Lovely London
What a wonderful summer it was when Maurice met Henry and Sarah. They had a good time together. “The sun was falling flat” across the Common and “the grass was pale” with it. In the distance, the houses were the houses “in a Victorian print, small and precisely drawn and quiet.” The eighteenth-century church is “a toy in an island of grass.” The image of London gives an impression of the marvelous time, when you even want to exchange confidences with a stranger.
The Second World War
There are “sirens on the street,” but when Maurice and Sarah spend time together, they do not notice them. “The bombing continues” and all the people are “hiding in shelters. The terrible blasts of houses are heard,” houses are destroyed, and “the plaster is crumbling” in the neighboring houses. The war is in full swing. The image of the war gives an impression of the awful nightmare because of which people suffer and lose their loved ones.
Funeral Day
When Sarah dies, “Maurice comes to the chapel.” He is late for the funeral, so he does not see the dead Sarah. However, “over the suburban gardens, he notices the smoke” and thinks that this smoke is Sarah. Henry is alone and Maurice can see “how he cries.” In the chapel, there are “a lot of the funeral wreaths and people, who pray.” The image of Sarah’s funeral gives an impression of Maurice’s painful loss and grief.
