Introduction
Philip Larkin, born in 1922, has been read under what are generally perceived as his major themes: death, fatalism and gloominess. However, throughout his life he had constantly been struggling with and reflecting on problems of sex, marriage, love, and living (cf. Motion, esp. 291). Publishing four volumes of poetry until his decease in 1985, Larkin became known for his lucid and often sharp-witted verse as well as for being socially withdrawn, sometimes called “the Hermit of Hull” where he resided from 1955 onward. In this essay I will set out to explore the connection between shyness, indecisiveness and fear of death as linked to the concept of daybreak in Larkin, drawing mainly on his own writing. There will be two subsections, the first concentrating on his early writing, and the second mostly discussing one of his later and darker poems: “Aubade”.
Early treatment of dawn
The North Ship is full of allusions to sunrise, morning, and daybreak, including even one poem “Dawn” (one out of only seven in this collection with a title at all). Interestingly, a school magazine had already printed a short story called “Getting up in the Morning” five or six years earlier when Larkin was at the end of Third Form (Motion, 22). Though literarily rather unimpressive, it is prove of his fascination with light and of his slowly but steadily developing melancholy. Whereas “Getting up in the Morning” contains a complaint about having to work when the day begins, “Dawn” handles its subject more symbolically. The speaker finds his heart “cold” and “loveless” like the outside world itself is, which seems removed and “flying” away. Similarly, the seventh poem of The North Ship talks about “morning” and “dawn” as decked with “the c...
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...in (A Girl in Winter, 128). While she walks around by the fields, she tries to warn herself concerning the ends this desire might lead to.
Works Cited
Larkin, Philip. A Girl in Winter (1947). London: Faber and Faber, 1975. Print.
Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems (ed. Anthony Thwaite, 1988). London: Faber and Faber, 2003. Print.
Larkin, Philip. Jill (1946). London: Faber and Faber, 1964. Print.
Larkin, Philip. Required Writing – Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982. London: Faber and Faber, 1983. Print.
Motion, Andrew. A Writer's Life (1993). London: Faber and Faber, 1994. Print.
Spurr, Barry. “Alienation and Affirmation in the Poetry of Philip Larkin”. Sydney Studies in English, Vol. 14. Ed. G.A. Wilkes, A. P. Riemer. Sydney: University of Sydney, Craft Printing Industries, 1988-9. 52-71. http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/SSE/index Web. 26 March 2014.
The timeline carries on chronologically, the intense imagery exaggerated to allow the poem to mimic childlike mannerisms. This, subjectively, lets the reader experience the adventure through the young speaker’s eyes. The personification of “sunset”, (5) “shutters”, (8) “shadows”, (19) and “lamplights” (10) makes the world appear alive and allows nothing to be a passing detail, very akin to a child’s imagination. The sunset, alive as it may seem, ordinarily depicts a euphemism for death, similar to the image of the “shutters closing like the eyelids”
Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.
John Hollander’s poem, “By the Sound,” emulates the description Strand and Boland set forth to classify a villanelle poem. Besides following the strict structural guidelines of the villanelle, the content of “By the Sound” also follows the villanelle standard. Strand and Boland explain, “…the form refuses to tell a story. It circles around and around, refusing to go forward in any kind of linear development” (8). When “By the Sound” is examined in regards to a story, the poem’s linear development does not get beyond the setting. …” The poem starts: “Dawn rolled up slowly what the night unwound” (Hollander 1). The reader learns the time of the poem’s story is dawn. The last line of the first stanza provides place: “That was when I was living by the sound” (3). It establishes time and place in the first stanza, but like the circular motion of a villanelle, each stanza never moves beyond morning time at the sound but only conveys a little more about “dawn.” The first stanza comments on the sound of dawn with “…gulls shrieked violently…” (2). The second stanza explains the ref...
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’.
More than death itself, Harwood’s poetry shows how many people fail to accept death. Their belief in immortality and fear of the end is also potrayed in Nightfall. Although when the subject of the poem is death, the words describe life, as if reluctant to face up to reality. The images are of suburbs, lights, birds and trees. Even with so many experiences, many of us will forever be ignorant seems to be the truth ringing perpetually though Harwood’s verses.
