A Figure of 8

Themes
Imagination, childhood, freedom, education, appearance and reality, war


Content
This poem details the daily routine of a young boy who feels trapped inside the cage that is school life and education and when school finishes, escapes into the wider world to let his imagination run rampant. Using his brain as a vehicle for fantastical thoughts rather than what he is being taught, he visits faraway countries and watches as his home area is bombed- violent thoughts for such a young child it would seem.


Analysis

• The title of the poem may have a number of different meanings. The number "8" may be a literal reference to the boy's age or representative of the infinity sign, thus showing the monotony and boredom of life-repetitive. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the "8" is meant to mean the word 'hate' and is pronounced differently by the child.
• The poem begins with the metaphor of "Mr Theophilus's jail"- the name 'Theophilus' literally means 'loved by God'. This is ironic in that the classroom is made to become a prison which traps students and has nothing to do with kindness or faith. School is akin to imprisonment and the alliteration of "sun-striped" reflects the prison-like nature of the school as even the light seems to be filtered through bars-caged.
• The boy only "half listens" to what he is being taught as children's minds always wander and the topics that are being spoken of are often dull and of no consequence. He has no identity and is simply referred to as "the boy", implying that the child is typical for many children across the world.
• Mr Theophilus teaches the children stories of patriotism and innocence such as "royalty-loving Christopher Robin"- a character in the popular children's book 'Winnie the Poo'. However, these stories deflect from the reality of the outside world and the boy disapproves of them as he knows them to be false- his own experiences of the world show this. His friend "Fatty Jones" is clearly bullied by other students and "scolded" by the teacher, thus not meeting with the idealistic image that the teacher is creating and causing the boy to feel resentment towards his teacher. The sound of "Fatty Jones" "sobbing" is in juxtaposition to the music being sung by the other students and the boy is forced to sing a patriotic song that he seems to implicitly disagree with. This would seem to account for the warping of the lyrics as the original lyric of 'let the prairie re-echo' changes to become "Let the prairie echo". This may also be because the boy pays little attention to the lyrics due to having no interest in the message of the song.
• In the second stanza, there is a sense of liberation and elation as the boys escapes his confinement to become "free, at last". The comma in between these two phrases/ words serves to exaggerate the child's desperation to be released from the jail that is school and immediately afterwards, his imagination "jet-roars" away. Imagining himself to be a plane, the boy fantasises about flying into a "vigorous sunset" (powerful imagery) with no barriers or restrictions in place. For a boy of such a young age, he thinks in detail about very adult themes such as finding "naked women" in "Africa", "whom he gently caresses". These images show that the boy is personally crossing the barrier between childhood and adulthood through the strength of his imagination and trying to grasp at the idea of being grown-up. However, these fantasies only last so long before the boy's imagination returns to his own home in Cardiff ("Albany Street"), where he "farts H2Ss"-whilst the word "farts" is immature and childish, the formula for hydrogen sulphide shows that the boy has at least a good level of intelligence and perhaps hides this behind an unwillingness to try in class.
• The fantasies of the boy then turn dark as the boy imagines images of war with the evening being "shot down in flames" and the sky in "butcher's reds" as bombs land. These images would seem to suggest that the boy is in some way disturbed due to such violent and anger-filled images, though this may just be his way of letting his frustration loose. The poem begins to take a darker and more sinister tone as "someone has bombed the park" and "the swings are on fire". These images could symbolise the fragility of childhood and how adult images start to seep into the minds of children as this is the reality of the world. The destruction of childhood objects highlights the growing awareness of the boy in regards to the adult world and the loss of innocence as children have to grow up so young.
• However, the child-like tone then returns in the depiction of the enemy as a "brute" and needing to be "foiled". These images firmly return the poem to the world of fantasy and childhood imaginings though the reader still questions who the enemy is. Is it education? Authority? Ideology? The idea of the "wooden horses...running wild" is perhaps representative of how the imaginations of children cannot be tamed, whether for better or worse.  The firm return to childlike thoughts is reinforced through the statement that the "sorcerer has cast his spell" and the "graves are sinking down to hell". The rhyme of these two lines shows the wild nature of youth and how things are oddly connected in the world of childhood. Reality now has less of a hold on the boy as the focus returns to magic and "mandrake's" (special plants used for magic rituals). Aliens and a "spaceship" start to take precedence in the boy's mind, with these fantastical and "spooky" images showing a return to what is normally expected of young children to imagine. Through the alliteration of "the pond is poisoned", an almost comical effect is created and the idea that the boy "Safely...comes home to base" implies that he believes that he is a soldier and feels more secure at home- sheltered from the horrors of reality.
• It is amazing to think that through all of these imaginings and wanderings of the mind, the boy has been paid attention to by no one but the "night's first star" and "his patient cat". Adults mistakenly believe that children are harmless when in fact their minds wander to gruesome images.
• Abse ends the poem with boy "chalk[ing]" ( in his mind or with actual graffiti) the sentences "FUCK WINNIE THE POOH.....FUCK MR THEOPHILUS TOO". This childhood act of rebellion presents the boy as being fed up with being force-fed images of innocence and naivety when the world is not really like that and he wishes to test social boundaries. The boy wishes to escape the monotony of life but looks to blame Winnie the Pooh first before his teacher, perhaps because this character cannot fight back and represents traditional ideals and propriety. It is clear however that this is a child as shown through the humorous use of capital letters and swear swords and his initial thought being of Winnie the Pooh.
• Ultimately, the boy feels repressed by the establishment and trapped in a system of education that is fundamentally wrong. During a time of progression and forming opinions, being told something that he now understands to be false angers the boy and he feels like he is fighting a losing battle as he recognises the difference between reality and what he is being told. It appears that the boy is misunderstood and could be very clever but is unwilling to be broken or let his imagination be tamed by school.
• The fact that the poem is written in present tense creates a sense of suspense and suggests that the narrator is omniscient as they detail unfolding events. The changing length of the sentences also highlights the erratic thoughts of children.

