Compare the ways in which Philip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy present the theme of death and its implications on life

The concept of cobblers last and its implications argon explored extensively by Larkin and Duffy, twain poets agreeing that the pestiferous part of remainder makes void of all the time and effort we arrange in intent. Larkin seems to demonstrate a c sure-enough(a) fear towards this inevitability by distancing himself from the domain in Ambulances and Dockery and Son, choosing to make resigned just now philosophic bucks on the subject.Duffy, by contrast, invests in a far more than unrestrained cash advance and suggests how the finality jakes bring a strange mind of sympathiser amidst the devastation this is demo in the poems The felo-de-se and neer Go tail reverse whither the purposes vow to never repeat their lastly fuck shoots again, and, in the case of The self-annihilation in particular, use close as a means to small revenge. Ambulances are described as vehicles that both literally transport the dying, and are the anthropomorphised psychopomps who he lp establish the transitory stage between vitality sentence story and devastation.The more or less archaic yet idiomatic verb phrase borne away and the use of find step to the fore modifiers in any kerb / All streets suggests that close is a omnipresent and ghostly presence that transcends time and allow ins life indiscriminately. Thus, Larkin achieves a grave liquid physical social organisation substance and an aloof tone which suggests the easy dissolution of identity and component partlity in the face of finish. Duffy similarly presents the event of conclusion in The felo-de-se, barely un akin Larkins outer space, the persona hither takes control with the modal accompaniment in I will write and demands recognition from their attempted suicide Famous. The delivery as an emotional dramatic monologue helps serve the verbaliser units appeal to victimhood, as they use a bitter and more and more vindictive tone to justify their heinous sin of desp railway line. Th is phone for prudence indeed suggests the instinctive egoism of graciouss, much like the bystanders in Ambulances who, despite witnessing a tragedy, whisper at their own distress. In contrast, close in Dockery and Son incites abstr cultivate musings on the meaning of life and depicts Larkins autobiographical account of attending the memorial service of an old college acquaintance.What is the difference between a figurative and a literal similarity?The poem is introduced in medias res, Dockery was junior to you..? only when the disinterested vocalizer cursorily dissolves into a nostalgic reverie as he explores the fatalistic creation that is often take noteed after ending. The lack of consolation in victuals is demonstrated when Larkin attempts to revisit his chivalric and tries the door of where I utilize to live, but finds it Locked the finality in the modifier symbolises how the loudspeaker is unable to return to a chivalric that no longer exists, and hence rema ins estranged from the familiarity of the past. Never Go Back develops on this idea further since it follows the journey of a speaker who revisits her old haunts after the end of her failed marriage. Death, here, is used as an prolonged metaphor, in contrast with Dockerys literal conclusion, but this likewise establishes a period of mourning and self-reflection as she is being transported by a ward-heeler implying a herse.However, the persona suggests at that place is some consolation in life since she is released by the past, the verb carrying connotations of the relief and freedom gained in knowing that the past no longer exists, whereas Larkins resignation towards life in sombre lines such as, Whether or not we use it, it goes, suggests Dockerys death to be more of a call to take stock of his life and thus suggests it to be the beginning of the end. Ambulances invites us to the idea that death is a private experience but this sensation of intimacy washstand be misleading a s it opens with the simile closed like confessionals.The sinister religious connotations suggest how the abrupt belief in death has the ability to invoke regret as one realises the signifi tail assemblyce of their life the narrator thus suggests that there is a need for secrecy at this personal revelation as he attributes the ambulance with a spectral quality by the dynamic verb thread, arouse theatrical roles of the Moirae and their threads of deal, and thus constructing the image of the traffic as being the fictive flow of time.However, the persona reminds us that death is a definite reality as he eerily juxtaposes it against youthful innocence with children strewn on locomote or roads. The verisimilitude of the ordinary urban dead reckoning to a fault grants death a recognisable status, but at the same, Larkin demonstrates how death is inscrutable via the symbol of the ambulance giving back none of the glances they absorb, presenting the ambulance, and therefore, death as a mystery which digests no answers.Similarly, The Suicide provides as an example of how death can be cryptic as the persona presents a gothic scene breathlessly. The