Red Balloon

Red Balloon is a personal poem to Abse about his discovery of his religion (Judaism) and the effect that it has on him throughout his life.

Stanza 1

Stanza 1 describes the chance meeting of a young Abse and the 'Red Balloon' (we later discover that this is symbolic of his religion). The Balloon is described to be floating helplessly over the town until it finds Abse at a young age. It then finds Abse changing his life forever.


Stanza 2

When Abse and the balloon first meet, he manages to bring it to life and he takes it for himself. "Till it shone like living blood". This could show that he likes it but does not truly understand the true meaning behind it. He seems to regard the 'balloon' just as a toy which is of little importance to him "and finding's keeping you know".


Stanza 3

The next stanza shows how in later life the meaning of the balloon changes as he grows up to understand it true meaning. He begins to realise that Judaism is a controversial concept (in the thirties especially) because of the increase of antisemitism at the time. This is where he grows up and realises how his own beliefs are no longer a toy to him and it is important to him to maintain them.


Stanza 4


The next stanza shows how much of a hold that his religion has over an older Abse. Throughout the rest of the poem he describes how he maintains his religion despite the ongoing violence and ongoing prejudice towards him. He gets beaten horrendously but he still maintains his religion. At the end of the poem, he seeks refuge at his fathers house (who had already died).