Talking in Bed by Philip Larkin

Talking in Bed by Philip Larkin

In this poem, Larkin explore the meaning of love and how couples try to make it last. We are provided with a glimpse into a relationship that has hit a rock or some sort of obstacle, on that seems impossible to overcome, but Larkin zooms in on the perseverance of the couple and has a sort of admiration for them in that sense.

In the first stanza, we are presented with two people who are obviously in a long term relationship with one another, yet they appear to be lost for words with each other. In the second stanza we have some pathetic falacy as the the weather begins to reflex their uneasy love and also time can be heard, due to the immense silence. The third stanza moves to a more metaphorical perspective, with a deeper description to place. They become insignificant and alone, even though they are together and in a relationship, a paradox can be suggested. The fourth and final stanza shows how they are stying to tell each other the absolute truth and the line "...once true and kind," and "...not untrue and not unkind." actually mean the same thing, almost like they are looking for something right in front of them that they can't see.

One of the noticeable things about the poem is the use of pathetic falacy. "Outside, the wind's incomplete unrest" - this use of pathetic falacy is used to show the tension that is between the couple and how they feel. Their marriage is no longer complete, it is falling apart and they are both restless. in the 1960s divorce was still seen as scandalous and it made people to got a divorce feel like they had failed, both each other and their families. This caused many people to remain in unhappy marriages, unwilling to fall to the shame that they would be faced with. This is suggested in the weather as the way to wind is blowing is like a storm is approaching the couple.

Three quotes that stood out for me are as follows:
"An emblem of two people being honest"
"At this unique distance from isolation"
"once true and kind,/Or not untrue and not unkind."

Ambulances by Philip Larkin

Ambulances by Philip Larkin

 

This poem shows us the journey of life to death. It follows for of a philosophical route rather than a story like form. It takes a very religious turn, linking in religion to the then modern form of medicine. Larkin looks in depth into the meaning of life and the implications of death and how it leaves us. He also looks at how the parting of one person can destroy the 'fabric of society'.

The first stanza describes to us the route that the ambulances takes and how it, or death, can come knocking on anyone's door. In the second stanza, we see a very domestic lifestyle, like life is still going on, despite the arrival of the ambulance. Stanza three is where Larking begins to look into the meaning of death and how people are reminded by the arrival of the ambulance that death is inevitable and no matter what faith you have, you will die. The fourth stanza emphasises on loss and how death can affect people around those who have past and how sudden it can be. IN the final stanza, Larking shows us how people are all woven into each other, forming the great fabric of life in the society and how when just one thread is removed, the whole thing can fall apart.

The poem is a representation of death. The ambulance is death. In stanza 1, Larkin mentions how the ambulance can come to rest at any kreb. This conveys the randomness of the ambulance and thus the randomness of death. Larkin also mentions how "All streets in time are visited", what Larkin means by this is that death in inevitable, because the day you die an ambulance will pick you up, you cannot escape death. Larkin also presents the idea that generally people forget about death, larkin conveys how once death appears around someone's life there is a morbid fascination with it because it seems so strange. Larkin then mentions how these "onlookers" realise the "emptiness That lies just under all we do" and for a moment understand that life has only one certainty; death. Larkin then begins to describe the idea that once you are dead, your body is just an ordinary object. Larkin describes a body being taken away by an ambulance with the word "it" this suggest how Larkin feels this corpse has no meaning , just like any ordinary inanimate object it is being "stowed" suggesting Larkin feels that the corpse is being shut away, just like a piece of cargo.

Three quotes that stood out for me are as follows:
"They come to rest at any kerb:"
""Poor soul/They whisper at their own distress;"
"Far/From the exchange of love to lie/Unreachable inside a room"

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dockery and Son by Philip Larkin

Dockery and Son by Philip Larkin

 

 

In this poem, we see the journey made by Larkin back in time as he revisits his old college and is given time to reflect how different his life has been to those who he went to college with. We see him comparing his life to Dockery as he attempt to decide who made the best and most rewarding life choices in their lives

 

The first stanza starts off where the Larkin persona is back at Oxford, talking to the Dean about when he used to study there and he has a 'flashback'. The flashback continues through the second stanza where he reflects on who Dockery was and how old he must have been when he had his son. Into the third stanza he apparently falls asleep and then wakes up in Sheffield where he eats "and awful pie". In the fourth stanza he wonders why Dockery took the path he did and how he is comfortable with his unchanging life and doesn't really see why Dockery would have wanted more out of life. The fifth stanza he comes to the conclusion that Dockery made a mistake in what he chose and Larkin's person made the correct decision and that Dockery was widely influenced by people, i.e. he family and relatives, who thought they knew the meaning to life. Then in the final stanza, Larkin comes to the conclusion that in the end, you are never truly content in life, but the inevitable truth is that you are going to die whether you like it or not.

