Philip Larkin’s Poetry Essay

In what ways does Larkins poetry show his attitude to closing? In Philip Larkins poetry there is a profound sense of unease about death. Larkin, throughout his poetry, evidently contemplates the inevitable shutting that is death. In his poetry Larkin uses great observational skills, noning and writing about e actuallyday percentage in cinematic detail. With death, though, Larkin has nonhing to observe. He netnot draw any precise conclusions about something that he has not directly experienced. I think, therefore, that Larkin shows a precaution of death through his poetry, exclusively to a fault a complex fascination with it.I intend to show Larkins attitude to death through a soma of his poems. In these poems Larkin certainly does show a fascination with death, but hopefully I will also show that Larkins attitude is not completely negative and that Larkin may compute that death can cast off a redeeming end.The first poem from my selection that I will use is Ambulances, a poem where even the title suggests relation to death. In Ambulances the emphasis is definitely adjustd upon death, the first linage actu completelyy hints upon Larkins attitude to death. He begins by circuitting a very sombre cypher within the readers mind, saying Closed like confessionals An near dooming phrase. The blatant image devoted by this maven lineage is dread. Most good deal dread going to confession and the thought of disclosing is secrets and sins can make it coverm even more daunting.Larkin actually had no love for religion, in fact it was quite the opposite, and the comparison made between ambulances and confessionals can actually be seen as an note-beginning on ambulances, showing that they be a front, concealing the inevitable. The comment upon the path that they take they thread tatty noons of cities may be used to represent death being everywhere, and like a thread it is twist into our lives. One may also see a religious reference within this phra se, showing that beau ideal who is supposedly with us always is now replaced with death looming over us. Even amongst the vibrancy and lively gloriole of the city, perhaps even a rush hour, death still looms.We see Larkins great observation he almost absorbs everything he sees, giving back None of the glances they absorb.Light glossy grey, arms on a boldness. Larkin sees as ambulances as representing death, which takes life, elevator carrying it off but neer returning it. He also shows not only his experience fascination with death, but also the fascination all spate aim. Whenever deal see the ambulance they immediately stare.The imagery of death as Light glossy grey, arms on a plaque and They come to rest on any kerb creates an impression upon the reader making them look at their proclaim mortality and they realise that death is the one uprightness we all must encounter Larkin is bleakly honest when he says each streets in time are visited This clearly shows that dea th is also commonality in all places and paints a picture for the reader to understand.Then children strewn on steps or road, Or women coming from the shops Past tints of different dinners Larkin takes everyday chores experiences and relates them to death, showing how commonplace death is. The image of children being strewn reflects the due south of death. An image is evoked from the reader of bodies scattered and strewn after death has finally reached them. Even the youthful cannot pretermit death, children are susceptible. see A wild white face that overtops Red stretcher blankets importationly As it is carried and stowed The use of enjambment rushes the reader through the lines and ives a sense of panic at the eyeshot of this soulfulness being taken away. The use of the word stowed shows that the body is just like an object being stowed away, an trivial thing.Larkin then describes death as the solving emptiness. Life is seen as having such a meaningless nature and that de ath is there and lies just under all we do. Death constantly threatens us in everything we do. This shows the fragility of human life.And for a second get it whole, So permanent and blank and true. This truth is inescapable, the repetition of and drags out this whole meaning. Theutter truth is that death is forever, like the ambulances, we do not return. Larkin shows that people think of death, but when they see the truth that death holds it frightens them and they place it in the back of their minds. This is shown when he says The level(p) doors recede These fastened doors are the doors of the mind closed to what they dont want to spot, what they cannot possibly comprehend.As the body was stowed the people whisper poor thing but at their own distress . These people do know that all streets in time are visited, including their own. When anything bad occurs, one naturally reacts by comparing the situation to ones own life. We are sympathetic but naturally selfish. We all see death , including Larkin, as an image of a ..sudden shut of loss Round something nearly at an end The shut of the ambulance doors represents death closing in around life that is nearly at an end Larkins language when he describes death as something gives it anonymity life no longer has a blood line of meaning because Larkin sees death to be a stronger power which overpowers life. Death removes the uniqueness and identity of life everyone comes to the equal end.And what cohered in it across The years, the unique random blend Of families and fashions there At least begin to loosen. Larkin could be referring to the mix of genes we have inherited over the years and that death can loosen this blend. This also shows that we are unreachable by anything but death.The traffic parts to let go by This shows the traditional detect for the sick and the dead. This respect has been built up through the fear of death. I know that this is true to me, in soul and obviously to Larkin also.Larkin ends wi th a very daunting cadence Brings closer what is left to come, And dulls to distance all we are. This cadence, to me, seems very dramatic. It brings into perspective the whole theme of mortality. Larkin makes us think of how fragile and short life is.Larkin must in reality fear his own mortality. I suppose everyone fears death toa certain extent, but not some(prenominal) people would care to, or even dare to contemplate what happens after death in as oft detail as Philip Larkin. These thoughts must frighten him and anything to do with death and mortality must frighten him. Another poem, that is not only relevant to the question, but is also on the same theme as Ambulances is called The Building, the building being a hospital. Larkin describes the hospital as Higher than the handsomest hotel I think that this line is misleading and somewhat ironic, it is preposterously attractive.It paints an almost positive picture of a hospital, but I rule that Larkin resents the height of i t, after all, the bigger the building the larger the capacity it can hold. The building is Like a great sigh out of the last century. So this building is obviously a modern construction, a quite incongruous and disturbing building in its nineteenth century context. Larkins tone then changes to fear what keep drawing up At the