"Essential Beauty" by Philip Larkin is a perfectly balanced poem of two 16-line stanzas.
"Essential Beauty" by Philip Larkin is a perfectly balanced poem of two 16-line stanzas. In the poem Larkin explores the subject of advertising in the early 60s. He begins by describing the subjects on huge billboards on the sides and ends of buildings. He suggests that these enormous images are placed in slum areas and that this is inappropriate and doubtful in its honest intention. Larkin's outstanding criticism is directed towards the content of the adverts. He makes it clear that "motor oil and cuts of salmon," are of no consequence or beyond the finical ability of the people who live in the blocks of streets and slums where these billboards are pasted. "Cars" and "deep arm chairs" bed time cups and radiant electric fires warming "cats by slippers on warm mats" are certainly not the experiences of those who dwell in the vicinity of the outrageous adverts. They: "Reflect none of the rained-on streets and squares They dominate the outdoors." This criticism is at its height in its description of an advert for butter: "......High above the gutter A silver knife sinks into golden butter." Here he employs a cheap advertisement rhyme and exposes the ridiculous image which is clearly inappropriate for those upon whose house the advert may be displayed. Furthermore Larkin clearly despises the image of: "Well balanced families, in fine Midsummer weather." In the second
Comparison of 'Ambulances' and 'First sight'
Sophie Birkett Comparison of 'Ambulances' and 'First sight' The two poems I have chosen have similarities and contrasts. Ambulances is about an ambulance being a symbol of death, and as living beings, it 'brings closer what is left to come' for us. Larkin suffered from necrophobia and this is thus reflected in poems such as Ambulances where he passionately talks about his underlying fears always being there, lying 'just under all we do.' First Sight however is all to do with life and the first things lambs see and experience when first born into this world and is therefore all to do with birth as opposed to Ambulances death. As a similarity though, Larkin was very fond of animals and after he died, he left a large sum of money to the RSPCA. Therefore his passion about animals is reflected in this poem, as they are innocent, suggested from the use of the word 'white' but born into a hostile world, which they have to cope with. The poetic voice in both the poems are third person and although the views may be of a narrator figure who is not Larkin, because of his passion to both subject themes, the views expressed in the poems are safely his. Ambulance comes from the word Ambulare, which is Latin for 'to walk/move.' Not only is this movement shown in the poem with the visiting of all streets and the traffic parting, but it also connects to First Sight where the first line is
Comparison Between Wild Oats and Broadcast
Comparison Between Wild Oats and Broadcast Introduction Philip Larkin has once again created two magnificent poem and they are both three verses, as are many of his other pieces, such as: 'The Trees' and 'Cut Grass' ' Broadcast' and 'Wild firm and stable relationship with any women. The main theme of both these two poems is love but neither of the titles indicates anything about affection or passion. 'Broadcast' is more virtual reality than reality because Larkin is imagining a beautiful woman standing amongst a crowd in a concert, from the music, which is vibrantly coming out of his radio. This shows that the poem is written over a short time period: about three to four minutes, which is the average length of a piece of classical music. Whereas, 'Wild Oats' was over a long period of time: about seven to eight years, involving two girls and how Larkin was not able to keep a close and solid relationship with neither of them Both these poems were written in the late nineteen sixties, early nineteen seventies due to the evidence, which is shown in both of them. In 'Broadcast' it shows that before the concert: the national anthem of England was played. This was only done in that time period. Also in 'Wild Oats' it is written that they were still using Guineas as their currency, which proves that 'Wild Oats' was also written in that time period. Oats' are extremely enjoyable
An Arundel Tomb
An Arundel Tomb A poem in which the poet explores the significance of the passage of time is An Arundel Tomb by Philip Larkin. Larkin uses techniques such as, imagery and word choice to achieve this. Immediately, the title of the poem makes the reader consider the importance of the theme of time. An Arundel Tomb, when broken down to each single word the connotations are; 'An' portraying only one; 'Arundel' a town near Chichester in England where this tomb is actually present; and 'Tomb', the word tomb gives away the poem most because it makes you begin to think about how tombs are usually only for rich people and were mostly for people who were of some sort of royalty or importance and also the idea of death, people only go into the tomb after they have died. The people who the tomb was made for was an earl and countess which kind of proves the point about people being rich to afford a tomb. Similarly, the structure of the poem highlights Larkin's concern with the passage of time, the poem is written in seven stanzas with an ABBCAC regular rhyme scheme. Each stanza is written in a neat way with every stanza having six lines. The neat structure of the poem mimics the way the effigies are lying still, next to each other, "Side by side, their faces blurred" The impression I get from the regular structure of the poem is that art can withstand the erosion of time, which
