Larkin returned again and again to a study of the loner, the man outside society. Referring to three poems you have studied explore this theme
Alan Bottomley
Larkin returned again and again to a study of the loner, the man outside society. Referring to three poems you have studied explore this theme
Philip Larkin studies, in detail, the life of the loner in three of his poems Mr Bleaney, Self’s the Man and Dockery and Son. The three poems are amazingly different when one considers that they are essentially around the same topic. A question that can be asked is why did Larkin produce so many pieces of work on loners. Could it be that he was portraying himself in his work, or was it that he was simply trying to express himself through his work. Whatever the reason is, it is plain to see that Larkin saw the topic of loners as one in which he could write comprehensive pieces of poetry. Mr Bleaney, Self’s the Man and Dockery and Son are all set in very different situations and this may reflect different parts of the poet’s life. The theme of loners is a very complex one and in each of the three poems mentioned Larkin takes a different angle on it.
The poem Mr Bleany is written as if Larkin himself has taken up residence in the room where Mr Bleany once stayed in a bed sit. Mr Bleaney’s life is re-told by Larkin from what the landlady has told him. It gives the reader the impression that Mr Bleany led a simple and uncomplicated life, and was in many ways a loner, including making the same trip for his short holiday away from working at the “bodies”. The whole of the first part of the poem is written in a way which makes Mr Bleaney life seem very monotonous and boring and this helps add to the content of the poem. The reader finds out how Mr Bleaney was very set in his ways through Larkin “He kept on plugging at the four aways”, referring to the pools, we discover his yearly patterns “the Frinton folk who put him up for summer holidays” and “Christmas at his sister’s house in Stoke”. Mr Bleaney’s monotonous lifestyle is emphasised when Larkin describe the room he used to occupy, “Bed, upright-chair, sixty-watt bulb”. This shows how Mr Bleaney was very set in his ways and how he had no relationships with any people other than his sister and the people in Frinton. The use of very short sharp syllables when describing the room does not increase the tempo of the poem, in fact it does quite the opposite by making the poem feel very drab. The poem paints a picture of a man who is very set in his ways so why is the room up for rent again after so long working at the bodies. In the last section of the poem Larkin shows his cynical side again when he says that maybe Mr Bleaney deserved no better, maybe Mr Bleaney had gone in search of a better life.
