Last visit to 198 Cathedral Road

Last visit to 198 Cathedral road is a poem about Abse visiting his parents house long after they have died. The house has sat dormant for a number of years devoid of any real life. When he enters under the cover of darkness, he flashes his torch around the room he is in and the new light seems to bring things to life. This happens especially in the second stanza when 'the vase that yawned hideously' and other items are personified. The idea behind it is that a home is only truly a home if someone is living there. A Larkin poem similar to this would be Home is so sad which describes how empty his mothers home is after she had died.