Ambulances

'Ambulances' explores death, and the way that it will eventually reach everyone, just as ambulances visit 'All streets in time'. Like some of his other poems, such as 'Faith Healing', Larkin makes reference to religion. This is apparent in the first line; the ambulances are described as being 'Closed like confessionals'. This holds connotations of religion and churches, and it could be argued to Larkin is saying doctors are the new priests. The word 'confessionals' also suggests a lack of identity - you don't know who is inside the ambulances, it could be anyone. He goes on to describe the vehicles as being a 'Light glossy grey' and presenting 'arms on a plaque' - this depicts a logo of health, suggesting authority. The vehicles 'come to rest at any kerb: / All streets in time are visited.' This presents the idea that anyone could be next - life is fragile. The ambulances are described in a way that makes them seem almost god-like; they are there when needed.
     The second stanza presents children as being 'strewn'; this sounds negative, as if the kids are objects which have not been tidied away and cannot be controlled. Larkin then goes on to describe the woman as 'coming from the shops / Past smells of different dinners'. This could be seen as a misogynistic stereotype of women from Larkin, and also snobbish in the presentation of different smells conjured up from, possibly bad, cooking. The next line displays an oxymoron: 'A wild white face' is said to be seen over the top of 'Red stretcher-blankets'. The word 'wild' suggests a face which is frantic, possibly animalistic, whilst 'white' holds connotations of pureness and a bland face. This contrasts with Larkin's use of alliteration, which makes them sound as if they belong together when in fact, they are a confusing pair. The final line of the second stanza presents the person in the ambulance as an 'it', being 'carried in and stowed' as if they were baggage. The word 'it' again gets rid of all identity, strengthening the earlier interpretation that anyone could be next, and there is no way of knowing when you will die. They patient/invalid is made into an object - it doesn't matter who it is in the ambulance, they are just seen as an ominous symbol.
     The first line of the third stanza presents another oxymoronic phrase; there is a 'solving emptiness / That lies just under all we do'. It could be argued that, through this phrase, Larkin is saying life is meaningless due to the fact that we are all going to die eventually. The tone of this poem is extremely pessimistic, and here it becomes clear that Larkin's message is that we are born to die, yet we all seem to deny it. This pessimistic tone is continued throughout the rest of the poem, and the final two lines finalise the idea that death comes closer as time goes on: 'Brings closer what is left to come, / And dulls to distance all we are.' These lines act as a realisation of the importance of life, and how we all have the same fate awaiting us, dissolving the 'unique random blend / Of families and fashions'.
     In my opinion, the ambulances in this poem symbolise a democratic path to death - they are available to everyone, and appear everywhere, just as death does. The rhyming pattern is a regular half-rhyme (some feminine), and it could be argued that the regularity portrays going back to the beginning, adding optimism to the gloomy, depressing tone of the poem. Enjambement is used within 'Ambulances', and this could possibly echo the feeling of movement and travel - a vehicle speeding from one town to the next. Larkin's ideas become more philosophical and complex as the poem goes on and the sentence length increases, contrasting with the receding time of life.