Comment 3 of 3, added on May 2nd, 2009 at 7:37 AM.

This poem is the best example of larkin's extreme pessimism.Through the symbol of ambulance,he comments on the inevitability of death.all human efforts are futile.

emma from Pakistan

Comment 1 of 3, added on June 20th, 2005 at 2:23 AM.

Ambulances is a symbolic poem in which ambulance is the symbol of illness disease and possibly death. the sight of an ambulance is not a good one.
Larkin has described ambulance as
‘Closed like confessionals’
Confession is a room in which a priest listens to the confession of a person and symbolizes ambulance with death when he says
‘All streets in time are visited’
These are very symbolic lines bcoz all streets are visited by Ambulances as well as death, moving on Larkin has symbolized the feelings of women who are coming from the shop and on sight of an ambulance and a person on stretcher they feel the emptiness of life
‘And sense the solving emptiness
That lies just under all we do’
And made the comment
‘Poor soul’
At this Larkin has made a very realistic comment that
‘They whisper at their own distress’
But Larkin continues to say that these feelings of distress are temporary because after some time they will get normal and busy with their daily life and their attention from poor man has been diverted.
Explaining the pitiable condition of old man larkin says
‘Unreachable inside a room
The traffic parts to let go by
Brings closer what is left to come
And dulls to distance all we are’
That is traffic making way for the ambulance and an ambulance shortens all distances keeping us away from death


raheel from Pakistan