The Game

Themes
Religion, sport, competition, identity, war, memories, corruption

Content
This poem is one that many readers can relate to and have experienced the feelings of in their life- being at a football match cheering their team on to win the game. In Abse's poem , the opposition and their fans are seen as the side of "Evil" and the game appears to become a fight between two warring factions as fuelled by high emotions and the competitive spirit.

Analysis

• The title itself with its use of the definite article makes the football match seem like a significant point in time and the reader is initially confused as to what the game is as the title is easily mistaken to relate to a child's game of imagination and immaturity. This is ironic in that the crowd take the game so seriously and view it as a battle when in fact the game is just that- insignificant child's play.
• The use of the demanding word "follow" at the start of the first stanza intimates that the fans have no choice and are literally forced to go to the football game to support their side- lack of own will. It is as though they are following missionaries or their own faith blindly.
• The alliteration of "blares the brassy band" is somewhat onomatopoeic and mirrors the sound that the crowd would be hearing whilst the invigorating atmosphere and action of the game extends "beyond the goal posts" of the Welsh stadium ("Ninian Park") to encompass the crowd. A football match is not only about the players but the atmosphere that the fans create. The idea that " between black spaces, a hundred matches sparks" presents the image of the fans almost worshipping their team and maintaining a vigil whilst this act could also be seen as the fans igniting and displaying their passion.
•  In the second stanza, Abse's use of the first person plural ("we" signifies the idea that the individual fans have no identity and are united as a whole. They view their own team as "legendary" and the colour of "royal blue" suggests that the fan's adoration borders on the worship of heroes and royalty. Great past players for the team are recalled as the speaker nostalgically remembers the best times of the club and the "sad" fact that these legends are now gone- a mutual passion for the game and club unites people. Abse then likens the "great crowd" to an "injured beast"- this simile displays the crowd as trying to protect their pride in a vicious and uncontrolled manner- they are untamed, indignant and defiant.
• The method of deciding who starts a football match is child-like and trivialises the game as a "coin" is simply "spun" and immediately, "all is simplified". The football match becomes a battle between Good and Evil and the speaker is unreliable in their view of their self as part of the "Good" team. Disgusting and immature tactics are adopted to fight the opposition ("hiss") and the fans constantly question whether the opposition was "offside" or "the Referee is bribed". Fans resort to the chant of corruption to account for why the opposition is beating them and these opposition players become literal "Demons". A battle of religion seems to take place and the injury of a player causes the supposedly pure "cherubs" (fans) to "howl for blood". This imagery of innocence is contrasted with violence, showing that there is no right team-subjective.
• The one object that remains unbiased is the "white ball" which the fans view as their holy grail and cannot find fault with. However, any time the opposition players come near to scoring, the striker is named "Satan" and becomes the player to hate for nearly beating the side of Good. The idea that this ruler of Hell lands in a "ballet dancer's pose" appears almost comedic and in stark contrast to what the reader would expect. Are the fans trying to portray the other players as weak and feminine (a common insult at games)? The "familiar tune" that is heard is likely the tune for the opposition when they score and the sound of the whistle blowing signals the end of the half.
• In the fourth stanza, the speaker yet again become nostalgic, remembering the good days of the club, though the years have been "discarded" and the games are "faded". The memories are drifting away but will always be reminders of the superiority of the football club in the past when they played the best teams and emerged victorious. The "military airs" continue the on-going metaphor of war while the one time that the "Bluebirds" (a nickname for the Cardiff team) won the FA cup and became "champions" remains the point of pride that fans draw upon. There is a sense of community at football games as fans can identify and acknowledge one another-"the same cripples in their chairs"- people are loyal and there is equality for everyone.
• "Mephistopheles" was the demon in the Faust legend who the fans believe "has had his joke" as the supposedly good team are losing, though the fans refuse to place blame upon the players themselves but instead accuse evil agents of bringing about corruption. The use of subsequent football terminology shows that the speaker has a firm grasp of the game and questions whether "if they foul us we need to be ashamed?" Though the opposition are "infernal" (hellish and fiendish) and devious in their scheming, there is a sense of weakness being on display if the fouls go unchallenged. The fans chant "Heads up!" to maintain spirit but this optimism is all but non-existent- the best they can hope for is a "Ted Drake"(esteemed past Arsenal player) or "Dixie Drake" ( a renowned Everton player prominent in the 1920s and known for his ability to score through headers). Perhaps then the fans literally want the players to get their heads on the ball and in the goal.
• Despite shots on target,  a saved shot "discontents" the speaker as it is useless without a goal to show for the work. This disappointment takes them back in time to when "Faust must pay that fee" in selling his soul to Mephistopheles to become powerful. It could be that Abse is likening the sorrow and disappointment the fans feel to that which Faust felt when he realised his mistake while it could alternatively be showing how the fans became too arrogant of victory and suffered for it. "Phantoms" of the past "stir" in the fans as they recall previous glory which is now so shattered- the past is sometimes better than the present. The men are no longer angels or demons but "coloured jerseys" which blur as the game is over and the excitement and anticipation is gone. Fans make the game what it is.
• The phrase "God sign our souls!" is synonymic for 'God save our souls' as the speaker feels that in winning the game, the "obscure staff of Hell rule" and that the game means everything. This hyperbolic statement presents the idea that fan's lives are made or broken by a game of football and that fans went for the "jugular" in stating that the game was lost before it ended- a "depressing" thought for many. "Small boys swarm the field for an autograph" like bees admiring the best and successful and the quick transition from discussing the outcome of the game to this statement suggest that the anger the speaker felt is now fading to embarrassment at losing.
• In the last stanza, the "silent" stadium makes it clear that a stadium without the energy that fans bring is nothing- just an object. After a game, the crowd lose their bestial visages and return to the civilised normality of life as shown in that they "filed out" in an orderly manner. Football games have the ability to change people for the period of time that they last as the competitive spirit is brought out. Towards the end of the stanza, the sense of loss and sadness intensifies through Abse showing the forgotten programmes "trampled underfoot" and how the "dark" seems "natural" and "the rain" "appropriate". Pathetic fallacy shows the glum and dejected mood of the losing fans and the newsboys appear "threatening" in that they are broadcasting the defeat- humiliation and hurt pride. On the other hand, these boys could be threatening in that they are delivering the news of the real world and its horrific events.
• Use of the present tense throughout the poem keeps the sense of anticipation and tension building while the fact that the poem is written in iambic pentameter makes the rhyme almost resemble a brass band. The events of the poem are written in chronological order, much as the events of a battle would be recorded and the rhyme scheme of ABABA (excluding the first stanza) gives the sense that the enthusiasm that fans bring to the game is predictable and that fans have their periods of ups and downs.
• Throughout the poem, there is the continuing sense of the crowd being one single entity, linked through their love of the game and their memories of the way the team used to be.  Constant references to war and religion show the ferocity of the fans as though it is a battle between Good and Evil depending on which side you stand and the references to the legend of Faust show how fans use corruption as a way to account for defeat or to show that a team must pay for arrogance or their shortcomings.

