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"