"The Past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." Referring to L. P. Hartley's novel "The Go-Between" and Philip Larkin's poetry anthology "The Whitsun Weddings", explore the significance of the past.

Victoria Houghton "The Past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." Referring to L. P. Hartley's novel "The Go-Between" and Philip Larkin's poetry anthology "The Whitsun Weddings", explore the significance of the past. "What's gone and what's past help, should be past grief." L. P. Hartley's novel and Larkin's poetry demonstrate the lack of reality in this philosophy, a point that Shakespeare clearly implies with the use of the auxiliary verb "should". Although "a foreign country" our capacity of memory allows us to continue living in that strange land making the events that occurred there very much present grief. The devastating history of The Go-Between epitomises the power that the past has to dictate our lives. That one summer in adolescence can affect the next fifty years of a man's life illustrates the influence that the past has on the present. Similarly, the poetry of Philip Larkin portrays how alive and existing the past is, in memorabilia, in our children, in artifacts and in ourselves. A "post mortem" of Leo Colston's metaphorical death, the novel The Go-Between, tells the account of how a boy was prematurely forced into adulthood, an adulthood never lived out. The events that occurred at the age of twelve crippled Leo to such an extent that even in his sixties he has not recovered; he is "dried up, the husk of a man". One summer in his

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Larkin - Churchgoing and High Windows

PHILIP LARKIN (1922-1985) BIOGRAPHY Philip Larkin was born in Coventry, England, in 1922. He was (and still is) one of the most well-known and widely read poets in England, yet his writing and personal politics are also quite controversial. He was a poet, novelist, and critic, a leading figure of 'The Movement,' term coined to describe a group of British poets that coalesced during the 1950s. 'The Movement' poets addressed everyday British life in a plain, straightforward language and often in traditional forms. He was educated at King Henry VIII School where he wrote for the school magazine. At the age of 18 he entered St. John's College Oxford, where he studied English and met Kingsley Amis. After graduating he became a librarian. Larkin wrote nearly continuously throughout his adult life, but he also made his living as a librarian for several university libraries. As a poet Larkin made his debut with the collection THE NORTH SHIP in 1945, written using short lines and carefully worked-out rhyme schemes. It was published at his own expense. The sad songs showed the influence of Yeats. It was followed by two novels, JILL (1946) and A GIRL IN WINTER (1947). Among Larkin's major works are THE LESS DECEIVED (1955) and THE WHITSUN WEDDINGS (1964), in which the title-poem describing the poet's journey by train from Hull to London is his best-known works. Larkin used

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How typical is the style and content of The Old Fools in Larkin's High Windows?

How typical is the style and content of The Old Fools in Larkin's High Windows? The Old Fools is primarily concerned with Larkin's fear of ageing and dying, a fear that pervades through the poems of High Windows. Using a slightly mocking tone, he attemps to understand the thoughts and feelings of the aged on the subject, but instead finds even more questions, and the inevitable realisation that "We will find out." Death is a frequently occurring subject in High Windows: in The Building, Dublinesque, Vers de Societe and The Explosin he explores the inevitability of death and it's consequences on his state of mind. Often, the idea of a lack of consolation from organised religion is present within these poems. Larkin, as an atheist, found little comfort in the idea of an afterlife, believing instead that "oblivion" was the eventual outcome for humankind: "...for unless its powers / Outbuild cathedrals, nothing contravenes / The coming dark..." Oblivion, as a general fate, is not all that appealing, yet Larkin manages to lift the spirit of The Old Fools with subtle touches of humour. The cynicism and sarcasm that he often uses in the collection do not detract from the more serious overtones of the poems, but they do 'lighten the mood', coupled with a use of more uplifting imagery that hints at non-Christian religon. "...all the time merging with a unique endavour / To

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Larkin's biographer Andrew Motion claims that the 'Whitsun Weddings' "Tackles the big issues in the language of ordinary speech". Explore the themes and language of Larkin's poetry with reference to these observations.

