Philip Larkin Society Essays

  • The Recurring Theme of Death in the Poetry of Philip Larkin.

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    Poetry of Philip Larkin. In reading the poetry of Philip Larkin for the first time, one is struck by the characteristically glum atmosphere that pervades most of his poems. The vast majority of his verse is devoted to what is generally taken to be negative aspects of life, such as loneliness and dejection, disappointments, loss, and the terrifying prospect of impending death. Evidently, there are uplifting and humorous sides to his work as well, but for certain reasons Larkin is invariably

  • Look Back in Anger by John Osborne

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    RAPID CHANGING WORLD! Britain was bankrupt after the Second World War and it had a negative impact on Britain and its society. The British Empire decreased drastically resulting in many soldiers, generals and civilians returning but Britain was very different after the war due to its cities being severely bombed. This added to the feeling of depression and nostalgia which weighed heavily on people. The play Look Back in Anger by John Osborne is seen as one of the most important plays in modern

  • Carol Ann Duffy's Poetry

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    How do Phillip Larkin and Carol Ann Duffy write about women in their poems? Both Carol Ann Duffy and Phillip Larkin use ambiguity and emotive language in their poetry to express their attitudes towards women. The poets utilize many congruent and contradictory techniques in the way they explore the theme of women which can be showed in Larkin’s Collection ‘’Whitsun wedding (1964)‘’ and Duffy’s collection ‘’Mean Time(1993)’’.The poems I chose from both poet’ collection coevals the theme of women in

  • The Old Fools, by Philip Larkin

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    influence the works of other writers. Philip Arthur Larkin has been regarded as one of the greatest English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century. Most of Larkin’s poetry is condensed into four volumes of poetry: The North Ship, The Less Deceived, The Whitsun Weddings, and High Windows. His use of vulgar expressions helps to emphasize the main concept in his work and develops a unique writing style of his own. Using his own poetic technique, Larkin conveys his discontentment with his existence

  • Philip Larkin's Church Going

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    Therefore, beauty is the only spiritual connection Atheist Philip Larkin seeks in a church. Larkin's poem Church Going, begins as a confessional since he mentions how he often stops at random churches, perhaps because he is searching for a place of worship that is beautiful, both naturally and artistically. In other words, in the nature of the church he is looking for a warm group of people, rather than an uptight group. As for artistic beauty, Larkin is searching for truthful religious scriptures and

  • Analysis Of Early Purges By Seamus Heaney

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nature represents an array of differing personalities, whether it be a positive influence on one’s life or an attempt to control it. In Early Purges by Seamus Heaney, conflicting views between the city and country folk question the true meaning of what defines cruelty to nature. In the poem, the narrator does not seem phased by the merciless drowning cats on a farm. Heaney describes the act as a way to keep the animal population in the farm’s control, but from an urban citizen’s view, the act seems

  • Philip Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Philip Larkin’s The Whitsun Weddings As I was reading Philip Larkin’s "The Whitsun Weddings," I was initially struck by the difference between his use of language and the language used by many of the poets we read earlier in the course. The difference between the language of the two W.B. Yeats poems we wrote about previously and this poem by Larkin was particularly striking. Of course, the use of language changed slowly, with each poet we have read between Yeats and Larkin becoming less like

  • Respect Religion

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Phillip Larkin was a known figure in the “The Movement.” His ideas were more direct and personal. Larkin enjoys writing about typical everyday things. The views of this poem are about going to church, not religion. Phillip Larkin’s “Church Going” shapes the poem with the speaker’s attitude, observation of the decline importance of churches, and the change in tone throughout the poem. To start with, the reader is greeted with the speaker of the poem. He strolls into an empty church. Larkin is very

  • Poetry Reviews

    1128 Words  | 3 Pages

    1. “Ballad of Birmingham” evokes emotion by the use of conflict, irony, and imagery throughout the poem. In the dialogue between the mother and daughter we see a child who wants her voice to be heard, and a mother who refuses her child’s request by insisting that she go to church: a place that the mother deems to be safe and free from the hatred that will come from the impending confrontation. Randall’s choice to use the ballad form along with his strong words help us to feel the mother’s fear