Links to Larkin
Themes- 'Home is So Sad'- Both the stadium and the home in Larkin's poem wither and feel "bereft" and empty without people to occupy them as though these places are brought to life by the energy of the people that pass through them. The stadium, like the house and the objects it contains ("that vase") evokes a sense of nostalgia for fans.
'For Sidney Bechet'- Football inspires in some people what music inspires in others- joy, adoration and even "love". The ability of such things to evoke uncharacteristic emotions and actions in people is astounding and both of these poems focus also on how music can take a person back in time.
'Love Songs in Age'- The football game and its past players are just as sad as the "bleached" old songs which remind the speaker of her lost love and her past relationship. The "frank submissive chord" acts like the names of football players in reminding the crowd of past events and forgotten glory.
'Self's the Man'- This poem appears just like Abse's in that it compares two opposing views/ ways of life and the persona makes the contrast become a battle between who has lived the right life and who has not. Clearly, the persona believes their own life to be better, just as the persona in Abse's poem believes his team to be the force of "Good", however, this view is yet again subjective and uncertain.
'MCMXIV'- Larkin clearly contrasts the idea of a real war with the image of war that Abse presents. War in reality is less like the fantasy world of "roars" and chants that the fans occupy and more depressing through the loss of "innocence".
'As Bad as a Mile'- This poem makes reference also to religion and the skewed view that it is to blame for all failures and disappointments. The side of "Hell" wins the game because it was sneaky and devilish while the Devil tempted Eve to eat the apple and get her and Adam cast out of Eden, thus cursing the rest of humanity to "failure" forevermore.

Tone- Passionate-'For Sidney Bechet', 'Broadcast'
Towards the end: resigned and embarrassed- 'Love Songs in Age', 'MCMXIV', 'Talking in Bed, 'A Study of Reading Habits'

Technique- Abse's use of the first person plural "we" to connect a body of people together links to ' The Whitsun Weddings' in which Larkin implies that people become linked through their joint experiences on a journey. The football game supporters are also on a journey together through good and bad times.
The use of the imperative "follow" at the start of the poem relates to 'Home is so Sad' as the reader is told to "look" at the items left behind- it is human nature to look at disappointment and follow others as you are told.
The alliteration of "blares the brassy band" to mirror the sound that would be heard by the fans is present in 'Broadcast' ("sudden scuttle") whilst a simile also appears in 'Broadcast' to present the idea that people are more like wild animals than they care to admit. Prostitutes in Larkin's poem are likened to "circus tigers" whilst the supporters in   Abse's poem are "like an injured beast"- people can become animals if they let their emotions go untamed and unchecked and wounded pride can cause these emotions to fly out of control.