Wednesday, 26 March 2014

At Ogmore-by-sea this August Evening


"estuary" -> horizon - part of something bigger

"My father - who, self taught, scraped upon" -> violin usually flows soft - shows contrast

"Darker than the darkening evening" -> reflective of himself - the environment effects a person? or could be pathetic fallacy

"unified" ->spiritual

"The music summons night." -> romantic/intimate

"It's twenty minutes later into August Before the gaudy sun sinks to Australia." -> evening ending - becoming night -> "gaudy" -> sun = artificial - selfish? -> "sinks" - lines to natural theme - refers to ship - prisoners to Australia

"anthracite" -> coal = burning - natural -> its soft glow/sheen makes it haunting

"As its spotlit prow a pale familiar" -> death

"carnival" -> a 'carnival' seems too joyful considering how dark this poem is

"no foghorns howl" -> dogs often howls when sad or are mourning -> wolves howl to signal their location to the rest of the pack and when a member of the pack is hurt, injured or dead = the persona- the night is clear

"here, father, here tonight" -> Abse is reminiscent of his father like Larkin is of his mother

"three far lighthouses converse in dotty exclamation marks" -> these lighthouses are important - hold significance in the poem

"of the tumult the sea" -> sea of should that have died? - carry death to the shore towards a person

Links to Larkin's 'Reference Back' and 'A Winter Visit' -> loss, music and memories - relationship with their mother



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