  • Philip Larkin’s Poem Church Going

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Philip Larkin’s Poem "Church Going" When it comes to religion, we can choose either to believe or not to believe. Some have faith in a supreme being, and week after week, devoutly cram into the church of their choice and recite their prayers. In contrast, there are nonbelievers. They see religion as an escape from reality-- a false hope that after living a long and difficult life, an omniscient, unconditionally loving deity will welcome them into an eternal existence. In Philip Larkin’s poem

  • The Poetry of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin

    2182 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Poetry of Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin In reading poetry, from many different genres, its seems that politically motivated verse seems to dominate, next to love that is. It also seems that poets have a desire to live in a different time, a different place. No one ever seems to be content with the condition of their world, yet, I suppose that is in the nature of humans. We all want something better or something from the past that we can't have. Wither it be the simplicity, the passion

  • Writing in the Style of Philip Larkin

    1018 Words  | 3 Pages

    cool, calm and collected. This instils even more fear into the paramedics. Death can be anywhere. We can be expecting it or it can catch us unawares but we all share one thing in common. Death. "Ambulances" is simply another means through which Larkin can muse on one of his favourite subjects - death; and as usual, he does so with stunning brilliance and mystery.

  • Afternoons by Philip Larkin

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

  • Analysis of Poem An Arundel Tomb by Philip Larkin

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    ‘An Arundel Tomb’, by Philip Larkin, is written to preserve the image portrayed by a sculpture located on a tomb in Arundel. The poet uses this poem to convey the feelings, which the sight of this tomb induces for him. The whole poem itself is describing how an idea or identity in history is preserved through this sculpture. The poem consists of seven stanzas, mostly in trochaic tetrameter. The rhyming pattern for each stanza is ABBCAC. ‘Side by side,’ immediately brings forth the idea of the

  • Comparative Analysis of Ariel by Sylvia Plath and The whitsun Weddings by Phillip Larkin

    598 Words  | 2 Pages

    Plath in Ariel and Larkin in The Whitsun Weddings both explore ideas about love and relationships. The Whitsun Weddings explores the theme of love and relationships by capturing the journey that takes place prior to marriage; the poem was written about Larkin’s observation of marriage parties on whit Sunday (now known as May Day) which was a public holiday and was traditionally the day on which people would get married. The Whitsun Weddings takes on a somewhat cynical tone which is emblematic of

  • Black Panther Pros And Cons

    1496 Words  | 3 Pages

    The album Black Panther: The Album, Music From and Inspired By (2018) is from and based from the movie Black Panther a black superhero movie with good critic review. Since the album is based on the movie most of the songs talk about the movie like “Black Panther” or “Pray For Me” just to name a few. The songs are mostly for people who are black since they are mostly rap and black singers but they can be listen from people of different races. The album consists of different singers but the real man

  • Use of Elemental Imagery in Philip Larkin's High Windows

    787 Words  | 2 Pages

    that is left. "High Windows" is particular in that in it whole poems are devoted to the idea of the elements, one such poem is "Solar". "Solar" is unique for a Larkin poem in its role as an exclamatory rather than an explanatory poem, it is wholly consisted of 'stand-alone' images that seem to be there solely to glorify the elements. Larkin sees humanity as short term, with death forever a shadow that we try to ignore and forget (as he shows in "The Building" when describing death and the hospital

  • Biography of Philip Larkin

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    Biography of Philip Larkin Philip Arthur Larkin was born on August 9, 1922, in Coventry. He was the second child, and only son, of Sydney and Eva Larkin. Sydney Larkin was City Treasurer between the years 1922-44. Larkin's sister, some ten years his senior, was called Catherine, but was known as Kitty. He attended the City's King Henry VIII School between 1930 and 1940, and made regular contributions to the school magazine, The Coventrian, which, between 1939 and 1940, he also helped

  • The Concept of Daybreak in Larkin - A Brief Study

    1770 Words  | 4 Pages

    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”

  • Philip Larkin's Faith Healing

    1988 Words  | 4 Pages

    How typical in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification is Faith Healing by Larkin? Philip Larkin's Faith Healing In 1964, Philip Larkin published his third book of poetry, entitled 'The Whitsun Weddings'. One of the many critically acclaimed poems was 'Faith Healing'. In this essay, I intend to explore how typical this poem is in terms of subject, theme, structure and versification. In Faith Healing, women flock to an American Faith Healer for a blessing. The persona of