Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays of philip larkins afternoon
Compare and contrast Philip Larkins poetry with modern poetry
Compare and contrast Philip Larkins poetry with modern poetry
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Essays of philip larkins afternoon
Inability to communicate and longing to relive the past have been reoccurring themes throughout literature. However, Philip Larkin, whose poetry is often associated with the mundane and marginalized, transcends these themes by allowing his poetry to become more than just slices of life. His poems “Talking in Bed” and “High Windows”, examine the seemingly ordinary experiences of a couples silence, and wanting to relive the past through the lens of isolation and questioning cultural values. In his poems “Talking in Bed” and “High Windows” Larkin uses simplistic language to convey the themes of isolation and questioning the values of cultural norms.
In his poem “Talking in Bed”, Larkin uses simplistic language to revel themes of isolation and questioning the values of cultural norms, specifically in the evolution of romantic relationships. Larkin begins with the speaker lying in bed, with his partner, reflecting on the expectations of their relationship. He ponders how their physical closeness should yield to an emotional connection, or “talking”, which it doesn't. “Talking in bed ought to be easiest, / Lying together there goes back so far, / An emblem of two people being honest.” (1-3). In his opening stanza, Larkin establishes a feeling of isolation from the speaker and the person with whom he is sharing a bed. By establishing this separation between the two, Larkin calls into question their level of intimacy, of type of relationship, this couple is engaged in. As Bahaa-Eddin M. Mazid, PhD. points out in “‘this unique distance from isolation’: A stylistic analysis of Larkin’s “Talking in Bed”, the couples physical sharing of the bed indicates physical intimacy while their inability to communicate orally suggests a lack of emot...
... middle of paper ...
...s image, there is also isolation, as he is limited to observer, free to relive his own cultural battles but removed from the new generational expressions.
In his poems “Talking in Bed” and “High Windows” Phillip Larkin is able to use simplistic language to convey the themes of isolation and questioning the values of cultural norms. In “Talking in Bed” Larkin uses a perceived common social experience and feelings of isolation to relay a deeper social commentary on the evolution of relationships. Additionally, in “High Windows” Larkin’s choice of explicit words and tone, not only draws in themes of isolation but draws attention to the cultural values of sex and religion. Though his poems seem to tackle mundane life experiences, his singular view helps convey themes of isolation and questioning of cultural values which transcend his poems into universal relatability.
“Dubliners” by James Joyce was first published in 1914. It is a collection of short stories, which takes place in the same general area and time frame, moving from one individual’s story to the next. Boysen in “The Necropolis of Love: James Joyce’s Dubliners” discuses the way the citizens of Dublin are caught in this never ending misery because of the lack of love- mainly instituted by the “criminalization of sensual love” from the church- and the economic stress, and struggle to survive. Zack Brown goes through the individual short stories, pointing out their references to paralysis, as well as a few other themes in “Joyce’s Prophylactic Paralysis: Exposure in “Dubliners.”” “James Joyce’s usage of Diction in Representation of Irish Society in Dubliners” by Daronkolaee discuses the background knowledge of the culture and particular details of the city that enhance the understanding of the reader and enforce the ideas presented by Boysen and broken down by Brown. These analytical articles help support the idea that Joyce uses
We may believe were not in no form of isolation from a single thing but we are all in isolation without notice. In the book “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar wao” by Junot Diaz, he shows isolation in every character in a very distinct way but still not noticeable. Throughout the Brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao, Diaz conveys that there is isolation in every person through his characters that are all different in personalization but are still isolated from something.
Under the orders of her husband, the narrator is moved to a house far from society in the country, where she is locked into an upstairs room. This environment serves not as an inspiration for mental health, but as an element of repression. The locked door and barred windows serve to physically restrain her: “the windows are barred for little children, and there are rings and things in the walls.” The narrator is affected not only by the physical restraints but also by being exposed to the room’s yellow wallpaper which is dreadful and fosters only negative creativity. “It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide – plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.”
