In the Theatre

Themes
Death and mortality, spirituality, responsibility, security and comfort, appearance vs. reality-lies, disregard for life, emotional engagement


Content
Dannie Abse worked as a doctor, as did his brother Wilfred, who's experiences this poem is based upon. In this poem we see Wilfred early in his career acting as a theatre assistant before he became an esteemed psychoanalyst. Wilfred clearly told his brother of this event and thus, Dannie Abse retells it in his own voice as though he personally were there-less reliable. The poem centers around a failed brain surgery which resulted in the death of the patient due to the ignorance of the doctor and which appears eerie and gruesome.


Analysis

• When first reading the title, it appears to be misleading as the reader assumes it talks about a theatre for drama and music and not an operating theatre. The fact that this is "A true incident" is immediately stated to add the element of realism and to show that the lines between truth and untruth are blurred.
• The opening statement as quoted from Dr Wilfred Abse tells the story in its simplest form with little emotion before Dannie Abse then goes on to unravel the event in greater detail with more focus on the people involved themselves- the speaker appears omniscient.
• The contrast between the thoughts of the "sister" and what she says to the patient emphasises how medical staff provide their patients with a false sense of security when actually they care little for the patient personally and think only of the next job at hand. The reply of the patient that they "feel fine" is yet another "small lie" meant to cover up the truth and bury the feelings of fear which the patient feels. This is often the case in hospitals where people need comfort to make reality subside as they are placing their lives in the hand of the medical staff. These people have such power and responsibility but can also abuse this. The lack of compassion on the part of the nurse foreshadows the later incompetence whilst the sibilance of "small voices, small lies" creates the effect of an almost onomatopoeic and eerie whisper.
• The idea that "Lambert Rogers" (the surgeon) will be feeling around inside the patient's brain as "rash as blind man's" does not give the reader hope for the operation. The surgeon appears unqualified and too forceful and hasty in his approach. It is as though he is as unconscious as the patient and the blame is indirectly placed upon his "fingers" and not him, though he is the person culpable. The brain of the patient is described as "soft"- malleable and giving, it is open to the doctor's work but this trust is gravely misplaced.
• In the second stanza, the operation is likened to "items of horror"- "items" presenting the operation as a gruesome object with graphic descriptions used by Abse to startle the reader. However, the reader is encouraged to "laugh" at the incompetence of the surgeon- a sarcastic statement which is later juxtaposed with the "cry" of the patient. The speaker feels little empathy for the patient and the whole debacle is made laughable- the surgeon has still not found the "growth" even after "one hour" of fumbling around in the man's brain. Abse describes the brain as being "mashed", with connotations of destruction and violence and links to the treatment of food. The patient is not treated with respect as a person and meanwhile, the growth keeps "ticking its own wild time". The growth becomes a metaphorical clock counting down the time left of the patient's life and yet still the surgeon appears to be in no great hurry. The only cause for alarm that the medical staff have is that there are "Two more on the list" to get done. These people are not given names but are described using their illnesses e.g. "neural cyst"-detachment. The surgeon also appears to be "desperate" -intrusive- and still blind to what he is doing ("fingering around") though the blame is sill detracted from him and placed on the "probe". This is perhaps because people did not wish to blame those in authority positions.
• Abse uses the metaphor of a "cracked record" to show how the brain has become damaged and is no longer functioning properly like a record does when it becomes cracked-constantly repeating itself, links to music. The patient appears to be out of control of their actions and speech, as though a "ventriloquist" controls them- they are a dummy and the speech could be seen as coming from the soul or simply an outburst of sound so haunting that the medical staff believe they hear a voice in it. It is clear that the patient is in great distress and pain and cries out "leave my soul alone" repeatedly. It is here that there is confusion about whether it is the brain or soul that is speaking and how they are linked. Perhaps the soul resides in the brain or is part of the neurological process of individuals? And does the patient speak as a reaction against the prodding of his brain or because of it?
• Either way, the ghostly and macabre look of the patient with "eyes too wide" and speaking not of his own volition shocks the surgeon so much that he withdraws his instruments and the other medical staff stand "petrified". The eerie quality of the sound has them rooted to the spot as the voice continues its utterance- "artic" and "odd". The voice chills the listeners and has "nowhere else to go", simply echoing in the room or implying that the soul cannot be transported to the afterlife when it has been interfered with. Eventually the "antique gramophone wound down"- the voice appears old beyond its time and the words start to "blur and slow"-the body is shutting down and dying and eventually the voice/spirit ceases to exists. This is a definitive end which presents the patient as dead and gone from the world, though what exactly has gone is not specific ("something other")-something unique.
• "And silence matched the silence under snow"-everything is dulled by a blanket, there is no sound and only a chill in the room, nothing to be said, spring comes after winter though and the man no longer suffers.
• Four stanzas of seven lines present the poem as structured, ironically contrasting with the random prodding of the surgeon.
• Abse uses some rhyming words ("brain", "again") but not throughout the  entirety of the poem, emphasising the inconsistences in the surgeries.
• Enjambment and caesura are used to highlight the unpredictable nature of the operation whilst the anecdote at the beginning of the poem places the poem in context.

Links to Larkin


Themes- 'Ambulances'-  the theme of death is prevalent in both of these poems, however the death in Larkin's poem is less spiritually meaningful and the reader is not told the cause of death. The death is seen as inevitable and out of people's control while the death of the patient in Abse's poem occurred due to ignorance and incompetence. Moreover, the dying people in both poems are described as "wild" with their eyes open "wide" and they are treated as objects- dehumanised, "it". No one offers any real comfort to the people and instead, are purely selfish in their thoughts. When stating "poor soul", they are less worried for that person's "soul" than for their own lives-lack of emotional engagement.
'Nothing To Be Said'- just as the words of the patient shock the medical staff into silence, conversation surrounding death leaves some people with nothing to say-scared by what is inevitably coming for them.
'Naturally the Foundation will Bear Your Expenses'- there is a lack of empathy and attachment towards those who have died or are on the verge of dying- people's lives are seen as things to play with, toys
'Love Songs in Age'- the idea of music being damaged and faltering  in order to show disappointment in life and of something drawing to a close is common in both poems- "bleached" "songs"
'Faith Healing'- trusting someone else so much with your health when really they are false and unable to do the job they advertise. The healer in Larkin's poem, like the surgeon and nurses, is simply trying to get through people as quick as possible-he does not care who they are
'Take One Home for the Kiddies'- in this poem, like in Abse's, there is a complete and utter disregard for life and its preciousness, the pets are pulled and played with until they become tiresome and are killed


Tone- The tone of Abse's poem is morbid and sombre, therefore linking it to 'Ambulances' and 'Love Songs in Age'. Moreover, it is also sarcastic and cynical, similar to that in 'Self's the Man' and 'Naturally the Foundation...'


Technique- the references to time that recur throughout the poem are similar to those in 'Send No Money' and 'An Arundel Tomb' while the use of sibilance to create an eerie atmosphere/to link to the whispers of time is mirrored in 'Nothing To Be Said' and 'Take One Home for the Kiddies'.
Furthermore, reported speech is used in both this poem and 'Reference Back' to reinforce the point that the poems are genuine and real past events.


Link: http://hub.salford.ac.uk/theoriesandmethodsliteraturescienceandmedicine/2011/01/09/in-the-theatre-a-true-incident-by-dannie-abse/