The Recurring Theme of Death in the Poetry of Philip Larkin.
The Recurring Theme of Death in the Poetry of Philip Larkin Priti C. Prabhakar English 774 Paper #2 Due: April 9, 2004 In reading the poetry of Philip Larkin for the first time, one is struck by the characteristically glum atmosphere that pervades most of his poems. The vast majority of his verse is devoted to what is generally taken to be negative aspects of life, such as loneliness and dejection, disappointments, loss, and the terrifying prospect of impending death. Evidently, there are uplifting and humorous sides to his work as well, but for certain reasons Larkin is invariably identified with a downhearted, pessimistic temper and tone of voice, conveying a constant sense of failure and of disappointment that underlies all the more specific emotions and reflections of individual poems. Frequently, Larkin is just sad, and one is amazed then at the wide range of things and events, from money ('Money': 'I listen to money singing...It is intensely sad.' (198)), to a delayed plane ('Autobiography at an Air-Station', where the person obviously had hoped to leave before sunset, but cannot, because his machine is several hours delayed. When he says: 'I set...So much on this Assumption. Now it's failed' (78), this response would appear a little oversensitive, did not the title indicate that something more is being dealt with here than just an afternoon at the airport),
Larkin is often portrayed as being obsessed by death, but High Windows is as much about life as it is about death. How true do you find this statement?
Larkin is often portrayed as being obsessed by death, but High Windows is as much about life as it is about death. How true do you find this statement? Larkin was 52 when High Windows was published and the collection is dominated by poems about the loss of youth, time passing and the imminence of death. Even in poems not explicitly based on these themes, they are still hinted at. Although some of the poems are about youth, some about aging and some on death, in a way all these are referring to mortality. I agree that there are poems, such as Show Saturday and To the Sea, which celebrate aspects of life but there are far fewer poems about life than about death. The Building is one of the bleakest poems, where Larkin describes a hospital and the stark inevitability of death. The poem builds up an atmosphere by the enigmatic treatment of the building; Larkin avoids spelling out that the building is a hospital but treats it as an atheistic cathedral, left in the atheistic society. Larkin begins the account outside the building. It can be seen from far away and resembles a 'lucent comb', emphasising the busyness of the workers and the way in which individuals are depersonalised, like bees in a hive. Its height is repeated in the 4th stanza as evidence of its importance within today's society. The comparison with the 'handsomest hotel' suggests that is far more important to
An 'A' Level candidate described Larkin as a "grumpy, old, git". Based on High Windows how far do you agree with this statement?
An 'A' Level candidate described Larkin as a "grumpy, old, git". Based on High Windows how far do you agree with this statement? Larkin could be seen as conforming to the image of a 'grumpy, old, git', as thought by critics and even more so by the youth of today. Through his anthology 'High Windows' a window itself is opened into the Larkin's complex character where grumpy, old and git do apply, however this could be seen as generalisation as many poems suggest otherwise. In High Windows there are two definitions of Larkin as old, the first of which is Larkin resigning himself to the past with a sense of despair as to being and feeling old. In 'High Windows' this is shown reverently with the use of the simile "like an outdated combine harvester" through this he evokes a mood of despair. It shows Larkin to feel old-fashioned and out of date, thus alienated from modern on-goings and society, presenting an image of Larkin rusting away forgotten replaced by the next generation. In 'The Trees' Larkin portrays the sadness at the youth he no longer feels "their greenness is a kind of grief". Instead of viewing the beauty of youth and the pleasure which it brings he shows a selfish view, one of which portrays a bitter and miserable old man. Larkin uses parenthesis in 'Annus Mirabilis' to visually illustrate to the reader his isolation "(Which was rather late for me)". It portrays