This is most evident when he observes that the “poor stunted houses” on Capel Street “seemed to him a band of tramps, huddled together along the river-banks, their old coats covered with dust and soot stupefied by the panorama of sunset and waiting for the first chill of night to bid them arise, shake themselves, and begone” (55). This demeaning but powerful personification is highly evocative and is arguably one of the most poignant descriptions of Dublin not only in “A Little Cloud,” but in all of Dubliners. These memorable words never make it onto the page in Little Chandler’s world, emphasizing how Little Chandler’s paralyzing doubts over whether he, as an aspiring poet, can actually “write something original” (55) prevent him from fully realizing his potential. But it is important to recognize that Little Chandler is an example of failed potential, rather than a complete lack of potential. In other words, he may limit himself as he walks through the streets of Dublin, and these self-imposed barriers may be reflected in his perceptions of the city, but his vision and capacity to capture the city are substantial even though his stature and presence are
Throughout the novel Dubliners, James Joyce renders the theme of paralysis and the aspiration to escape through his compilation of fictional short stories. Joyce depicts the impotent individuals who endeavor the idea of escaping, but are often paralyzed by their situations, resulting in their inability to escape the separate circumstances exemplified within each short story. Furthermore, the recurring theme of escape and paralysis is evident within the short stories, “An Encounter”, “Eveline”, and “A Little Cloud.” Consequently, these short stories imparts the protagonists’ perspectives to subdue the paralysis of their situations and conveys their inability to escape their undesirable conditions, constraining them to inadequate lives.
James Joyce is the author of Dubliners, a compilation of Irish short stories that reflect on the feelings he associates with the city of Dublin, where he grew up in a large impoverished family. After he graduated from the University College, Dublin, Joyce went to live abroad in Paris, France. This action indicates a sense of entrapment that led to his desire to escape. The situations in his stories differ significantly, but each character within these stories experiences this sense of escape that Joyce had. In “An Encounter”, two boys make their first real move at being independent by skipping school to explore Dublin. In “Eveline”, the main character has a choice between taking care of her unstable father or leaving him to lead a new life with a man she has been seeing. In Joyce’s story, “The Dead,” a young man is thrown into deep human assessment, becomes unsure of who he is, and soon after is frightened of this newly discovered truth. The stories in Dubliners implicate this need for independence through characters in different situations and experiencing the feeling of entrapment.
James Joyce created a collection of short stories in Dubliners describing the time and place he grew up in. At the time it was written, Joyce intends to portray to the people of Dublin the problems with the Irish lifestyles. Many of these stories share a reoccurring theme of a character’s desire to escape his or her responsibilities in regards to his relationship with his, job, money situation, and social status; this theme is most prevalent in After the Race, Counterparts, and The Dead.
Influenced by the style of “plainspoken English” utilized by Phillip Larkin (“Deborah Garrison”), Deborah Garrison writes what she knows, with seemingly simple language, and incorporating aspects of her life into her poetry. As a working mother, the narrator of Garrison’s, “Sestina for the Working Mother” provides insight for the readers regarding inner thoughts and emotions she experiences in her everyday life. Performing the daily circus act of balancing work and motherhood, she, daydreams of how life might be and struggles with guilt, before ultimately realizing her chosen path is what it right for her and her family.
In all poems the theme of Disappointment in love is seen throughout. Duffy focuses on the pain, despair and acrimony that love can bring, whereas Larkin focuses on the dissatisfaction before, during, and after a romantic relationship. Both Duffy and Larkin differ in tone. Duffy takes a more aggressive and dark stance to portray what love can do to a person after a disappointing love life. Duffy also uses this sinister and aggressive stance to try and convey sympathy for the persona from the audience in ‘Never Go Back’ and ‘Havisham’ Whereas Larkin conveys his discontent in love through his nonchalant and dismissive tone, but still concealing the pain that has been brought by love in ‘Wild Oats’ and ‘Talking in bed’.
