What Is The Mood Of The Poem 'MCMXIV'?

World War one can be classified as a highly literary war. Some of the greatest pieces of poetry and prose are a direct result of this horrific catastrophe. Larkin returned to the war, fifty years after it had concluded to convey his sentiments on the subject.

Larkin entitled the poem, MCMXIV. These are the roman numerals used to represent 1914; the year the war was initiated. Our attention is captivated through the use of roman numerals as they are a foreign concept to the imperial numbers that we use today. The roman numerals could signify the place in time this war has and all it symbolises. As Larkin wrote the poem after the war, the roman numerals signify the contrast of life then and life when the poem was written. MCMXIV is frequently
seen on war memorials; as this was written so long after the war, this is Larkin’s tribute to those who lost their lives.

The poem takes the form of four stanzas, but just one single sentence. The single sentence imitates the continuous and unavoidable flow of time. Time won’t stand still, and with time these boys will be gone, it’s unavoidable. The stanzas are comprised of eight lines and are in free verse. The regimented eight lines symbolises the regimented regime that war represents, contrasting with the free verse, which represents the loss in freedom these young men will undergo.

Larkin’s poem commences with the image of men waiting in a long line; this intrigues the reader and makes them want to read on. It’s effective in capturing the readers’ attention. As they were standing, “patiently”; this conveys an image of innocence, and almost a tenderness; contrasting with the harsh realities of war.

“The Oval or Villa Park” are mentioned, one a London Cricket ground and the other a Birmingham football club. The young men would have thought war was an adventure, a game, like football. They are queuing eagerly as eager as they would have been to watch a sporting game. The excitement to attend the sporting event is compared to the men lining up outside the recruitment office eager to serve their country. It works as an effective simile, conveying the Britishness and patriotism; the reader can almost feel the energy of that time.

Larkin uses royal imagery, for example, “crowns of hats”; “called after kings and queens” and “sovereigns”.
These culturally contrast to the working class young men who were to become cannon fodder for the sake of their country. These kings and queens who were supposed to be the ruling elite, didn’t have to lay down their lives and die, however, these young men did. This provides

The last stanza ends, “Grinning as if it were all An August Bank Holiday Lark”. This line of the poem is poignant in conveying the merriment; the beginning of the war was viewed as a carefree adventure. This was all done through the use of propaganda. This can be compared to the line, “Six young men…one imparts an intimate smile…six months after this picture they were all dead.” A poem titled, “Six Young Men” by Ted Hughes. Hughes is able to convey the fate that these men in Larkin’s poem will also suffer through.

In the second stanza Larkin utilises the phrase, “dark-clothed children” as a contrast. The dark cloth is foreshadowing the doom that is too descend, while the children are the innocent image of youth. Dark cloth was reserved for mourning; predicting the sense of mass loss that is too
occur.

Larkin contrasts rural and urban life in the third stanza. “Countryside not caring”, the countryside was less effected by the war. Evacuation was into the country, where it was safer and therefore more carefree. “All hazed over with flowering grasses”, is indicative of a lazy summer where everything is careless and calm.

“Never such innocence”.
The innocence is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Larkin goes on to say, “Never before or since”, this is the line that suggests to us that the poem has been written long after the war commenced. Larkin is able to hint to the reader that the war changed people’s outlook on life. The innocence or naivety that once people may have possessed has been gone and it is gone forever.

The marriages were ready to be destroyed by war as a whole generation of young men were to be wiped out, “lasting a little while longer”. It could only last for a short period as was approaching ready to destroy all relations.

The “flowering grasses and fields” are reflective of the cycle of life. There is always something growing. When Life is an endless cycle, regardless of any atrocities that occur, rain will rain and sun will shine. This can be compared to a war poem, “Grass” by Carl Sandburg.

The poem ends with an effective, poignant line, “Never such innocence again”. Larkin’s tone towards the end of the poem, compared with the start shows a stark contrast. The poem begins jovial, with these men “grinning” and ends with their “innocence” taken away
forever.

The poem is so vividly written that it is as clear to us as cinematic imagery. The free verse gives it a story like feel to it, rather than a traditional poem with a rhyming scheme. Larkin is telling the story of war and its devastation rather than creating a pretty poem.