This be the verse commentary
In the poem "This be the Verse" written by Phillip Larkin around 1971, Philip Larkin uses many literary features such as imagery, simile, metaphor etc and carefully planned poetic structure to create an atmosphere in which his past experiences as a youth is transferred to the innocent of the present. In the first stanza, Larkin starts off the poem by using a common coarse language through out his poems. "They F*** you up, your mum and dad" is a reflection of his resentment and anger at his youth. Due to the fact that Larkin's youth and history has influenced his poems, his poetic diction varies accordingly. For example, in the second line, the word "may" delivers a sense of uncertainty as though he was uncertain whether the intentions of the parents were intentional of unintentional. Furthermore, it acts as a catalyst that shifts the tone of the poem from a livid and irritated tone, from the recurring "f's," to a calm and uncertain tone. The comma after the word "to" in line 2, acts as a wake-up call and a transition that shifts the tone from uncertainty back to being irate. In line 3, the imagery in "They fill you with the faults they had" depicts a child like an "empty" container or vessel that signifies innocence. However, they parent "fill" is a metaphor that suggests that they pour the "liquid" faults into the child, which is also referred to in the third stanza.
What interests you about Larkin's use of language and verse form in three of the poems you have studied so far?
What interests you about Larkin's use of language and verse form in three of the poems you have studied so far? The poems that I have chosen to comment on from the collection The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin are Here, Nothing to be said and Faith Healing. I have chosen to write about these three because they are all very different in terms of theme, language, verse form and Larkin's message and purpose. Here is the opening poem of The Whitsun Weddings. It locates the reader in Larkin's England and centres around a journey the protagonist is making from London to Northumberland via Larkin's hometown of Hull. Larkin uses a range of language and writing devices to express his feelings and at times his prejudices through his poetry and he does this especially well in Here. The first stanza begins with "swerving east". The word "swerving" suggests a dangerous movement and a lack of control from the person or thing that is swerving. When someone swerves it is usually to avoid something so by using the word "swerving" Larkin is immediately presenting the reader with a sense of avoidance and lack of control. Larkin then goes on to say that the fields are "too thin and thistled to be called meadows". This shows that he is passing through an area of land, which cannot quite be classed as countryside but is not quite urban. This could possibly be a representation of how Larkin is
Analysis of The Explosion by Philip Larkin
Transfer-Encoding: chunked What are the poet's feelings about life and death? In The Explosion, Philip Larkin portrays many ideas, about life and death, through telling the story of an explosion, and the surroundings, as well as their response. He portrays his ideas that there may possibly be an afterlife through the events in the church, and also that death is an event that affect everyone in the surroundings, and that death may possibly be an everyday occurrence, in his opinion. Larkin writes that the vicar says ‘we shall see them face to face’. This suggests that these people are still living, but the fact that they are said to be ‘living in God’s house’ suggests that although they are not ‘living’ on Earth, they are still alive, but instead, in heaven. In addition, in the final stanza, the ‘eggs’ are said to be ‘unbroken’. Eggs are normally symbols of new life, and the fact that they are ‘unbroken’ despite being ‘lodged in the grasses’ during the explosion essentially ensures that there will be a ‘new life’ or ‘afterlife’ for those killed in the explosion. The fact that this stanza is separated from the rest of the poem, with caesura at the end, emphasises this line, possibly suggesting that Larkin feels strongly about this subject, and wants to convey this message especially to the reader. In addition, it is said that ‘wives
Choose two poems in which Larkin explores places, Discuss his use of language, form and structure and the attitudes he explores towards the subject (Here & The Importance of Elsewhere).
