The Game

This poem has a theme of religion and sport. It is based on a football match at his hometown , Ninian Park. The first stanza sets the scene for a normal match, the crowds, terraces and the bands.

Abse refers to the football game as almost a fantasy, the words he uses to refer to both teams are very different. The team he supports he uses words such as "cherubs" and "wings" symbolising angelic views whereas the opposition is described as "passing evil" and "demons have agents" this links to an idea of corruption in the sport as the "referee is bribed" suggesting the opposition had certain people who bribed the ref. to fix the game.
The 4th stanza represents half-time  as "a distant whistle blows" during the free time, people begin to reminisce old games with "Aston Villa, Orient, Swans"
The sixth and seventh stanza  the nostalgia of the game kicks in as the game restarts however it's described as if they didn't win as people "seem depressed" but the young boys "swarm the field for an autograph" this shows how young and almost innocent they boys are. They don't mind as much as some fans that they lost in a corrupt game but are happy with a footballers autograph either way.

The last stanza shows the stadium once everyone has left, "programmes trampled underfoot" perhaps showing the rush to get out of the stadium. "Dark" and "rain" could be pathetic fallacy used to describe how people are feeling once the game is over, "threatening newsboys shout" this could show they were proud of the game as they "shout" and want to tell people. However the use of "threatening" gives a sense of danger or fear.