Naturally the Foundation will Bear Your Expenses

The poem talks about the theme of war, particularly remembrance sunday, as the dislikeable persona who seems well educated, well travelled but quite snobbish is made late for his plane because of a remembrance ceremony. His views are not sensitive, disrespectful and contraversial, turning the reader against his character. 

Stanza 1:

• 'my comet' comet is a type of plane, giving the impression he travels a lot, 'my' showing his self centeredness. 
• 'one dark november day' hints at the the date being remembrance sunday. 
• 'would snatch me' suggests it is against his will, for work, and suggests a negative attitude.
• 'Berkeley' is a university in california. 
• 'not three weeks has heard perceiving chatto darkly through the mirror of the third' shows a distaste for acedemics, reinforcing the snobbishness as it talks about them stealing others words. 

Stanza 2:

• 'crowds, colourness and careworn' alliteration becomes snobbish and suggests the personas surroundings are bland and uninteresting to him. 
• 'had made my taxi late' shows he is selfcentered arround is problems and 'my' again shows his possessiveness and dislikeablity. 
• 'not yet till i was airborne did i recall the date' reinforces him as self centered, only thinking about himself and not what is going on arround him, he is clever but not very aware of real things. 
• 'the day when queen and minister' suggests he feels its just about showing status, and shows its 11/11 rememberence sunday.
• 'act' suggests he think they are not sincere in their acts it is just for show. 
• 'solemn sinister' links to it being a grave event but suggests that there is some kind of underlying evil to it, possibly because the army and authoritive figures are mourning the people they sent to die.
• 'wreath rubbish' is disrespectful and negative. 

Stanza 3:

• 'it used to make me throw up' shows his uncomfortable attitude. 
• 'nursury games' shows he feels superior to them, making us dislike him more. It also reinforces the idea they are not sincere, just playing with lives because they don't understand what they are doing. 
• 'but i out soar the thames shows he thinks he's better than everyone because he is academic.
• Finishes with name dropping 'morgan forster...' asserts his snobbish attitude and contrasts with Larkin's other poems because they usually end more profound however here it is just everyday details demonstrating the difference in the persona making us dislike him more. 

Send No Money

This poem talks about the way perspectives change over time, particularly how when you are young you want to be old, but when you are old you want to be young. It also looks at the way different people view and do life, whether you just learn about life or you truly participate and experience the good and bad, as Larkin wishes to learn, instead of participating. 

Stanza 1:

• 'fobbed' links to a clock.
• 'teach me the way things go' shows how you are naive when young, but Larkin wanted to learn, to know suggesting he is more intellectual than the other 'lads'. 
• 'lads...where itching to have a bash' shows how the persona is different from other people as they are more about experiencing life, 'bash' suggesting it is a physical thing, whereas he would rather take a back seat and learn.
• 'it and finding out clash' shows how you can't both learn about life and experience it which seems 'unfair'. 

Stanza 2:

• 'he patted my head' shows how he is inferior, younger and naive, and also suggests he lacks control. 
• 'no green in your eye' could link to money, linking to the title 'send no money' showing that he would rather have youth than money, and suggesting money comes with age. 
• 'sit her and watch' shows he is not participating.
• 'hail of occurence clobber life out' connotes life equals pain and this violence suggests it is better to not be involved. 
• 'to a shape no one sees' suggests no one can truly understand life, no matter what you can't learn from it. 
• 'oh yes please' shows he still wants to learn about life, from the side lines, but it waill never happen shown as he just 'wait's. 

Stanza 3:

• 'half life is over now' shows how time and past, and 'over now' suggests it was something that was endured. 
• 'full face' shows he is old and has no more room to grow and he doesnt like that and demonstrating that he hasnt been able to escape life or time by sitting back. 
• 'dark mornings' is pessimistic, suggesting even the beginnings are dark, there is no hope. 
• 'bent in' shows how life has still damaged him. 
• 'what does it prove?sod all' shows he has learnt and gained nothing. 
• 'spent youth' shows youth is finite and he has realised this. 
• 'tracing the trite untransferable' suggests it was useless and he was chasing something unatainable and unchangeable. 
• 'truss-advertisment, truth' could mean truth holds advertisments together as they keep what people give away about life limited  because there is nothing more. Alternatively it could mean advertisments hold the truth together, or the truths as we see them because poeple pass on adverts of their own truths but it is soon seen these are merely adverts not real, life is wrongly advertised. (truss is a medical thing that holds wounds together, holds stuff in). 

The Large Cool Store

This poem critiques big cheap department stores and the people that shop there, as the persona struggles to understand how how hard working people can find pleasure in the things that shop offers.The repetitive rhyme scheme ABABA reflects the repetitive life of the working class and the lack of interest the persona has for this shop. 