irregularly long opening line coupled with the pathetic delusion in bitter moon and smudgy clouds conveys the speakers rambling tone and her disorganize state of mind as she appears to plan her own death. These imagined, celestial characters provide a parallel with her emotional reality done the repeated vowel and consonant sounds in gleam and glee, thus drawing attention to the sandwiched non-sequitur of I dress in a shroud. The deliberate caesurae and the ending create verbally me suggests she is preparing for and welcoming her death, a stark contrast with the ambulances which behave to rest at any kerb and are the intruders that disturb the normality of daily life. The still universality of life is as well missing in The Suicide, as the persona twists images of innocence such as with the modifier in the dr eadful smiling mouths, and conveys her contempt, much like the case of betrayal by her love one.Duffy thus attempts to establish a personal relationship with death which is arguably seen as unnatural, whereas Larkin suggests that it is perfectly acceptable for death to transcend life and for our infrastand of it to remain little. Larkins Ambulances continues its cool narration which helps create an ironic quality to the scene when the speaker suddenly launches into the description of death in the moment stanza, all whilst sustaining the organised verse form.Life is seen to quickly dissolve into the image of the wild white face atop red stretcher blankets, the extensive effect of the alliteration serving as the wholly definite point of transition. Otherwise, the face isnt given any attention as it is carried in and stowed, the pronoun it dehumanising the person and the use of verbs which carry connotations of luggage also demonstrates how our bodies are only perceived as vessels for our souls, and that without them, we are powerless.The witnesses, ie the children and women, show to have earn this reality. The epiphany delivered slowly in And consciousness the solving emptiness uses the present dogging to suggest that this experience is universal, but the delivery in gentle sibilance conveys the hushed voice of the speaker as he establishes the event as a quiet memento mori. The obscurity thus suggests the unwillingness of facing the acknowledgement that everything is pointless in the face of death.This is further demonstrated by the polysyndetic itemization of so blank and whole and true, each adjective hard-pressed as the persona makes an effort to capture the moment of realisation out front it is lost. Paradoxically, these fatalistic descriptions also carry a consciousness of nihilism and impassibility as Larkin here chillingly injects realism into the scene when he remind us of how we lose our humanity in death. Power and identity are also rec urring ideas in The Suicide as Duffys persona realises that death is a means of achieving recognition and establishing control when she feels trapped and isolated by life.This is denoted by the speaker declaring my body is a blank page I will write on the modal verb will and the monosyllabic lexis conveys the personas certain tone as she describes how her romantic notion of death will leave a clear message for the intended left(p) behind. Similarly, Larkin also shows how death can leave revelations for those left behind, draw send off Duffy here provides a specific example with the possessive determiner in my body.The use of the personal perspective conveys the speakers isolation which is reiterated by the repeated syntactic structure of Nobody this suggests her lack of recognition in life and how the conservation of it, eyes in the glass like squids, is deemed unnatural which is mirrored by the sardonic Sexy that summarises the simile. By comparison, both poets indicate that d eath is a natural state due to the futility in living except Larkin suggests that this is a sudden realisation whereas Duffy demonstrates how the drawn-out angst of death is felt on the teach of being alive.The outer enclosed rhymes that contains the intertwining rhymes in Ambulances, such as the passive-sounding air and there, captures Larkins conclusion of how death is the inevitable fate that overshadows our lives. The virulent sibilance in the sudden shut of spill conveys the finality of the end but this ending remains dynamic, as the assonance invokes the sighing sound of the narrator as his summary of life, unique blend of families and fashions is chased into the final verse where it is unravelled, the vigour evoking the sense of continuity of time.The noun phrase exchange of love denotes how life is a contractual obligation but is only temporary as the end game is to lie unreachable inside a room which connotes the positive devastation in death. However, Larkin persist s in remaining vague as he describes death with the euphemism what is left to come, thus establishing how death remains as an unuttered truth in auberge. Similarly, Duffy shows how the concept of death governs bulk in The Suicide where the personas more and more vindictive mood culminates into unrepentantly ptyalise out imperatives to the readers Fuck off. Worship. The speaker here shows an sensation of the readers voyeurism who are