entrance are not taxis and in the hall As well as creepers hangs a frightening smell. Larkin makes a reference to ambulances here also. He refers to them drawing up extraneous and the smell in the halls being frightening. He almost persomifies the smell by saying it hangs over them as if it were ready to pounce on any victim.He describes the waiting area and how the peoples faces are restless and resigned He obviously sees this as an area of tautness evoking nervous reactions from those who await. He describes them as humans, caught On ground curiously neutral, homes and names Suddenly in abeyance. He is saying that in this building everyone is in the same bo at. They are all Here to confess the something has by away wrong. This is similar to the idea of the confessionals in Ambulances. As I have verbalize, this idea strikes unremitting fear. Each person is waiting to tell of how something has gone wrong with their bodies. Death is slowly violating them.It must have been an error of a serious sort, For see how many floors it needs He is amazed by the size of the building, or perhaps even scared by the size of the need for this building. After all men like to begrudge wealth but the need for this place is so great that the expense is necessary.and how much money goes in trying to correct it As a man is wheeledpast in old defend clothes the people all turn quiet, another aspect of death that was also shown in Ambulances. The people fear their mortality when they see death creep up on others. Larkin also relates to us how detain he feels in the hospital and how distant the remote seems.Far past these doors are rooms, and rooms past th ose And more rooms yet, each one further off And harder to return from The distance between the outside and the rooms within the hospital seems greater than any physical distance, the freedom of the outside out to the car park, free seems to be slipping away like time, into the past, like a cherished memory outside seems old enough.His desperation for this freedom is so immense that he even plots, in his mind, the course he took to the hospital. He states that we are lulled into a false sense of security and fears that he may never get out.a touching dream to which we are lulled But wake from separately We are lulled into this false sense of security, this dream that we wake from separately, isolated and alone. He seems to pity those who, without realizing it, may have to hobble for a longer period than they think, they join the unseen congregationsOld, young crude facts of the only coin this place accepts The only way of being accommodated here is to be sick. His attitude of inev itable death is shown over again All know they are going to die Not yet, perhaps not here, but in the end, And someplace like this. He then goes on to describe life as a cliff we move up towards death and how death cannot be overcome. We may try to lighten the dark by bringing gifts, but they are merely wasteful gestures because death is so inevitable and final.Larkins attitude to death, here, sees it as entirely negative, we also see this fascinate in his poem The Explosion, where Larkin takes the form of a third person, describing an accident which claims the lives of several miners in a rural community. Here, Larkin takes the role of a narrator and in this poem his view of death is more sanguine than it is in other poems. He does not express thoughts and feelings as much and I feel this shows how impersonal death really is. The poem has three distinct sections before the explosion, the moment of the explosion and its aftermath. The first linearouses a feeling of expectatio n On the day of the explosion We know that from the beginning of this poem that the explosion, and therefore death, is imminent. There is also a hint of Kinship that Larkin may have held for the men in the pits.He makes the men seem real by talking about Fathers, brothers, nicknames, joke which makes the reader feel the humanity of the men and therefore sympathise with them. These men were ordinary people with their own fears, even a fear of death. Even though these characters were killed in the explosion Larkin has tinged the ending of the poem with hope, because for an instant the love between the dead and their loved ones was so strong that it overcame death itself, allowing the loved one to see each other one last time.Wives saw men of the explosion Larkin strangely endorses the idea of an time to come even though he was an atheist. The Explosion ends on an optimistic note. The final line tells us of how one of the dead miners shows The eggs unbroken. These eggs are a symbol t elling us not to lose hope, for even though we may die, nature and life will always carry on. It is set apart from the rest of the poem and can therefore be seen as a climax.So far, 1 have looked at Larkins dread, fear, curiosity and overall negative reaction to death. I think it is assertable that Larkin may have also found a somewhat positive and redeeming aspect of death in his poem An Arundel Tomb. This poem tells of a dead earl and his wife the countess who were buried together in a tomb. Their tomb has become, through time, a tourist attraction because of the great likenesses formed from stone of their bodies. Larkin, again with his keen observational eye, looks upon statues and is shocked to find proof of hope and positivity.It meets his left hand gauntlet, still Clasped empty in the other,. and One sees, with a sharp tender shock, His hand withdrawn holding her hand. This chivalrous sight surprisingly hits a tender chord with Larkin, this is surprising due to his predomina ntly pessimistic views. Larkin also realises that the multiplication of chivalry, knighthood and love are gone. Their love in this time has almost been changed to an untruth, yet is still has prevailed and lasted through time.Larkin looks at these deaths positively because he says, and to prove our Almost instinct, almost true What will survive of us is love. Larkin takes easiness in this as it reconciles and contrasts to his view that nothing exists after death. He previously described death as, An undated meaningless. Through looking at these poems, I found that throughout Larkins life, he tried and true and tried to find out what death was and what lay beyond it. Most of the time, we find that Larkin had a genuine fear of death, and he could not possibly surmise what lay beyond it. This could be due to his lack of assent and spirituality.For this reason I chose An Arundel Tomb, so as to show that Larkin expressed some hope in death, love was the redeeming feature. Larkin dis covered something in those statues that did go beyond death, and this is why he expressed it so beautifully in his last line What will survive of us is love. Larkins poetry almost paths a journey he took through his life in discovering the truth about death. John Carey said that Fear of death runs through the poems, and may seem irreconcilable with Larkins poised realism. I have found that Larkins poetry is indeed interwoven with death throughout. This may be the case, but I also believe that Larkin found something redeeming in An Arundel Tomb and that all of his works referring to death, were steps towards his own reconciliation with death.