Stanza 1:

• 'cool store' introduces a mocking tone. 
• 'cheap clothes' shows it has no class.
• 'simple sizes' suggests there is no depth to these shops, they are just simple without interest. 
• 'knitwear, summer casuals, hose' using a list makes the products and shop sound more mundane and repetitive.
• 'browns and greys, maroon and navy' dark mundane colours give a depressing effect and also the use of feminine colour labels shows how they would be seen from a shoppers perspective. 
• 'weekday world' suggests it lacks the fun of the weekend reinforcing it being mundane.

Stanza 2:

• 'leave at dawn' shows how hard working the working class are. 
• 'low terreced houses' generalises them into one type of people with one life. 
• 'timed for factory' suggests that their lives revolve around it.
• 'past the heaps of shirts...spreads the stands of modes for night', shows how beyond the work they have a night life, 'modes for night' making it sound almost like a costume, a pretend persona, it shows a different side of personality, from working hard to in the personas view wasting money on frilly things. 
• 'machine embroidered' links to larkins distaste for industrialisation and suggests these clothes lack care. 
• 'thin as blouses' connotes this enjoyment is fickle. 

Stanza 3:

• 'lemon, sapphire, moss' being natural things contrasts with the next line of fake man made things, 'bri-nylon baby dolls' linking to the personas view of the contrast in the working classes lives. It also could suggests people cheapen nature. 
• 'to suppose they share a world' demonstrates the view that these to things going together is not right. 

Stanza 4:

• 'separate and unearthly love is' shows his lack of understanding of women and people and the way it can't be explained why they do what they do or enjoy what they do, but to him what people enjoy is unnatural because of its lack of practical benefit.This shows the persona is an outsider.
• 'or women are' shows how they have been generalised as the shoppers. 
• 'young unreal wishes' suggests the youth are too naive to even wish for something of meaning, and there is no substance in wanting material things, it is pretend and pointless. it also shows his distaste for young people. 
• 'synthetic, new and natureless in our ecstasies' suggests being who find enjoyment in these things and unnatural to him, almost not real and pretending. It shows his distaste and his oldfashionedness as 'new' is combined with these words.

The Importance of Elsewhere

This poem talks about the way that seeing what we are not, allows us to understand more about who we are, in the case of the persona going to somewhere new, ireland, allows him to see he belongs in england. The poem is short with an ABAB rhyme scheme. 

Stanza 1:

• 'Lonely in Ireland' shows how he feels isolated in new places, where you dont know people. 
• 'salt rebuff of speech' shows how the accent sounds completely alien to him, like a different langauge, 'salt' enforcing how harsh this change seems. 
• 'made me welcome:once that was recognised' shows his happiness with the known, he misses it. 

Stanza 2:

• Uses degrading language to describe Ireland- 'draughty' 'archaic smell' 'like a stable'. 
• 'like a stable' shows he is looking down on them, haughty attitude, but also it is a home for someone else but not humans, showing how uncomfortable he feels in this place. 
• 'herring-hawkers cry' a hawker is a salesman, compared to an animal showing the people seem like a different species to him.
• 'dwindling' shows he can't shake feeling uncomfortable there.
• 'prove me seperate' reinforces his isolation, and showing going somewhere you are uncomfortable shows where you are comfortable. 

Stanza 3:

• 'my customs and establishments' shows where you live it part of you, belongs to you. 
• 'here no elsewhere underwrites my existence' could suggest the he knows this is home, because he feels no doubt about it, because when he is in other places nothing questions the way he lives. Also it could mean when he is elsewhere he feels himself and who he is being questions, who he should be, but he knows he is home when he is comfortable with himself and what he does. 

Home is so Sad

This is a short emotive poem personifying a home, suggesting it should not be left or neglected and saying it needs life inside it to be alive. It has a ABABA rhyme scheme and is only two stanzas long. 

Stanza 1:

• 'sad.' ceasura emphasizes the emotion.
• 'it stays as it was left' suggests it is controlled by others, the life inside it.
• 'shaped to the comfort' suggests it is eager to please and demonstrates how each home is personal.
• 'to win them back' suggests it has been abandoned. 
• 'bereft' is emotive.
• 'it withers' imagery provoking sympathy.
• 'having no heart' shows how it literally is not alive, but also it lacks the people inside it that brings it alive. 

Stanza 2:

• 'what it started as' shows reminising
• 'a joyous shot...long fallen wide' connotes how things change and get worse over time, can't last forever. 
• 'pictures''cutlery''music in the piano stool' and 'that vase' finishing the poem give examples of things that were once alive like the house, when the music is playing and with the flowers in but are dead without them. Flowers also link to mourning suggesting the house is dead. These objects are also sociable things, so be enjoyed with lots of people like the house. 

A Study of Reading Habits

In this poem the persona talks about the effect reading used to have on him when he was younger, the way he used to use it to escape real life and pretend he was like the characters in the books. He then talks about how now, he has stopped reading and realised he is only a side character, less important and not the main part.

Stanza 1:

• 'cured most things' shows how it was a way of escaping his life. 
• 'it was worth ruining my eyes' shows how the books didn't help him in real life, but it was worth it to distract himself from reality. 
• 'right hook to dirty dogs' shows how he is imagining situations in which he is the main character, someone he is not. Alliteration emphasizes the fact it is exaggerated and not real.

