Down the M4

Themes

Time and the passing of it, death, journeys, family, memory

Content

This poem is about Abse returning to Wales down the M4 (the main road from England to Wales) in order to visit his mother, whom he believes has bad news. The journey seems to be one made not out of the desire to return but out of necessity and obligation.

Analysis



• Abse begins the poem with the exclamation "Me!". This would seem to suggest an element of surprise on the part of the persona-they cannot believe they are being the "dutiful son" or they are surprised at having to return to Wales so urgently. Alternatively, the exclamation could be one of sarcasm at the speaker obeying his mother's wishes. However, the surprise seems to be negative as they are "afraid" to found out what their mother has to tell them-they assume it is bad news.
• The references to death then appear in the form of euphemisms ("disrobed" and "into the hole") in order to soften the blow that speaking of death causes. The speaker is revealing how it seems like all of his relatives and mother's friends are dying and being buried recently and that he worries that his mother will be next in line- death happens "too often". His mother is now in her 90s yet he still views her as "beautiful"-the speaker clearly cares for their mother and has a good relationship with her-tender. The description of other people going "into the hole" has been viewed by some as careless, displaying how the deaths of those we were not as connected with affect us less.
• Every time the speaker returns to his mother's side, she tells the "monotonous story of clocks"-ironic that she chooses to focus on the passing of time, perhaps in an effort to hold onto it. It is clear that the speaker returns often but likely often out of obligation and Abse could be hinting that the mother is losing her mind. The speaker finds his mother's idle talk boring and feels almost as if he is visibly aging and turning into her through his time spent at her side- "hair turning grey". The story has run out of novelty and is "perishable"( quickly decays like the body), with the persona exaggerating how often they have heard it to show how they believe time spent with their mother is wasted, as emphasised through the simile of "rugby 'amateurs'" collecting "sovereigns"-harsh, a pointless activity.
• The third stanza then moves on to reflecting how Wales and life once was, when the "Tawe" was uninterrupted and teeming with life. Nature always continues and moves on whilst humans vanish in the blink of an eye and the alliteration of "stones stonier" reinforces how industrialisation has made everything worse. There is a negative view of urban life and change.
• Abse subsequently includes a little story concerning his family which makes the reader feel included but also shows how people were not accepted because their accent was different-"You're from Pantagonia!". Human nature may be harsh but the speaker remembers their grandmother's influence as "genuine" and reflects on those he has already lost-it feels like a long time ago now as so many other deaths have occurred since.
• In the last stanza, the speaker is leaving their mother behind or returning to their mother "down the M4". Abse uses the anthropomorphism of the "bridges that leap over me" perhaps to show how there will always be barriers in your way or to imply that Wales is accommodating the speaker's travel-there is a type of connection. The fact that the bridges then "shrink in my side mirror" could make this statement a metaphor for how we have brief encounters with people in our lives before they die and recede. The speaker states that "Ystalyfera is farther than smoke"-untouchable and out of reach, implying perhaps that he recognises that he cannot prevent his mother's death and therefore God is "further than all distance known". He has no use for religion when death surrounds and is inevitable. The best they can do is remember their mother through the "Yiddish tune"-it is as though their mother is already dead.
• Abse ends with the blunt and melancholy short line of "It won't keep". Nothing lasts forever and the song, like his mother, will vanish from existence.
• The structure of the poem is odd in that there are alternating long and short lines. This could symbolise inconsistency within life as we never know how long we will live or it could be the white lines on the road blurring past as the persona drives. There are however two long lines in the final stanza as the white lines are obliterated by the bridges.

Links to Larkin

Themes- 'Reference Back'- Both Larkin and Abse see time spent with their mothers as  boring and a waste of time and are uncomfortable due to the constant reminder of death. However, in Abse's poem, there seems to be a greater intimacy between mother and son whilst Larkin remains in a separate room to his mother-distance
'Home is So Sad'- the theme of loss and decay is predominant as the house "withers" like the "perishable" story in Abse's poem.
'Love Songs in Age'- memories can be painful and sad as they remind us of what we have lost
'Here'-The idea that nature was pure before industrialisation ("unfenced existence") and both poets want to return to a time when nature was uninterrupted
'Ambulances'- death is inevitable but you always hope that your loved ones won't be taken next-"whisper at their own distress"
'Dockery and Son' and 'Toads Revisited'- both poets highlight how whatever we do, we are all heading in the same direction-"joining and parting lines"
'Send No Money'- talking about and to "Time" does not change the way time affects your body.


Tone- The sombre tone used by Abse in this poem links to other poems such as 'Mr Bleaney, 'Ambulances' and 'Nothing To Be Said', which all regard death. However, it is still conversational like 'Self's The Man' and uses family stories.


Technique- Abse, unlike Larkin, uses euphemisms for death rather than simply stating that someone is "dying". However. Larkin does use the phrase "Cemetery Road" in 'Self's The Man'. Abse has also adopted a short and blunt last line similar to that in 'Sunny Prestatyn'-"Now Fight Cancer is there"- and the use of the exclamation mark shows a negative view, as mirrored in 'Toads Revisited'.