Choose two poems in which Larkin explores places, Discuss his use of language, form and structure and the attitudes he explores towards the subject (Here & The Importance of Elsewhere). As is common for Larkin he begins the poem "Here" on a journey. This particular poem suggests a train journey from the south-east, maybe in London where Larkin spent a great deal of his time, up to the north-east, to possibly his Home town of Hull. He depicts, from what we imagine to be his seat on the train, many features of post war England as the train moves out of the "industrial shadows" up to rural Landscape and back to urban surroundings before reaching it's final destination. Larkin uses the idea of journeys and travelling to create the sensation of time passing or to illustrate changes in the world or economy. However, unlike "Here", "The Importance of Elsewhere" does not see Larkin begin his journey, rather he begins this poem when he obviously feels, as indicated by the opening line "lonely in Ireland". Many claim that this poem was written during the time Larkin spent working in Ireland. The feeling that perhaps Larkin did not fit in is suggested by the strict half rhyme scheme that run's through this poem, consisting of words that partly rhyme and sound as though they should fit together. "Swerving East from Industrial shadows", Larkin begins his journey in the poem "Here".
How Larkin Portrays The Past and Attitudes To It In MCMXIV and Home Is So Sad.
Becky Wardle 12w How Larkin Portrays The Past and Attitudes To It In MCMXIV and Home Is So Sad The title of the first poem is in Roman numerals. This grabs the readers attention and makes him work out the translation into English. It in fact translates as 1914, the year of the beginning of the First World War. The title also links to Romans, who in the 50/60's were often portrayed as great warriors, forever in battle, conquering foreign lands. The use of roman numerals emphasises the date and gives us the impression that Larkin has a lot of respect for those soldiers who fought for their country. The poem opens with setting the scene, which Larkin often does. Immediately, we can see the contrast Larkin makes about the scene he can see and the modern day (1950's), in observing how patiently the men stand and wait, criticising the hustle and bustle of this century. Larkin underestimates the naivety of the men who are queuing to sign up to fight for their country in the way he mentions The Oval and Villa Park. Larkin is imagining how those men do not know what they are letting themselves in for and how they are just giving themselves up willingly, signing up for a football or cricket match. This gives the reader the impression that Larkin would not have signed up as freely as they did. The vivid scene Larkin creates suggests that he is looking at a photograph. The way
Larkin has been criticised for a lack of sympathy in his poetry. Based on your reading of the Whitsun Weddings collection of poems, how fair is this criticism.
Larkin has been criticised for a lack of sympathy in his poetry. Based on your reading of the Whitsun Weddings collection of poems, how fair is this criticism. Philip Larkin's poetry is well known for its portrayal of his own views on relationship issues such as marriage, women and sex that has frequently caused controversy in all social classes both then and now. Most people in particular women don't like his sexist male views favouring the stereotypically 'beautiful' women to intellectual women purely because of their sexual attractiveness and voicing that a women's role is with 'an estateful of washing'. From his views, people would have criticised his poetry for having a lack of sympathy because he discriminates the female sex so coldly. I believe that in contrast to other people's views, he is indeed sympathetic, in the way that he sympathises with women because they were unfortunate enough to be of the female sex. This must seem an obscure way of analysing his thoughts but in some of Larkin's poems, we can see that he sympathises with women for being female, with men for being with women and also with himself for not matching up to his own expectations. The way he talks about women in poems such as 'Wild Oats' gives an example of the way Larkin compared women to each other, weighing their attributes up such as a predatory male would do to insure he had the fittest