Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about journeys and visits.
Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse write about journeys and visits. In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of at least two of Larkin’s poems. Whenever Larkin presents journeys or visits throughout The Whitsun Weddings, Larkin or the persona, although Larkin always seems to use his own voice in these poems, are shown to be more interested in the lives of the people he sees or shares the journey with than the scenery, as he continues the poems into fantasizing about their lives and emotions. For example, in The Whitsun Weddings, he begins by just describing the unremarkable sight of a provincial train journey, “the river’s level drifting breadth”, but later begins to make inferences about the guests and their feelings, “the women shared the secret like a happy funeral”, showing his has unintentionally become attached. In contrast, from the beginning of his poems Abse is always shown to be attached, whereas Larkin presents a lonely ‘voyager’ who becomes swept along with others. Both Here and The Whitsun Weddings describe a lone train journey in which Larkin becomes intrigued about the people around him. At the beginning of both poems, he presents a slight irony of a disenchanted and detached observer simply describing a journey. The difference comes at the introduction of people, as in Here Larkin remains the observer, describing
How far do you agree that Larkin's poems are too depressing to be effective?
How far do you agree that Larkin's poems are too depressing to be effective? What makes an effective poem? As this is a rather ambiguous question, I think it is important to first clarify what I think makes an effective poem. The most obvious aspect of a poem that makes it effective is language, imagery and some sort of rhythm. However, this does not make a poem complete. For someone like myself who does not appreciate poetry much unless it evokes some sort of emotion in me, would definitely think that it is emotions, which are integral in making poems successfully effective. Another aspect of a poem, which makes it powerful, is its ability to revive the reader's imagination and amuse them. A good poem makes you feel like you've been there before, takes you back to a feeling you have had before, a situation in your life that you have experienced or want to experience. Larkin's poems are known to be depressing but to what extent are they depressing, is this a negative trait and does it stop them from being effective? To explore this idea I will look closely at two of Larkin's poems, Ambulances and A study of reading habits to discuss the techniques and ideas Larkin uses which make his poems depressing and effective. I chose to explore A study of reading habits because I think it is one of Larkin's poems, which amuses me the most. Larkin uses rather colloquial language in his
Discuss the effectiveness and significance of Larkin's evocation of place in his poetry with reference to three poems.
Discuss the effectiveness and significance of Larkin's evocation of place in his poetry with reference to three poems. Lucy Atwell Larkin is renowned for taking familiar landmarks and transferring them by his ludicrous outlook, which in turn engages the reader. It can be challenged that a place used in Larkin's poetry does not evoke feeling, but it's the familiar aspect that Larkin presents. Larkin evocates significance of place in his poetry by means of style, structure and language. This can be seen in 'Importance of Elsewhere', 'Home is so sad' and 'Here', were Larkin uses objects, which establish settings to create feeling. 'Here' was written in 1961 and was originally entitled the 'The Withdrawing Room'; both 'Here' and the old title indicate the importance of place to Larkin, in terms of belonging. The title of 'Home is so sad' also indicates the importance of place in a more negative tone, and indicates the importance of identity through place. The title also indicates Larkin's use of urban cities negatively. 'The importance of elsewhere', also evocates 'place' and challenges conventional living. 'Home is so sad' begins with a negative simple sentence, "Home is so sad". This instantly indicates the negative tone of the poem and points out Larkin's lack of belonging. The poem employs several simple sentences for dramatic effect, these also emphasise the
Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse create a sense of place in their poems.
Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse create a sense of place in their poems. In your response you must include detailed critical discussion of at least two of Larkin’s poems. Throughout the anthology ‘The Whitsun Weddings’, Larkin’s presents both himself and the narrators he uses as generally detached from places and shows he doesn’t feel emotionally attached to places traditionally considered sentimental, such as his parents’ house, as shown in ‘Home is So Sad’. Larkin also presents a dislike for urbanisation and industrialism, and finds comfort in unfamiliar places, “strangeness made sense”. In direct contrast, in ‘Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road”, Abse is shown to be emotionally overcome by his attachment to his parent’s house, and this sense of attachment can be shown throughout his poems, as he constantly shows his sentiment towards Wales and his hometown of Ogmore in particular. A sense of place is perhaps best shown by Larkin in his poem ‘Here’. In this poem, he creates a juxtaposition of country and cities, and through his language suggests that country is preferable. He uses words such as “cheap”, “grim” and “raw” to suggest he finds industrialism undesirable, and also suggests that the people are of a lower class and to be looked down on; “a cut-price crowd, urban yet simple”. The surging momentum of the poem’s
With close reference to 2 or 3 poems in 'The Whitsun Weddings', discuss the view that Larkin always finds life a disappointment.
With close reference to 2 or 3 poems in 'The Whitsun Weddings', discuss the view that Larkin always finds life a disappointment. Philip Larkin wrote a great collection of poems of varying themes. These range from religion to the past to people. However a lot of his poems all have a common moral. It seems that at the end of his poems he reflects on the theme in his poem and finds a hidden meaning which relates to life in general. Most of these 'morals' however seem to show that he has found something very disappointing as a result. Some of his poems are also just reflections on something about life whether it's to short or not worth it. 'Days' by Philip Larkin is a short poem which questions the nature of our existence. It talks about time passing and asks "what are days for?" He answers this question by say they are "where we live". He also says that "they are to be happy in" but we can ask ourselves whether Larkin is happy. In the poem Larkin reaches a bizarre conclusion but not really the one he was looking for. The last verse begins with "Ah" as if in revelation Larkin has realised something. He tells us that solving the question of "what are days for?" means that "the priest and the doctor in their long coats" apparently come "running over the fields". This is a strange conclusion but is Larkin's way of telling us there is no answer. The priest represents the spiritual
What impression do we form of childhood in "I Remember, I Remember" and "Growing Up"? What similarities/differences do we recognise in the poets' approach?
What impression do we form of childhood in "I Remember, I Remember" and "Growing Up"? What similarities/differences do we recognise in the poets' approach? In the poem "Growing Up", by U.A. Fanthorpe, the main theme of childhood is trivialised by the poet in the first stanza. "Shoplifting daintily into my pram" implies gracefulness and therefore is a humorous. However, at the same time, it is light-hearted and trivialises the age of being a baby. The poet mocks the years when you are a baby, too, describing her action of "burrowing my way through the long yawn of infancy". This suggests that she is hiding from the years of infancy. At the same time, it mocks infancy as the "long yawn" refers to the fact that babies tend to sleep a lot when they are very young. Fanthorpe's choice of words shows her dislike for childhood. "Nudging" implies that childhood was urging her insistently and annoyingly to grow up, and she did not want to go through childhood. "Nudging" implies persistence, which can be perceived to be annoying. Moreover, she relates sordid and negative experiences with growing up. "Hairy, fleshy growths and monthly outbursts" and "blood-thighed" are examples of this. This emphasises her dislike for childhood. The poet shows that childhood is mechanical by describing the people who fit into society as "well-oiled bolts". This is not a warm description of childhood,
Compare the ways in which Larkin and Abse talk about families
