Ambulances by Philip Larkin

Ambulances by Philip Larkin, one of the poems in The Whitsun

Weddings describes the way in which ambulances come to take someone
away who is near to death. Larkin goes on to consider that it could be
any of us who is in the ambulance and that watching this scene brings us
closer to the oblivion of our own death. Here, as in many of his poems,
Larkin uses an everyday experience and by the use of skilful poetic
techniques, makes his ideas important and relevant to us all.

The poem is written in five stanzas, each with six lines. In addition,
Larkins rhyme scheme and rhythm are both regular, reflecting the
regularity of the scene he is describing this could be happening
anywhere at any time. The poem opens with a description of the
ambulance closed like confessionals. The use of the simile has
religious connotations, with the idea that what goes on inside is private
and separate. Larkin uses alliteration too to emphasise his point here and
follows this with the phrase Loud noons of cities to describe the sound
of the ambulance as well as to set the scene. Transferred epithet is the
technique he employs here as well as using a metaphor in the word
thread to help create vivid image of the movement and sound of the
ambulance as it goes to pick up a casualty. Larkin does not, in fact, use
the word ambulances in the poem, depending instead on his use of
carefully selected words such as Light glossy grey, arms on a plaque to
provide the reader with a clear picture of the vehicle. In the first stanza he
ends with The come to rest at any kerb:
All streets in time are visited, telling the reader, by the use of the plural
form that this is a common scene and that we will all in time be affected
by death.

In stanza two Larkin describes a typical city street scene which could be
anywhere, again using alliteration as a means of emphasising this. He
describes children strew on steps or road and Smells of different
dinners, moving on to contrast the wild white face with the Red
stretcher blankets. His careful choice of vocabulary in words such as
momently to describe the brief glimpse of the patient and stowed to
describe the impersonal way in which the person is put in the ambulance
all add to the effect he is attempting to create. He is successful, I feel, in
creating a very clear image of the scene and he makes it possible for us to
imagine that this could happen to those we know as well as to each and
every individual.

Larkin moves on to address the wider significance of this scene in stanza

three. He describes the solving emptiness
That lies just under all we do. He says And for a second get it whole,
referring to the fact that this scene has relevance to us all. He uses the
word And four times in this stanza to stress the continuous process of
the realisation that death is unavoidable and comes to us all. Larkin then
uses a short sentence: The fastened doors recede to describe the
ambulances departure, following this with a snippet of conversation
Poor soul to emphasise this realisation that we too will be touched by
death. This idea is strengthened by the final line of the stanza: They
whisper at their own distress, onomatopoeia being used to help create a
clear picture of the reaction of the onlookers. Here again larkin succeeds
in making his ideas relevant to a wider readership by indicating that this
can and will happen to us all one day.

The word borne in line one of stanza four is an example of Larkin

playing with words, employing a pun to tell of the patient being taken as
well as the contrast between being born and dying. The phrase sudden
shut of loss is yet another use of alliteration and here it helps to
emphasise the affect of the life being cut off. He goes on to describe the
unique random blend
Of families and fashion, employing an oxymoron and alliteration to
show what we all have in common in our lives and what we lose when
death occurs.

Enjambement is then used by Larkin between stanzas four and five to

show the loosening hold on life of the patient as the ambulance transports
them away from all that is familiar. The person inside the ambulance is
described as being moved Far from the exchange of love to lie
Unreachable inside a room, implying that they are already losing their
hold on life. The phrase The traffic parts to let go by suggests the
respect we have for such a vehicle as we all realise it Brings closer what
is left to come. The final line of the poem includes both alliteration and
onomatopoeia to describe the ambulances bells - Dulls to distance as
it takes the dying patient to the end of their life. All in all the ambulance
is employed to symbolise exactly this and the sight of the ambulance is a
relatively common one, meaning that life will inevitably end for us all
and not one of us will be unaffected by it.

Larkins poem has, I feel, a very pessimistic theme but he is certainly

very successful in creating a sombre tone to convey the idea that death
will come to us all. By using the ambulance as a symbol, that is
something from everyday life that we may see in any street at any time,
he makes us realise this could well happen to us. As in many of his other
poems, Larkin skilfully employs a variety of poetic technique to relate an
everyday experience and to make it important and significant to a wider
readership