How far do you agree that 'To the sea' conveys a sense of disappointment?

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How far do you agree that ‘To the sea’ conveys a sense of disappointment?

Some aspects of ‘To the sea’ convey sense of satisfaction, however other aspects suggest a feeling of disappointment, and this is particularly clear after the change in perspective in the last verse.

In the first verse Larkin illustrates what he sees when he revisits the seaside, and remembers. He uses lots of adjectives to describe the activities going on, “Steep beach, blue water, towels, red bathing caps…warm yellow sand.” Larkin creates an unreal and clichéd appearance of the scene by using primary colours for adjectives, this is emphasised by the onomatopoeic effect of “hushed waves’ repeated fresh collapse” which furthers the idea of the perfect destination.

Larkin also creates the image that time has stopped, firstly through his use of punctuation at the end of 3rd and last line he ends in a dash. This creates a pause for the reader and therefore the impression time has stayed still. Larkin also shows the image of time stopping through the description of the white steamer, “A white steamer stuck in the afternoon-“ he clearly shows time has stopped by saying that it is ‘stuck’. This is also emphasised by the alliteration of steamer and stuck, as well as showing delight that the steamer is there it makes the words stand out to the reader and emphasises that time has stopped.

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The overall tone and feeling of the first verse is that of delight and pleasure that Larkin has been able to step back into his memory, “step over the low wall that divides” and all of his joyful memories have remained and stood still in time.

In the second verse Larkin shows that the same things are happening at the seaside as when he used to come when he was a child. He shows his shock in the first line “still going on, all of it, still going on!” he uses repetition to emphasise the continuous pattern of the ...

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