Larkin and families Larkin’s presentation of families in the anthology The Whitsun Weddings is largely negative, as he presents children as a “dilution” of oneself, and shows marriage to be stagnation between two people. The unhappy marriage between Larkin’s parents deeply affected him, and this could arguably explain his negative attitudes towards families in general. In contrast, Abse presents family as central to his life, and presents his son as an extension of himself, which directly contrasts with Larkin's view that children lessen oneself. Abse also presents marriage with "passion" rather than "isolation". Whereas Larkin seems to question the value of family life, Abse presents the view of many that families are a counterbalance for death rather than a deprivation. In his poem Dockery and Sons, Larkin's persona, which is similar to Larkin himself, describes Dockery's son as a "dilution", suggesting that Larkin believes children lesser your quality of life or value through diluting it. He furthers this to suggest that Dockery was arrogant to assume "he should be added to", which alludes to Larkin suggests perhaps not everyone in worthy of reproducing. From a Marxist perspective, here Larkin separates people based on his own class system, as he deems those "junior to him" as unworthy of children, even those he dislikes the idea. Again in the fifth stanza, Larkin
Here, Whitsun Weddings and Dockery and Son are all poems written by Larkin that take place on long train journeys
Ashna Sarkar 12GRT Choose 3 poems and analyse the effectiveness of Larkin’s imagery (Journey) ‘Here’, ‘Whitsun Weddings’ and ‘Dockery and Son’ are all poems written by Larkin that take place on long train journeys (reflected by the fact that the three poems are the longest in the Whitsun Weddings anthology). In ‘Here’ he travels east (the direction of beginnings) through a busy, squalid city to a beach of “unfenced existence”, an abstract transcendental place of peace and calm. ‘Here’ is the first poem of the anthology, and so begins a wider journey by introducing key themes that run through the entire collection; urbanisation, consumption, post-war false hope and the beauty of isolation.The train is a physical manifestation of Larkin’s own mental journey through soulless suburban sprawl to a place of simplicity and beauty. His description of the growing town where “spires and cranes cluster” contrasts sharply with the previous stanzas description of the countryside’s “solitude of skies and scarecrows”, and echoes the journey of Britain’s march towards urbanisation. The rise of consumer capitalism in the 60’s is discussed through the barrage of imagery concerning cheap items such as “red kitchen-ware, sharp shoes, iced lollies, electric mixers”. This strong evocation of the instant availability of such objects challenges
Here is unfenced existence, from Here by Phip Larkin. Both he and Dannie Abse both have a strong sense of place in their poetry, however Abse discusses his homeland with more regard for memory,
Philip Larkin and Dannie Abse on Place "Here is unfenced existence", from Here by Phip Larkin. Both he and Dannie Abse both have a strong sense of place in their poetry, however Abse discusses his homeland with more regard for memory, whereas Larkin seems to assess things using the present and seems to be less involved or ingrained in the place itself compared to Abse who seeks acceptance within his hometown's community. 'Here' is an honest, moving and poignant poem that takes the reader on a strikingly visual journey through the countryside and the towns of England, before finally ending up on the coast by describing the combination of England's beauty and its unattractive urban environment. Larkin uses long, flowing sentences which add a sense of continual movement in the poem.; these sentences are full of rich imagery and description which fully immerse the reader in the poem. The poem is titled 'Here', yet in the first three stanzas the poem takes in various locations and never stands still; the reader questions where 'Here' is, whether or not it is actually a specific, physical location. In 'Here', Larkin appears to be critical of the urban population, "residents from raw estates", finding more beauty and appeal in the natural world than the human world, demonstrated by the fact that human presence in the poem is only temporary, fading away after the third stanza. The
Poetry - A Study of Reading Habits.
Poetry - A Study of Reading Habits I have recently finished reading a poem called "A Study of Reading Habits" written by Philip Larkin. When I first heard the title I had expectations that it would be a mundane insight into different people's reading habits, written in a formal and artificial manner. I also expected that it was written by someone who was very interested in books, and published in either a newspaper or teaching journal. However, when I actually read the poem I was surprised because the language used is in fact informal and quite rude. The poet uses scatological words such as "crap" where I would have expected more intellectual, vivid expressions. Furthermore, the content of the poem is not about a variety of different people's reading habits but instead just focused on one particular person's. As I studied the poem in more detail, I began to notice the techniques that were particularly effective and realised that beneath everything there was actually an interesting and thought-provoking theme. So in this essay I will highlight the points that were brought to my attention and explain the true meanings of the poem. At a general level, I noticed how well structured the poem was. It was divided equally into three verses which were arranged chronologically. Each verse describes the reading habits of a person at different ages. The first verse indicates late