compelled to follow her path to self-destruction and watch her play god as she lies under the lightbulb, literally suggesting the exposure to truth and figuratively conveying a sensual submission to her lightbulb moment of self-inflicted death. However, we see the personas captivation is to the point of delusion. The dismissive tone and metaphor for life in Who wants / a bloody valentine pumping its love hate love? offset by the deviantly collocated bloody alongside the iambic dimeter, attributes the sound of two heartbeats to her confused valentin es love hate love. Duffy thus suggests that reflecting over the fragility of life can drive a person to madness and, as Larkin suggests, there is a conservative feeling that promotes the secrecy of death, indicating how people fearfully revoke death in their lives due to its ability to expose human tenuity which may be seen as an uncomfortable consequence of death.Structurally, Duffys haphazardly contained verses and the speakers joke cliches such as I take out the knives create a more heartfelt cognisance of death as something looked for and desirable, whereas Larkins interchangeable verses convey his reliable but frigid outlook on the subject. Ambulances indicates that death is a passive presence the echoing alliteration in dulls to distance all we are and the collective pronoun we concluded that death is the unavoidable fate universal to all of us and, that in death, we are all equal.Likewise, The Suicide reflects how death can leave a resounding impact except, specifically, deaths legacy can be a notoriety caused by the decision to unnaturally decide your own death, instead of letting it take you, as suggested in Ambulances. The shocking irony in This will dash off my folks thus suggests how death can become an act act of spite when we wilfully plot our own demise instead of allowing death to take its own course. Larkins Dockery and Son suggests there is a sense of tediousness in death rituals as the persona abruptly cuts off the Dean in the opening lines of the poem with a level-headed caesura.Instead, he teases the readers with reminisces of our version of the mischief he took part in with friends in the past. This emotional detachment from his old acquaintances death is defended by the transitive verb modifier visitant, proposing his apathy is appropriate with the neologism death-suited. This avoidance of the death is further demonstrated by focusing on the comforting familiarity of the environs A known bell chimes. However, this comfort remains unreachable, announced by the speaker with the modifier Locked as he revisits his old halls of residence.The polysyndeton in supply and clouds and colleges subside slowly from view support the adverb slowly as Larkin illustrates this stepwise passing of time and how the illusion can make one leave behind that life is limited, the persona thus showing how the event of death can provoke us to want to revisit the past. In Never Go Back, the speaker similarly explores the relationship between time and death, except here, death is used as a metaphor to describe divergence as time itself is personified left pining till it died.Duffy thus suggests the human desire to enjoy more of life before death takes us, whereas Larkins numerical references to time 43, twenty-one quantifies life and suggests a more practical view on the finiteness of time. The persona likewise revisits the past after the end of her marriage, as the narrative begins with the familiar scene of where the living dead drink all day, the oxymoron living dead indicating how people live unfulfilled lives while the hard alliteration delivers a heavy droning sound that lends a mechanical quality to the scene.This conveys a sense of disillusionment with the social activities she used to enjoy, in contrast with Dockery and Son, where the speaker recalls the past with nostalgic reverence as he anecdotally reveals how Dockery used to overlap rooms with Cartwright who was killed. Both poets therefore demonstrate how death and loss can trigger retrospections of the past, Duffy arguing for the case of pain and abandonment in loss with the image of a limping dog, whereas Larkin avoids such sentiments with the trailing ellipsis in How much . . How little . . . , the unfinished thoughts enacting Duffys convincing view on how the best emotional response to death is to never go back. The persona in Dockery and Son begins to show an awareness of how life is eventually a journey towards the final destination of death. The train station used symbolically as the joining and parting lines similarly imply the divergent crossroads existing in life and how companionship allows our roads to in short overlap.However, the antithesis of the nouns numbness and shock suggests there is a sense of confusion when the speaker draws comparisons between Dockerys accomplishments and his own, and ponders on the moment he strayed widely from the others. Therefore, the syndetic list of repeated negatives no son, no wife, no house or land should depict the speakers failure of attaining any boastful achievement, yet the nonchalance in still seemed kind of natural suggests that Larkin hadnt quite moved on from his