Caparison of “Last visit to 198 Cathedral Road” by Danny Abse and “Home is so Sad” by Philip Larkin.
The subject of this essay is a comparison between “Last visit to 198 Cathedral Road” by D.Abse and “Home is so Sad” by P.Larkin. I will be using the following things to compare the poems:
• Content-what each poem is about.
• The ideas the poems wants us to think
• The atmosphere / mood of each of the poems
• The structure- how are the poems organized?
-Interesting words or phrases
• My opinion
Both of these poems are about death and bereavement and both of the poet’s are visiting their dead parents homes for the last time. “Last visit to 198 Cathedral Road” is written in a first person narrative as Abse visits his dead fathers flat for the last time during the night.
On the other hand in “Home is so Sad” Larkin is exploring the aftermath of death. The theme death seems to be on his mind a lot as he is visiting this house for the last time.
I think that the ideas that the poets are giving us is that a love one has died and it is the last time that both Abse and Larkin will visit the house, and now they back, the place it dull, dusty and dark. “Last visit to 198 Cathedral Road” this is Abse last visit to his fathers flat and he feels like a “Burglar” as if he has no right to be there. Abse avoids turning on the lights in his father’s flats this suggests that he does not want to see the room clearly as it is the “Dying Room” as he may not want to bring back memories. He “sat sightless in the room…” he implies that sitting in the darkness allows his other sense to take over; they may also be a reminder that his father, too, is now sightless then he says “…that was out of breath” Abse personified the room hinting that it no longer contains his breathing father. “That summer night to Nothing” the word “Nothing” emphasizes his father’s absence, it is the last word in the verse and starts with a capital letter. The final verse...