Larkin's biographer Andrew Motion claims that the 'Whitsun Weddings' "Tackles the big issues in the language of ordinary speech". Explore the themes and language of Larkin's poetry with reference to these observations. I agree with Larkin's biographer Andrew Motion that the Whitsun Weddings tackle the big issues in the language of ordinary speech. There are several poems that I have selected to display the themes and language of Larkin's poetry. These poems are: "Mr.Bleaney","MCMXIV" and "Sunny Prestatyn". I will begin by looking at the poem 'Sunny Prestatyn'. This poem deals with the reality of life today. Larkin describes how an alluring and provocative image of a girl on an advertising poster has been and defaced. The language used by Larkin to describe this image backs up what Andrew Motion has claimed. "...she was slapped up one day in March. ...huge tits and a fissured crotch... ...a tuberous cock and balls." Larkin's shocking choice of diction has reflected the shocking theme of the poem and of the defacement of the poster. The language used by Larkin in stanza two is more violent and coarse than stanza one. The slang language used Larkin to describe how the girl had been defaced such as: "huge tits" and "a tuberous cock and balls" reflects the language of everyday ordinary speech. Other words throughout the poem such as 'scrawls' and 'snaggle' are used as

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Look again at "Mr Bleany" and "Self's the Man". Explore how Larkin presents men and their experiences of others in these two poems.

Look again at "Mr Bleany" and "Self's the Man". Explore how Larkin presents men and their experiences of others in these two poems. In this essay I intend to discuss how Larkin presents men and their experiences of others in "Mr Bleany" and "Self's the Man". In both poems Larkin presents men as down trodden, nagged and controlled by women although it is in a different way. The women have different relationships with the men and they play different roles in each of their lives. In "Mr Bleany" the woman is the narrators landlord and we see her trying to manipulate him as soon as the second stanza even though she has just met him, " Mr Bleany took my bit of garden properly in hand". We see this again in the forth stanza, "I know his habits- what time he came down, his preference for sauce to gravy". She is trying to turn him into her last tenant Mr Bleany by dropping these hints trying to get him to do what she wants. In "Self's the Man" the women is Arnold's wife and we see her nagging and controlling him perhaps more so than the landlady does in Mr Bleany. " Put a screw in this wall". I think the nagging is worse for Arnold because the landlady can't nag her tenant in the same way a wife can her husband. The women in the two poems have the upper hand in the relationships and with their nagging make the men feel that they live a slavish existence. Nothing in either poem

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How typical in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification is 'Faith Healing' by Larkin?

How typical in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification is 'Faith Healing' by Larkin? In 1964, Philip Larkin published his third book of poetry, entitled 'The Whitsun Weddings'. One of the many critically acclaimed poems was 'Faith Healing'. In this essay, I intend to explore how typical this poem is in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification. In Faith Healing, women flock to an American Faith Healer for a blessing. The persona of the poem is written from an outsider's point of view, looking in at this sight. Faith Healing is divided into three stanzas, each of ten lines. Iambic pentameter is used to give 5 major stresses to each of the 10 lines. The three stanzas actually contribute to the action of the poem. In the first stanza, the women go forward to the Faith Healer; in the second, they leave and 'Sheepishly stray'. Finally, the poem concludes with the third stanza where Larkin analyses the situation. This versification is indeed quite typical throughout The Whitsun Weddings. 'Here' is another poem from this collection, and Larkin again writes in iambic pentameter. He uses the traditional versification to describe a journey from an industrial city to a place where much more satisfaction can be gained. This journey was also mapped by the structure of the poem. Larkin wrote 4 stanzas and each one marked a progression in the journey. This is

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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By Close Reading Of At Least Three Of His Poems, Discuss The Qualities That Make Larkin A Highly Regarded Poet Of The Last Half Century.

