Abse sees love as something to be treasured between him and his family. Where Larkin views love with a touch of cynicism, Abses poems demonstrate a purity and an equality.In The Malham Bird it did not matter that the couple are from different backgrounds you a Gentile and I a Jew Their relationship may have been unacceptable for the times but their love was all that mattered. The poem is littered with fond memories of when the couple first met Dear wife, remember our first illicit/holiday, the rented room, the hidden beach. Theirs was a romantic love. Abses couple are happy in contrast to the couples portrayed by Larkin in the above poems. Their shared register is full of warmth and mutual admiration. Where Larkins poems view love as a hindrance and something a man can do without, Abse firmly believes you need love above all else. In Postcard to his Wife, Abses portrayal is of a husband (himself) desperately missing his wife in her absence. He longs for them to shake off the day together. He wishes she would Make excuses so that she would be home with him. He loves her and enjoys her presence the opposite of Larkins idea of relationships. Abse feels there is a void in his life when his wife is not around and cannot patronise the heartache. The contrast between Larkin and Abses views on love and relationships are polar opposites.