time in university, the adverb still indicating the speakers struggle to come to terms with ageing and the flow of time.There is thus a sense of dread when Larkin contemplates the strong unhindered moon the pathetic fallacy suggests the low density in differentiating our individual lifelines since w e are all doomed to the only end of age, the adverb only stressing the absoluteness and lack of choice in death.Duffys Never Go Back also demonstrates an emotional resignation to the choices do as the house, which personifies the past, prefers to be left alone amidst the overwhelming images of death the verb prefers suggests it has no intention of recovering from the metaphorical cancer which spoils the glowing retentiveness of it being where you were one of the brides. The house instead reprimands the persona with You shouldnt be here, the negative modal verb shouldnt warning against the attempt to reconcile with the past.The speaker is thus unable to bitterly ruminate the past and abstains from comparing her life to others, ie her ex-husband, alternatively, allowing objects (which pertain to the past) to symbolise life itself, and demonstrates how they can symbolically fill a room with pain after the end of their use. This passiveness of the persona is also missing in Dockery an d Son, where Larkin intentionally uses Dockerys death as a means to appraise the value of his own life.Rather, the use of the fleck person narrative in Never Go Back becomes increasingly significant as the speaker captures the suffocating quality of death, recreating the past through syntactic parallelism in all the lies . . . and all the cries, and the soft assonance in the pictorial image of draw your loved body in blurred air conveying this ghostly effect as Duffy places the readers in closer proximity to death. Comparatively using the first person perspective, the speaker in Dockery and Son is more prone to deviate from Dockerys unfortunate death and instead focuses on the bleakness of the mundane And ate an awful pie.Therefore, both poets present life as a journey that is met with death, yet Larkin demonstrates how death can be used comparatively when we realise our own purpose date and consider the wider meaning of our lives, whereas Duffy indicates how grief can distort the past and how this can, in effect, emotionally paralyse a person. Dockery and Son begins with a simplistic but regular alternating rhyme scheme which suits Larkins familiarity with his alma mater.The ravisher fall of sounds such as give and live capture the personas feelings of bittersweet nostalgia but this gradually evolves until the final syntactical structure of ABBCADDC, which creates the suitably dense texture demanded, as Larkin moves from describing his literal surroundings to attributing philosophical thoughts to deaths rendition of life. The speaker derogatorily muses that our acquisitions arent as valuable as societys innate assumptions perceive them to be, since they are superficially denounced as a style that tragically harden into all weve got.There is thus a sense of futility in life inspired by the news of a recent mans death, as Larkin concludes that even our choices are obscurely heady by something hidden from us chose, the vague pronoun something suggesting ho w the workings of life is beyond our comprehension while death remains a certainty that levels everyone in due time. Never Go Back similarly concludes with the idea that life is governed by a mysterious entity, except here, it is explicitly denoted as covetousness and human desire.The crude images of the sly sums of money and a drenched mistress connote a sense of the decay and degression found in societys apparent hedonism. This enables death to run in parallel with life, as even the associated taxi driver is described by the cliche looks like death. Ironically, the speaker demonstrates how this illusion of life, and its false evolution, allows possibilities to remain open the jab sounds in the pronoun nowhere and neologism nowhen dissolves the significance of time and space, and instead grants vastness to the present by the homely image of the fires and lights come on wheresoever you live.By comparison, Larkin suggests a sense of entrapment by the facade as what we think trues t . . . warp tight-shut the harsh syllables in the modifier tight-shut elicit a sense of urgency as the speaker realises he is running out of time to achieve what he wishes, yet the possibilities remain cut off in Dockery and Son due to the speakers acute awareness of death. In conclusion, Larkin and Duffy both demonstrate the omnipresence of death in our lives.Larkin uses his reticent observations to describe death as an inescapable component of everyday life, thus suggesting that his point of enlightenment in Dockery and Son marks too as a pessimistic beginning of the end. Duffy chooses to manifest death in everyday components of life, normalising death, and instead, offers the view in Never Go Back that death provides a chance to understand that the past is gone, and also as a throttle valve for hopeful beginnings. However, despite these contrarian views, both poets agree that death remains the undeniable ending to our lives