Links to Larkin
Themes- 'A Study of Reading Habits'- Both of these poem focus upon the imaginings of children which gradually take on a darker edge as reality seeps in and a person grows up. This causes people to become frustrated and angry, resulting in the person in Larkin's poem telling books to "Get stewed" as he knows that he cannot change the reality of his situation- crude language. Fantasy cannot sustain us or conceal aggression and hatred.
'Naturally the Foundation will Bear Your Expenses'- This poem, just as Abse's, criticises the system for its childishness and ludicrous nature and desires for there to be change to the establishment. However, both poems go about this is in a childish manner ("make me throw up") and exaggerate their feelings and thoughts.
'Essential Beauty'- Advertising, like the stories we hear in school as children, is not real life and is simply used as a cover to hide the grim realities of life. Perhaps this is necessary for young children as teachers do not want to remove innocence however, that innocence is often already lost through real-life day-to-day situations. Inevitably, children and people are disappointed and the Millennium Stadium stands as a symbol of this as it can only be accessed by those with money.
'Sunny Prestatyn'- The poster in this poem is defiled because it portrays the perfect, idealistic women who is simply not attainable in life- like Christopher Robin in Abse's poem. People fight against falsehoods and often rebel against being deceived through anger and violence. The boy, though only a child, writes obscene messages to show his feelings towards the establishment just as the people "stab" and draw on the poster.
'Send No Money'-In childhood, people are often looking for answers and become frustrated and annoyed when they realise that the answers they have been given are lies. This anger and frustration gives way to crude thoughts and the statement "Sod all".


Tone-
Childlike, flippant, bitter, angry: 'A Study of Reading Habits', Naturally the Foundation...', 'Send No Money'


Technique- Abse's use of childlike language ("farts") and the alliteration of "the pond is poisoned" to create a comical tone is similar to that in 'A Study of Reading Habits'- "dirty dogs" and 'Essential Beauty"-"Granny Graveclothes"