Philip Larkin - Ambulances

Stanza 1 - 

Line:

• 1. Confessionals connotes forgiveness and privacy, last hope? Also, the description he uses to ambulances and how they thread is interesting, he's saying life is as frail as sewing.
• 2. Loud noons of cities connotes how the death is abrupt, if it was late evening the death in the poem would feel much more conclusive.
• 3. His use of 'glances' shows that people look awkwardly towards the death, to avoid having to give solemn apologies maybe?
• 6.  Larkin is saying here that  ambulances will come for everyone, death is inevitable.

Stanza 2 - 

Line:

• 1. Children strewn on steps or road is a dig at women, Larkin is saying that the mothers aren't doing their 'duty' and looking after children. They are distracted, putting them at risk.
• 4. The use of 'white face' connotes more death.
• 6. Larkin's use of 'it' is saying that now the death has hit, that person is forgotten, not thought about, they're no longer an entity.

Stanza 3 -

Line:

• 1. Sense the solving emptiness, perhaps Larkin is saying that death is the solution to life, and sensing it could just show he's claiming it to be the end.
• 4. Permanent and blank and true just shows that Larkin believes it to be the certain end of all.
• 6. 'Own Distress'. This shows that nobody considers others or the dead person in these situations. They're selfish and only think of the impact on their lives.

Stanza 4 - 

Line: 

• 1. Borne away in deadened air, The beginning and end of this quote symbolizes the start and end of life, with 'borne' and 'deadened'. It also connotes the silence of other people as the ambulance fades away into the distance, almost like the ambulance is killing the atmosphere.
• 2. Sudden shot of life shows that Larkin views life as something that never ends gracefully, it's always sudden and shocking.

Stanza 5 -

Line: 

• 1. Begin to loosen connotes there's no relax until death, almost that death is something to look forward to.
• 3. Unreachable inside a room signals a tomb- like whenever someone is in an ambulance, assume they're dead. Also symbolizes that the person in the ambulance is now unreachable.
• 4. What is left to come - again, death is good to look forward to? 

Interesting to note, the first and last word in each stanza rhymes, connoting the beginning and end of life.