Saturday 31 October 2015

AMBULANCE - Philip Larkin And PYLONS - Stephen Spender

Ambulances
Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin’s poetry is a reaction against the Neo-Romanticism and the surrealistic abstractions of poets like Dylan Thomas. Larkin belonged to the poetic movement called “angry young man”.  Other famous poets in the movement are Thom Gunn, Donald Davie and Elizabeth Jennings. They wrote bitter and realistic poems. “Ambulances” is one among them. Through this poem Philip Larkin tells us that the sight of ambulance brings to us the true value of life. Ambulance brings to mind a sense of mortality (death) The sight tells us that we are always moving towards death, the ultimate reality of life. For a second it brings to mind the futility of life. Life with all its joys and achievements has no value at all and it is only an illusion.

Ambulances are compared to a cabin where the priest sits to hear confessions. Ambulances run along the busy streets making a loud noise.  Sometimes they take rest at a footpath. People look  at ambulances with fear and curiosity. But they don’t mind the staring of the people. Ambulances will certainly visit every street and every home, because death is inevitable in life.

An accident may lead to the death of many people including men, women and children. They are carried on stretchers to the ambulances. Food packets are thrown with the dead bodies on the road. When we see a dead boy with red blankets in the ambulance, we sympathize with the dead saying “poor soul”. But it reminds us of our own death that will happen tomorrow or day after tomorrow. And for a second we know that we are always moving towards death, which is the ultimate reality of life. The Ambulance takes away the dead man and his loving relationship with the family members is cut off forever, because he belongs to another world- the world of dead.

The Pylons

Stephen Spender

The installation of modern technological world and their consequences on the silent, sleepy  village is the theme of the poem “The Pylons”.  Pylons are very tall metal structures which hold electric cables high  above the countryside, so that electricity can be transmitted over long distances. Looking at the pylons, Stephen Spender is amazed by the destruction they cause to the peaceful village. All the houses and roads in the village are made of the stones of the hills in the village. Till the arrival of the pylons, the village was beautiful, peaceful and silent. But now the poet is afraid that modern science and technology will destroy the soul and spirit of the village. The beautiful hills of the village are now filled with pylons that carry electric wires. Their black colour seems to show their gloomy nature.

The poet compares the pylons to naked gigantic girls who have lost their modesty and have nothing to hide. Modern science and technology are based on proved facts and they have nothing to hide anything. On the other hand the beautiful countryside has an unattainable charm hidden in it. The valley is bathed in golden colours at sunset and the green chestnut trees add more beauty to the village. But now the gigantic pillars laugh at the beauty of the village, because the pylons bring progress and prosperity to the village.


The poem presents a conflict between the poet’s appreciation of scientific development and his love for the beauty of the village unspoiled by human hand.  The poet’s ambivalent attitude takes us by surprise. The Pylons stand far above him like “whips of anger”.  Yet they are symbols of a bright future for the coming generations. The village will be converted into a great city with all modern comforts for people.

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