It is a way to crucially engage oneself in setting the stage for new interventions and connections. She also emphasized that she personally viewed poetry as the embodiment of one’s personal experiences, and she challenged what the white, European males have imbued in society, as she declared, “I speak here of poetry as the revelation or distillation of experience, not the sterile word play that, too often, the white fathers distorted the word poetry to mean — in order to cover their desperate wish for imagination without insight.”
Progress is in the eye of the beholder. Throughout the years society has forced nature out of its life and has instead adopted a new mechanical and industrialized lifestyle. Technology may be deemed as progress by some, where it is thought of as a positive advancement for mankind. Yet technology can also be a hindrance for society, by imposing itself on society and emptying the meaning out of life. In “Autobiography at an Air-Station,” Philip Larkin conveys his distaste of how society has denounced nature. By employing an ironic tone in the sonnet, Larkin comments on the significance of the sonnet in relation to industrial life. Life has become ironic because it is no longer a natural life that society leads, but a fabricated life. Through his use of rhyme and meter, the extended metaphor comparing the air-station to life, imagery, and diction, Larkin reflects on what life has come to be: a deviation from the intrinsic.
Throughout the stories in Dubliners by James Joyce we notice elements of the unpleasant paralyzing effect of Dublin. Dublin is portrayed as a catalyst for the inability of its citizens to move forward in their lives. The characters that Joyce writes about create a general idea of the paralysis observed in residents of Dublin. We can recognize elements of “generational paralysis” in the stories that depict children, in particular, with parents and/or guardians who already exhibit the perils resulting from this form of paralysis. These children really have no chance in life to have a future beyond Dublin. As readers, we experience instances when characters of Dubliners have tried to move away but are still held back by the paralyzing effects
Joyce Carol Oates, an American writer, holds a unique place in twentieth century literature. She won acclaim during her lifetime as a novelist and essayist and short story writer. The themes of Joyce Carol Oates are imposing and she portrays the social and psychological problems which are faced by the contemporary men and women in their day-to-day life. She is at her best in projecting the harsh and violent world of the present time. She presents a realistic sensation of life with a moral lesson to the reader. Joyce Carol Oates, like any other writer, selects out of the vast store of her experience. Daniel Hoffman says in his Harvard Guide to Contemporary American Writing, “Creativity thrived with alienation, some postwar writers insisted-or at least they held that the condition of alienation which had played a nurturing role in fostering modern art, literature, and thought was too precious a heritage to sell for an academic chair or a government post” (8).
In Dubliners, James Joyce tells short stories of individuals struggling with life, in the city of Dublin. “It is a long road that has no turning” (Irish Proverb). Many individuals fight the battle and continue on the road. However, some give up and get left behind. Those who continue to fight the battle, often deal with constant struggle and suffering. A reoccurring theme, in which Joyce places strong emphasis on, is the constant struggle of fulfilling responsibilities. These responsibilities include; work, family and social expectations. Joyce writes about these themes because characters often feel trapped and yearn to escape from these responsibilities. In “The Little Cloud”, “Counterparts”, and “The Dead” characters are often trapped in unhappy living situations, often leading to a desire of escape from reality and daily responsibilities.
James Joyce’s Dubliners is a collection of short stories that aims to portray middle class life in Dublin, Ireland in the early twentieth century. Most of the stories are written with themes such as entrapment, paralysis, and epiphany, which are central to the flow of the collection of stories as a whole. Characters are usually limited financially, socially, and/or by their environment; they realize near the end of each story that they cannot escape their unfortunate situation in Dublin. These stories show Joyce’s negative opinion of the ancient Irish city .The final story, “The Dead,” was added later than the others; consequently, “The Dead” has a more positive tone and is often an exception to generalizations made about Dubliners. An example of the distinction of “The Dead” is in Joyce’s use of sensory imagery. In stories such as “Araby” and “A Painful Case,” Joyce describes the loss of hearing and vision through the use of descriptive imagery in order to describe the perpetual paralysis and resulting limitation that the character is experiencing; however, in “The Dead,” the main character develops more sensitive hearing abilities to demonstrate the emergence of an opportunity to escape his unfortunate circumstances in Dublin.