Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road - A poem by Dannie Abse

This poem is about somebody revisiting a house that they have previously been to that has a connection with their father. They are describing the room as they envision their memories of their father who it seems is no longer there. Abse describes the persona as sneaking into the house "like a burglar" which could suggest he hasn't been there for a very long time and isn't particularly welcome or allowed to be in the room. The persona recalls memories of his father "in my father's armchair" which show that the objects have a connection to him and this creates the theme of 'Loss'.

Abse describes the room as 'decayed' or 'decaying'. Although the room contains memories of the persona's father they aren't described as happy memories. "Living room, did i say? Dying room" could suggest that the memories associated with his father are slowly dying themselves and drifting away and becoming part of the dreary and dead atmosphere of the room. Abse uses personification to make the objects in the room seem like they are alive - a clear contrast to death. Because of this, although his father has died, this could suggest he isn't alone in the room and the objects that are left in the room are haunting him because of the memories linked with them. Abse gives the objects sinister qualities such as "the four-legged table in a fright" and "the vase that yawned hideously". For me personally i think that Abse is trying to show that the persona has negative memories linked with their father. Suspense is created in the poem by the use of the poetic device enjambment. The way the lines overspill onto the next line creates a quick breathless pace which suggests that the persona is not allowing themselves time to take-in the room but the objects are coming back to the persona in quick bursts which suggests he is suddenly remembering things that he had put to the back of his subconscious memory.

The way that Abse describes the room gives the impression of it being cluttered, damp, and not well-kept. Another idea that suggests the room is decaying is the phrase "the long, wriggling, photophobic crack in the ceiling". Photophobic means a morbid fear of light which could suggest the resistance to reach out to the outside world among the room. Which suggests how contained and trapped the people who once lived in the room - his father most likely- were. Although on the contrary "the pattern that ran up the curtain" suggests the desire to escape the room. The objects could be examples and representations of the persona's father's soul that wanted to be free but became trapped in his own depressed cycle of life and could only escape this through his penultimate death. An idea i think could work with this theory is that the objects represent little parts of the Father that the persona does not want to remember and therefore these haunt him. Overall, the message that Abse could be giving through this poem is that you should not take things for granted because once they're gone you will be filled with regret that you overlooked them and sadness that you ran out of time. - Life doesn't stop for anybody. Just as this fast paced poem infers. I think the main theme(s) of this poem is Decay with a slight hint at Loss.