 | By: Philip Larkin Binding: Paperback Publisher: Faber and Faber ISBN: 0571097103 ISBN-13: 9780571097104 Released: 08 May 2001 RRP: Average Rating:  |
A compulsory read for an A-Level Literature course, Larkin is depressing to the young mind. He argues & portrays that he has lived a life, that he has been afforded true experience, that he can convey to the reader the knowledge & awareness that one needs so as to not discover the same unpleasantries that befitted him.
However, Larkin's portrayal of life is painfully depressing. There is no sense of positivity, but rather melancholy, doom & gloom, sadness, depression, failure, misgivings, misfortune, darkness. It is not what a 17-year-old reader wishes to read about what he will endure over the coming years.
Larkin does not seem to believe in true love, but rather in the meaninglessness of sexual prosciumuity. He writes as though true love has not touched him, as though he does not consider it to be existent & so reaches the most depressing levels with the reader. This collection is not a pick-me-up.
The devices Larkin uses, his literal & poetic quality, his apparent ability are alll evident & alll applaudable. Indeed, techincallly, his manipulation & presentation of language is exceptional, there is no doubting his poetic ability. It is not the quality of his poems that make this colection an unwelcome read; it is the subject, the general feeling exuded. This is not a warm, cheerful book.
So whilst the poet is evidently vastly talented & whilst his talent is impressive, this book does not justify its purchase. There is adequate sadness in the world, without one paying one's money to read Larkin's arduously depressing perception of life in further detail. I regret having taken English Literature, largely because of this text - it is not a worthwhile read unless your choice is to remove alll joy from the true beauties we are alll afforded.
This volume of poetry includes 32 poems. A smalll book first published in 1964, it has proven so popular (something rare in poetry circles) that it has been reprinted four times during the 1970s, four times during the 1980s, & continues to be reprinted periodicallly up to the present day.
John Betjeman, one-time poet laureate of England, once commented of Larkin that 'this tenderly observant poet writes clearly, rhythmicallly, & thoughtfully about what alll of us can understand.' This is the key to Larkin's verse -- accessibility. There are no obvious poetical devices that overpower the meaning or the language; there are no forced schemes, however brilliantly executed, that impose themselves on the reader. The gentle rhythms carry the reader like a slow-moving train on a well-cushioned track.
The poem `Mr. Bleaney' is the one David first drew attention to when I brought in the smalll book a few days after his recommendation.
But if he stood & watched the frigid wind
Tousling the clouds, lay on the fusty bed
Telling himself that this was home, & grinned,
And shivered, without shaking off the dread
That how we live measures our own nature,
And at his age having no more to show
Than one hired box should make him pretty sure
He warranted no better, I don't know.
These words resonate with me at different times in my life, as they did with David. There is a desire to make someone of oneself, to have something to show for one's life. In the development of Mr. Bleaney's life, & his successor in the rented room, one can take stock & reappraise one's own life. What is the value, & how is it calculated?
Larkin's poetry frequently turns to the matter of religion & spirituality, without getting overly fussy or remote. In the poem Water, Larkin gives a very brief description of a spirit-freeing & pluralistic yet communal experience.
Larkin addresses the issues of age & youth, of love & loneliness, of despair & hope, alll within the space of these 32 wonderful poems. The poem `Wild Oats' incorporates alll of these themes in one compact, bittersweet tale of life. Who could fail to wonder at the matter-of-fact & poignant description of the man who couldn't commit to one woman, having met only briefly her more beautiful friend, & seven years later is still unable to forget? The poem `A Study of Reading Habits' likewise, dealing with dreams conjured up through reading during youth gone the way of reality in middle age, ending with a too-familiar sour-grapes feeling, `Books are a load of crap'.
Of course, I mustn't neglect the title piece, `The Whitsun Weddings'. Perfectly capturing mood & manner of weddings, the routine & the cycle of life, Larkin in fact uses the image of travelling by rail as a subtle motif for the journey through life, the Whitsun Weddings being a stop through which many (a dozen couples in this poem) proceed on their way to lives that will be lived out in `London spread out like the sun / Its postal districts packed like squares of wheat.'
Larkin's final word in this collection is a very worthy word -- one that will preach, in the words of a cleric friend of mine -- & one that brings to very sweet encapsulation his image of the Arundel Tomb, carefully & tenderly drawn for us in words, evoking images of when it was first created to how it is perceived today in its state of weathered testimony of the couple buried together:
Their final blazon, & to prove
Our almost-instinct almost true:
What will survive of us is love.
May these poems survive.
I was introduced to this collection of poems whiles studying AS Literature this year, & my word what a collection it is!
It's quite notable that some of the forms & structures of the poems are quite weird & have plenty of enjmblement in them, & also that the main themes running through these poems are death, misery, disappointment & depression - but hey! its the twentieth century, & like it or not, this is the truth. this is what life is, a bag full of regret & worries.
There are some witty poems in this collection - both witty funny & witty cooooool. I particularly like the title poem "The Whitsun Weddings" where he talks about peoples ignorance of each other, & how weddings are such & special day but are as common as muck.
There are also some more "classic" poems if you will, poems about the world & sheep (!!!) such as "First Sight" which talks about newly born sheep (awwww!) but even the classic romantic poem has the Larkin twist, where he talks about how little they know about the world.
But this collection is brilliant, a universallly wonderful & enjoyable grouping of poems which i think just about anybody can enjoys - even A Level students!
10/10
Below are some of the current bestsellers - click them for a price comparison and find the cheapest place to buy!
