SOURCE: Cohen, Joseph. Introduction to The Poetry of Dannie Abse, pp. 7-14. London: Robson Books, 1983.

In the following essay, Cohen explores the dualities that make up Abse's poetry.

The study of a poet's work normally begins with early work but I wish to start and end with ‘Funland.’ Firstly, because I believe ‘Funland’ to be Abse's masterpiece where his art appears at its most daring and assured; secondly, because a number of Abse's earlier and later themes, symbols and allegories—from those in Tenants of the House (1957) to his most recent collection of poems, Way Out in the Centre (1981)—are resumed or prefigured in this long poem; thirdly, because, through it, one can hint at the fundamental unity of Abse's works (poetry, theatre, prose)—at his unified sensibility.

His experience as writer and doctor finds in ‘Funland’ a richer expression than hitherto. Effectively exploiting the potentialities of the...