Larkin published his collection of poems ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ in 1964. The main focus of this collection is of post war Britain, but materialism and consumerism are also common themes which are evident in some of Larkin’s poetry. In Larkin’s poems ‘essential beauty’, ‘the large cool stores’ and ‘here’ all take reference to the ideology that there is a material world that the proletariat aspire to be a part of. ‘Mr Bleaney’ then shows the life of the working class, and that they don’t have these material possessions, which lead to little recognition of their lives. Over all they all suggests that because of the material world we have be born into it allows the bourgeoisies to condition the proletariat into accepting the capitalist society through creating a false
For many people, the early hours of the morning can hold numerous possibilities from time for quiet reflections to beginning of the day observations to waking up and taking in the fresh air. In the instance of the poems “Five A.M.” and “Five Flights Up,” respective poets William Stafford and Elizabeth Bishop write of experiences similar to these. However, what lies different in their styles is the state of mind of the speakers. While Stafford’s speaker silently reflects on his walk at dawn from a philosophical view of facing the troubles that lie ahead in his day, Bishop’s speaker observes nature’s creations and their blissful well-being after the bad day had before and the impact these negative thoughts have on her psychological state in terms
Allison, Barrows, Blake, et al. eds. The Norton Anthology Of Poetry . 3rd Shorter ed. New York: Norton, 1983. 211.
Throughout his villanelle, “Saturday at the Border,” Hayden Carruth continuously mentions the “death-knell” (Carruth 3) to reveal his aged narrator’s anticipation of his upcoming death. The poem written in conversation with Carruth’s villanelle, “Monday at the River,” assures the narrator that despite his age, he still possesses the expertise to write a well structured poem. Additionally, the poem offers Carruth’s narrator a different attitude with which to approach his writing, as well as his death, to alleviate his feelings of distress and encourage him to write with confidence.
Holbrook, David. Llareggub Revisted: Dylan Thomas and the State of Modern Poetry. Cambridge: Bowes and Bowes, 1965. 100-101.
Meinke, Peter. “Untitled” Poetry: An Introduction. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s 2010. 89. Print
The two poems, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night”, by Dylan Thomas and, “Because I Could Not Wait for Death”, by Emily Dickinson, we find two distinct treatments on the same theme, death. Although they both represent death, they also represent it as something other than death. Death brings about a variety of different feelings, because no two people feel the same way or believe the same thing. The fact that our faith is unknown makes the notion of death a common topic, as writers can make sense of their own feelings and emotions and in the process hope to make readers make sense of theirs too. Both Dickinson and Thomas are two well known and revered poets for their eloquent capture of these emotions. The poems both explore death and the
When discussing the different aspects of New Criticism in Dylan Thomas’s poem “Do Not Go Gentle into The Good Night”, the impression that comes to mind is death. The use of imagery was a necessity for Dylan Thomas to express the different techniques of writing which involved a mixture of surrealistic and metaphysical tones. His ability to change a words meaning to incorporate symbolism is noticeable in circle of unity from life to death and renewed life.
Philip Larkin is a well-known English writer born in August 9, 1922 (Magill 1462). Larkin grew up around the 1930s and 1040s in the middle of economic depression and during the post-World War II era (Magill 1462). His diction are often profane, vulgar, or coarse and “his work projecting a stable and easily identifiable version of reality” (Perry 432). Perry wrote that “The power of Larkin's work as a whole remains undeniable (432). It takes readers into a world that is distinctively his own, yet one that resembles our everyday world” (Perry 432). His work is implies in a particular way which includes rationality, and a clear sense of truth (Perry 432). Although, some people may see his work as “self pity or despair”, “still he was entirely and sincerely of his view” (Perry 436). The world can see some of Larkin's most flawless work in “Church going” and “Aubade” where everything clicks into place and the finished work ends with satisfaction for his audience (Perry 436). Larkin's views on life and death are particularly strong. Most of his works are very depressing and pessimistic when talking about life and death however, this is Larkin's aspect of truth and reality. Philip Larkin convey messages about illness and death, tension between religion and spirituality, and the effect war has on society through his poetry.
Restlessness is the main focus of Phillips’ article, it is the title of his article and in his opinion it is the reason why poems exist at all. “Poetry is the results of a generative restlessness of imagination… uncertainties become obsessions to be wrestled with, and with luck, the result is poetry…” (Phillips 132) Phillips, in summary of his article, claims uncertainties in life trouble our minds until the uncertainties become obsessions. We become restless in our quest to understand the uncertainties we face and by writing poems we can organize our thoughts and try to understand the things we do not. Phillips furthers his explains his claim by admitting “ I write poetry for the same reason that I read it, both as a way of being alive and as a way of trying to understand what it means—how it feels—to be alive.” (Phillips 133).