How Larkin Portrays The Past and Attitudes To It In MCMXIV and Home Is So Sad.

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Becky Wardle 12w

How Larkin Portrays The Past and Attitudes To It In MCMXIV and Home Is So Sad

The title of the first poem is in Roman numerals. This grabs the readers attention and makes him work out the translation into English. It in fact translates as 1914, the year of the beginning of the First World War. The title also links to Romans, who in the 50/60’s were often portrayed as great warriors, forever in battle, conquering foreign lands. The use of roman numerals emphasises the date and gives us the impression that Larkin has a lot of respect for those soldiers who fought for their country.

The poem opens with setting the scene, which Larkin often does. Immediately, we can see the contrast Larkin makes about the scene he can see and the modern day (1950’s), in observing how patiently the men stand and wait, criticising the hustle and bustle of this century.

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Larkin underestimates the naivety of the men who are queuing to sign up to fight for their country in the way he mentions The Oval and Villa Park. Larkin is imagining how those men do not know what they are letting themselves in for and how they are just giving themselves up willingly, signing up for a football or cricket match. This gives the reader the impression that Larkin would not have signed up as freely as they did.

The vivid scene Larkin creates suggests that he is looking at a photograph. The way Larkin uses a complex rhyme pattern ...

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