analysing the whitsun weddings by philip larkin

Analysing The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin Esther Amankwah Juxtaposition is used in the third stanza through “sun destroys”, which is very effective as it suggests the sun, a nurturing element that provides life can be an intense and powerful thing, emphasising that the heat was very strong that its source forced the writer to look at the parts it highlighted as opposed to the shade. The metaphoric representation of the young girls’ opinion on marriage and the couple’s future through “religious wounding”, indicates how significant religion was at the time the poem was set/ written. It also reflects that Larkin thoughts on marriage are not positive and describing it as a wound presents it as a painful experience enforced by religious teachings. The senses are involved throughout the poem but especially through “advice were thrown”, this presents the image of the wedding crowd shouting last minute pieces of advice and by expressing them as being handled like a tangible thing, implies that there were many heading towards the couple at the same time but it also shows what the crowd were saying were cliché, which like the confetti, was pleasant in the moment, but not very useful or memorable in the long term. The simile “like an arrow-shower” presents the power the couples have to create a successful life by themselves and in their own way, as opposed to their families influencing them. The use of arrows familiarizes the reader with how the first part of their lives with their respective families is akin to the drawing back of an arrow and the release of the arrow represents their future. The motion of the arrow mirrors the pace their lives will be, in contrast to how they used to live before the wedding. Larkin comments on many opposites within the poem and “blackened moss” is one of them. The adjective blackened portrays how the pollution of the