Afternoons by Philip Larkin.
A poem which reflects on the subject of marriage is 'Afternoons' by
Philip Larkin. The poem deals with Larkin's view on young mothers
watching their kids playing in a playground and on this he concludes
that marrying young and having children young, lead to the mothers
losing their identity and destiny. The techniques used by the poet
such as theme, imagery and tone deepened my understanding of the
issue.
The structure of the poem is simple; there are three stanzas with
eight lines in each. However, unlike every other poem by Larkin this
layout has no direct meaning. The lines are unrhymed. The first stanza
deals with Larkin's rather cynical view of marriage and deals with the
idea that the young mothers are isolated. Larkin's brilliant use of
language emphasis the recurring theme of emptiness within the young
mothers and how regimented their lives have become; 'In the hollows of
afternoons' and 'young mothers assemble'. In the second stanza Larkin
moves from the general view into the individual and describes the
mother as belonging to a middle class background. Their husbands are
described as working in 'skilled trades' and being 'behind them'. The
husbands are not literally standing behind the women but are
metaphorically. They provide support financially, emotionally and
phycologically. On a closer inspection of the poem we realise Larkin
has taken an everyday situation and made a universal message out of
it.
The image of the mothers life being dull is further emphasised when
Larkin describes the 'Wedding Album' being near the television. This
image suggests that the televsion is more of a central concern in the
couples lives rather than their marriage vows etc. ...
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...heir identity and are dominated by
responsibility, they have lost control of what is truly their own.
'something is pushing them to the side of their lives'.
The poem 'Afternoons' by Philip Larkin made me think considerably
about having children young especially at my age, 17. The idea that
Larkin portrays, that young parents, in particular young mothers lose
control of their lives as soon as they have a child. Personally I
believe that Larkin's message is made more effective and memorable
because he tells it in a very simplistic manner in which the reader
can clearly understand. However, Larkin likes the reader to be
challenged and tells his ideas via a very implicit manner. His use of
theme, imagery and tone deepened my understanding of the issue and I
believe the poem provides a great thinking point to any young
teenagers considering having children.
Fulfilling the roles of both mother and breadwinner creates an assortment of reactions for the narrator. In the poem’s opening lines, she commences her day in the harried role as a mother, and with “too much to do,” (2) expresses her struggle with balancing priorities. After saying goodbye to her children she rushes out the door, transitioning from both, one role to the next, as well as, one emotion to another. As the day continues, when reflecting on
Wiesel’s community at the beginning of the story is a little town in Transylvania where the Jews of Sighet are living. It’s called “The Jewish Community of Sighet”. This is where he spent his childhood. By day he studied Talmud and at night he ran to the synagogue to shed tears over the destruction of the Temple. His world is a place where Jews can live and practice Judaism. As a young boy who is thirteen at the beginning of the story, I am very impressed with his maturity. For someone who is so young at the time he is very observant of his surroundings and is very good at reading people. In the beginning he meets Moishe the Beadle. Moishe is someone who can do many different types of work but he isn’t considered qualified at any of those jobs in a Hasidic house of prayer (shtibl). For some reason, though young Elie is fascinated with him. He meets Moishe the Beadle in 1941. At the time Elie really wants to explore the studies of Kabbalah. One day he asks his father to find him a master so he can pursue this interest. But his father is very hesitant about this idea and thinks young E...
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Harwood wrote the poem with relatively simple composition techniques but it provides a rather big impact which helps to give an insight into the life of a mother or nurturer which bares the burdens of children.
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