"This Be The Verse" is a lyric poem in three verses of four iambic tetrameter on an alternating rhyme scheme‚ by the English poet Philip Larkin (1922–1985). It was written around April 1971‚ first published in the August 1971 issue of New Humanist‚ and appeared in the 1974 collection High Windows. The title also ironically recalls the recurring phrase in the Old Testament threatening the sins of the father against his sons: "for I the Lord‚ thy God‚ am a jealous God‚ visiting the iniquity of the
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present her as selfish‚ and almost like a prostitute‚ being paid for sex‚ and the uses direct speech “It’s Put a screw in this wall” mocks the women’s stereotypical words and undermines them‚ the imperative making her seem interfering and controlling. Direct speech is used again for the mother’s words: “Saying Won’t you come for the summer.” Again‚ mocking and scornful‚ this utterance holds pseudo-snobbishness. After considering all the dislikeable things that Arnold has to do (a list in the third
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‘Here’ showing how far this is characteristic of the style and concerns of Larkin’s collection ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ ‘Here’ is a poem exploring Larkin’s flight of imagination as he travels from London to Hull on the train. It is the first poem in The Whitsun Weddings collection and seems to be an appropriate introduction because‚ much like his other poetry‚ it looks at humanity’s place in the world and the effect of consumerism. Following the pattern of many other poems in this collection‚ ‘Here’
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Philip Larkin "Days" "Days" by Philip Larkin is a ten line poem that is deceptive in its simplicity. This article considers Larkin’s poetic method in this remarkable short poem. Philip Larkin (1922-1985) wrote the poem "Days" in 1953. The poem was published in Larkin’s highly successful collection of poems entitled‚ The Whitsun Weddings‚ in 1964. "Days" is a curious poem. At first reading‚ it appears to be a simple‚ almost child-like dialogue. However‚ on second glance‚ the poem raises several
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“Larkin is a pessimistic rather than optimistic poet” – Discuss Larkin has been regarded as a pessimistic poet. Larkin surely takes a very dark view of human life. The main emphasis in his poem is on failure and frustration in human life. However Larkin is not a uniformly pessimistic poet. Some of his poems have a profoundly moral character‚ which expresses itself in the need to control and organize life‚ rather than submit to a pre-determined pattern of failure. There is generally a debate going
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Throughout his works Philip Larkin shows the ‘emptiness that lies under all we do.’ The way we travel through life riding a wave of superficialities‚ too caught up in the moment to see what is really going on. Larkin aims to alleviate the blindness created by our deep involvement‚ attempting to draw the reader out to see the big picture. In Ambulances he acknowledges death as a device powerful enough to allow people to see beyond themselves and the things surrounding them. The thought of their impending
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At Grass By Philip Larkin Sound Devices & Rhythm Rhyme: Regular rhyme pattern: In each stanza‚ there are rhymes on alternate lines‚ forming a regular pattern of efgefg‚ hijhij etc. Such regularity seems to suggest a sense of restriction which echoes with the confinement human beings impose on the racing horses for the pleasure of human entertainment. Assonance: The use of repeated long vowels as in ‘shade’ (/ʃeɪd/)‚ ‘tail’ (/teɪl/)‚ ‘mane’ (/meɪn/) creates a gloomy atmosphere in the depiction of
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Love and Marriage with Philip Larkin and Eavan Boland Ashley Couch Houghton College It is strange how time changes relationships. When I first started dating the man who is now my fiancée‚ one of my biggest fears was of walking down the aisle on our wedding day‚ feeling unsure that I was making the right decision by marrying him. Now what I most often fear for our relationship is falling out of love‚ as so many couples do. This is something I brood on‚ discuss‚ and develop intricate strategies against
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OATS" ANALYSIS The title of this poem is derived from the expression ’To sow your wild oats’. It was culturally accepted by men at the time‚ that before marriage‚ men would be allowed to indulge in many sexual relationships with many women. The reasoning behind this is that if a man is not able to sow his wild oats‚ he will become anxious during his married years and begin to cheat on his wife. This story is told by Larkin aged 40‚ when he is still unmarried‚ and in this poem‚ he looks back to is younger
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In the poem “At grass” by Philip Larkin the poet writes about his encounter with two retired horses. A passage of time is significant in this poem as it is only after the poet thinks back to what the horse’s life was like before it they retired that he has a change of mind and realises that they are probably better off now than they were in the past. The first hint that the poet gives us‚ is in his title of the poem “At Grass” as this gives the impression that the horses are at rest and away from
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