By Close Reading Of At Least Three Of His Poems, Discuss The Qualities That Make Larkin A Highly Regarded Poet Of The Last Half Century Philip Larkin's famous melancholic quality and personality is mirrored in his poetry greatly, reflecting his life; his difficult childhood and the strange, opposite relationships he had with his parents. Larkin was incredibly intelligent in a very unusual way, he saw and observed everything in his own, unique manner, giving us, an ordinary reader, an insight into the world the way Larkin saw it. At the same time making sure that his sense of bitterness and resentment is bought across. 'Toads' by Philip Larkin is a poem which reflects what Larkin sees as work. The poem makes Larkin sound that he is elusive; as if he cannot find happiness. He uses metaphors throughout the poem to achieve what seems to change the affect an ordinary poem has on one, making it more literal and realistic. This idea of realism through description and metaphors is also used in 'The Whitsun Weddings' by Larkin. The title is the first example of such a metaphor. Nobody likes to work and everyone dislikes toads. He has deliberately chosen something disgusting and horrible to show how he and society feels about work. One of Larkin's strengths was to reflect on how society reacts in many of his poems; such as 'Afternoons' and 'The Whitsun Weddings'. All the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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In Philip Larkins poem, This Be the Verse, he uses strong language to get across his message of that no one should have children.

October 3, 2011 This Be the Verse Commentary In Philip Larkin's poem, "This Be the Verse," he uses strong language to get across his message of that no one should have children. The title already gives hints to the attitude of this poem. The title "This Be the Verse" sounds like the Larkin is stating that this is the guide that we should all live by. Specifically, "verse" gives off a very biblical feeling making it sound official and used by people centuries ago. Also the defined article "the" before "verse" adds seriousness to the title. As for the form, from the first stanza it is already evident that there is an alternating rhyme scheme and that each stanza has four lines. In addition, the stanzas are short and simple which makes it very child like. Larkin perhaps made them short in order to get his message across to the reader. If there is more text, the message would not be as clear and easy to find like in this poem. The first line of this poem, starts out with an altered syntax. It sounds as if Larkin is starting in the middle of his thoughts and just wrote it on the piece of paper without much thought. In addition he uses a swear word. This immediately grabs the attention of the reader. Depending on the type of reader, some may think that this is offence that he is using such language, however, others may think that he is revolutionary for using the work in

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Using 3 poems, explore Larkin's contemplations on time

Using 3 poems, explore Larkin's contemplations on Time. Many of Larkin's poems express his different ideas on the universal theme of time. 'Love Songs in Age', 'Send No Money' and 'Days' embody this theme by reminding the reader that our knowledge of this topic is limited as time itself is temporal and time unmasks our youth-created illusions that we have of reality through it's impression of a damaging strength. Through the use of various techniques, Larkin emphasizes that time is immutable and eventually leads to our inevitable fate death. These contemplations of time would have taken place during his middle aged years as Larkin became more aware of the essence of existence and the problem of time. 'Love Songs in Age' illustrates a woman who is widowed who is going through her old song albums, reminiscing and realizing the passage of time. Larkin attempts to display that remembering the past only brings momentary happiness of the memory. This is shown in the first stanza when going through the covers and she finds one that was 'coloured by her daughter'. As well as showing the passage of time, the covers also present time as a destructive force since the covers have been 'bleached', 'marked' and 'coloured'. However, the widow tried to rebel against time as she mended one cover 'when a tidy fit has seized her' and perhaps this can also be the motivation for the series of

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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'Afternoons' by Philip Larkin.

Joe Murphy 'Afternoons' 31 January 2004 A poem which reflects on the subject of marriage is 'Afternoons' by Philip Larkin. The poem deals with Larkin's view on young mothers watching their kids playing in a playground and on this he concludes that marrying young and having children young, lead to the mothers losing their identity and destiny. The techniques used by the poet such as theme, imagery and tone deepened my understanding of the issue. The structure of the poem is simple; there are three stanzas with eight lines in each. However, unlike every other poem by Larkin this layout has no direct meaning. The lines are unrhymed. The first stanza deals with Larkin's rather cynical view of marriage and deals with the idea that the young mothers are isolated. Larkin's brilliant use of language emphasis the recurring theme of emptiness within the young mothers and how regimented their lives have become; 'In the hollows of afternoons' and 'young mothers assemble'. In the second stanza Larkin moves from the general view into the individual and describes the mother as belonging to a middle class background. Their husbands are described as working in 'skilled trades' and being 'behind them'. The husbands are not literally standing behind the women but are metaphorically. They provide support financially, emotionally and phycologically. On a

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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