For example he liked "the rain-washed Cornish air", the "smell of ploughed up soil" and "landscape big and bare" which is reminiscent of a fresh, virile environment reinforced by the alliteration of the plosive 'b' sound. These images contrast sharply with the graveyard which,.
"Hangs on Highgate Hill .
"of soaked Carrara-covered earth.
for Londoners to fill". .
Betjeman juxtaposes the vibrancy of his father's life (emphasized by the repetition of "he liked") with life with the inertia of his death. Furthermore there is also a bitter irony that Betjeman's father ended up in a place he liked least. The irony is highlighted by the use of alliteration of the of 'h' and 'c' to draw attention to the fact that the poet's father both feared and disliked the notion of death. He follows this with the shockingly grotesque image of his father's finger-bones that "stick through his finger ends" as he lies on the hill. Here the poet brutally reminds us that death and decay is inevitable. .
"The theme of decay is particularly macabre in the fourth stanza .
"And when he could not hear me speak.
He smiled and looked so wise.
That not I do not like to think.
Of maggots in his eyes.".
He effectively contrasts the rhymes of "wise" which suggests a tender, intelligent soul, with "eyes" – the windows of the soul- which are maggot-ridden in their decay. This image may allude to the poet's lack of faith and the suggestion that if there is a soul, it decays along with the rest of the body. This is echoed in the final stanza the tone changes to one of dramatic monologue, whereby Betjeman addresses God directly and his bitterness at the loss of his father is reflected in the repetition of "thus and thus", suggesting that the God has mistreated his father throughout life, perhaps by rendering him deaf.
