The Malham Bird

This poem is about a past memory of Abse's with his wife on a holiday. I think he was truly in love with his wife-"Dear wife" and I can see that he loves her even though he's Jewish and she is not-love vs religion. The next couple of stanzas imply that he is a personal poet as he describes the room they stayed in, the experience and the three grandchildren which he seems proud of. From the notes "According to Jewish legend, the Malham bird of Eden obeyed the commandment not to eat of the forbidden fruit and so lives forever in paradise". Shows that the bird in the poem did not go by this and ate the fruit whilst other birds carried on singing, making the bird lonely and immortal. This poem shows a positive view with love and marriage similar to Larkins- Whitsun Weddings poem because they both pursue love and happiness in both. Although Larkin negatively writes about them you can imply from the descriptions that the couples are

happily married.