 

One can notice the lexical field of death, with the words "death suited" or "black gowned", it conveys the rupture with the past, as if the persona of the poem was attending a funeral of his past. Indeed, a major theme of the poem is the shutting of doors, moments in life that you can't never turn back to. Larkin gives a visual description of that feeling of permanently lost moments that have turned into memories: "I try the door of where I used to live:/ Locked", the enjambment puts an emphasis on the word locked, (also called a reject). Larkin realises the inaccessibility of the past. Larkin compares his life to Dockery's, linked closely to the poem Self's the man, major theme of Larkin's poetry: missed opportunities. The reader can sense jealousy in the persona's voice, he too would like a wife of his own and a son. This is shown by the repetition of "no" : "To have no son no wife, No house". And repetition of nothing "For Dockery a son for me nothing, Nothing". The persona wishes to have a family but seems incompatible with his belief that love is not possible. The persona tries to justify the missed opportunities, he criticises Dockery "did he get this son at nineteen, twenty? Was he that withdrawn? "a son's harsh patronage".

 

Three quotes that stood out for me are as follows:

"To have no son, no wife,/No house or land still seemed quite natural."

"Why did he think adding meant increase?/To me it was dilution."

"Life is first boredom, then fear."



Here by Philip Larkin

Here by Philip Larkin

 

Here follows the journey taken by the I-speaker, presumably Larkin as he embarks on a train journey back to his home of Hull. Larking shows us what he likes and dislikes about his hometown and also what it all means to him.

 

In the first stanza, we see Larkin describing to us the countryside just before we begin to approach the actual city of Hull. The second stanza shows us the entrance of the city and it is obvious to us that he dislikes it from the descriptions used and has fonder memories of the countryside. Stanza three shows the reader even more disgust towards the inner city of Hull, were he seems to link his disgust with the working class people of the area. The final stanza, he seems to mellow a bit as he reaches the coast line, away from the city itself and his whole persona changes as his becomes much more pleasant about his surroundings.

 

Larkin uses alliteration and sibilance to increase the fluidity of the poem, thus symbolising the constant movement of the wind, and the journey that the reader is taken on. “Skies and scarecrows, haystacks, hairs” is an example early on in the poem, while “scattered streets” and “flat-faced” are used later on. These increase the musicality and rhythm of the poem and, in doing so, emphasize the sensation of movement that occurs throughout. This makes the poem more fluid and makes it easier to read, thus allowing the reader to be transported to “here” more smoothly.

 

 Three quotes that stood out for me are a follows:

"Too thin and thistled to be called meadows,"     

"Hidden weeds flower, neglected waters quicken,"

"Here is unfenced existence:/Facing the sun, untalkative, out of reach"         



The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin

The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin

The poem that Larkin wrote is in a story form, personal to the narrator. it is in first person, but it isn't Larkin, but instead the persona or I-speaker. It is a journey on a train, from, as we can assume, Hull to London, over the long weekend of the Whitsun. As the poem progresses, we get the idea that despite originally being about what he actually sees, it turns into what he think what he sees means and how it relates to his life as a person.

In the first stanza, Larkin describes to us the intense heat and how it is a struggle for him to begin to move. By the second stanza he is moving, picking up speed as he whizzes through the countryside. Only when we reach stanza three do we see him actually start to notice the weddings and begin to look out for them in anticipation. The fourth stanza shows us as reader his judgmental and mocking side where he describes the working class families in a very crude and low manner, assuming they are all the same and falling into the trap of societies stereotyping. The fifth stanza shows us how he now sees where these people may have come from and the detail in which he is watching the newly wed couples climb onto the train. In the sixth stanza we see the focus leaving the couples and landing on the other family member left behind on the platform. It also shows the train moving off and heading in a one way course to London. In the seventh stanza, a more direct view is given to the landscape, we begin to see the countryside gradually change as they approach the city, it becomes busier and more buildings show up. In the final stanza, Larkin concludes with deciding that everyone's lives are intertwined like railroad tracks and that once we reach the station, we all fan out "like an arrow-shower,/sent out of sight, somewhere becoming rain."

Language and imagery: The language of the first part of the poem appeals to our senses - the feel of the 'hot cushions', the sight of cars' 'blinding windscreens' reflecting the sun, the smell of the fish-dock, of grass and of the train's upholstery. A warm, sleepy atmosphere is created which draws the reader in. Larkin gives us quick snapshots of the passing landscape. As in the poem 'Here', we see industry as well as countryside. The canal's 'industrial froth' and the 'new and nondescript' towns with 'acres of dismantled cars' suggest that Larkin doesn't find modern scenery entirely sympathetic. When he finally notices the wedding parties he is ruthless in his description of their style - the women?s dresses are 'parodies of fashion', they are 'grinning' (a word often associated with stupidity) and 'pomaded' (covered in hair gel). The mothers are 'loud and fat', the uncles 'shout smut' the fathers are sweaty ('seamy foreheads'). You might consider whether Larkin's presentation of the wedding parties also reflects his view of their social class.

Three quotes that stood out for me are a follows:
"I leant/More promptly out next time, more curiously,/And saw it all again on different terms:"
"The women shared/The secret like a happy funeral:"
"this frail/Travelling coincidence; and what it held"