Stanza 2:

• 'with inch-thick specs' shows how reading these books is actually making his life worse, disabling him. 
• 'later' shows time has moved on, he is older but still fantasizes to be someone he's not, this time a 'sex' devil. 
• 'specs' rhymed with 'sex' demonstrates how contrasting his real life is with his imaginary life. 
• 'i broke them up like meringues' makes it comical. 

Stanza 3:

• 'dont read much now' shows he has grown up, and given up on fantising over being someone else, he is realistic about what he is. 
• 'chap whos yellow' connotes cowardice, demonstrating his low opinion of himself. 
• 'just before the hero arrives' shows he's just a side character. 
• 'books are a load of crap' the final line shows how spiteful he is of books as they seem to have given him irrealistic expectations. 

MCMXIV

This poem is about the year 1914, the beginning of the 1st world, in particular the men signing up to go to war. It shows the optimism at the beginning as all of the men signed up, but goes on to reveal the much sadder truths about war.

Stanza 1:

• 'long uneven lines' demonstrates the amount of men that signed up, and 'uneven' could connote they are men from all walks of life, or link to them being men of different social class. It could also reflect the different views of war each men has, from those who lied about their age to go, to those who didnt want to go. 
• 'standing as patiently' demonstrates a politer nicer time. 
• 'the oval or villa park' being cricket and football grounds links to the way men always seem to be on a team, competing. It also could suggest that is what men should be doing, and links to the british cliche. 
• Repetition of 'as if' suggests they are naive and misinformed about what they are signing up for. 
• 'crowns of hats' suggests that going to war gives them status and a certain glory in doing something for their country.
• 'mustached archaic faces' shows they are men, and suggests they are to old to be going to war.

Stanza 2:

• 'shut shops' suggests there is some significance in these shops being closed. 
• 'bleached established names' demonstrates things being tainted suggesting war is destructive and can ruin a family, tainting their name. 
• 'dark-clothed children' gives a sombre effect. 
• 'called after kings and queens' reinforces the idea of patriotism.
• 'tin advertisements' suggests cheap life, and links to rations and the simplicity of the time. 
• 'the pubs wide open all day' shows nostalgia for what the persona sees as a better time.

Stanza 3:

• 'countryside not caring' shows how it wasnt effected by war as much, and links to the upper class being less effected because of their money.
• 'the place names all hazed over' links to the way the working class seem insignificant to the rich, and the way the rich would have been giving positions of authority at war over the poor. 
• 'flowering grasses and fields shadowing doomsday lines' demonstrates war not being presented truthfully. It also shows the was war juxtaposes the natural world, suggesting war is not natural and suggesting it is wrong to enjoy yourself as the rich did while something like this is going on. It could also suggest that there are injustices like war going on in rich peoples houses, with the classes. 
• 'under wheats restless silence' suggests there is something beneath the surface, the unspoken inequality of the rich and the poor. 
• 'differently dressed servents' shows this inequality.
• 'the dust behind limosousines' shows how the rich are leaving the poor behind in their mess. Larkin is sticking up for working class. 

Stanza 4:

• 'never such innocence never before or since' shows how naive and goo the people were and suggests that war killed this. repetition of 'never' also reinforces that it was the first war, and new to them. 
• 'without a word' suggests it was a shock'
• 'leaving the gardens tidy' suggests they have to keep up appearances and shows the extent of domestic everyday life. 
• 'lasting a little while longer' shows how the end is inevitable.
• 'never such innocence again' reiterates was being the end of innocence.
• the last stanza is a less optimistic view of war compared to the first, reiterating how people were optimistic about war at first but then realized what it was like. 

Sunny Prestatyn

In this poem Larkin describes an advert promoting 'Sunny Prestatyn', using a picture of an attractive woman on the beach. This advert has been crudely defaced and drawn over, and Larkin exposes meaning in this destruction, and emotion, suggesting the girl that has been made a joke should be pitied, while at the same time using humour to entertain the reader. The rhyme scheme is ABCABDCD.

Stanza 1:

• 'tautened' shows how tight her clothes were, showing how she has been exploited for her sexuality. 
• 'laughed the girl' suggests the advert for this place has become a joke
• 'sunny' is a cheerful optimistic presentation of the place
• 'white satin' denotes innocence, suggesting the drawings on top have defaced and tainted innocence
• 'hunk of coast' and 'hotel with palms' have been personified to make them sound attractive
• 'expand from her thighs' reinforces her sexuality, reiterated by 'breast-lifting arms' suggesting the girl is being advertised rather than the destination

Stanza 2:

• Uses ruder language to reflect how Larkin views the rudeness and disrespect in this treatment of the advert
• 'slapped up' links to makeup suggesting she is used because of her looks. It also mirrors the ways the poster would be 'slapped up' without care and is quite a violent action demonstrating the violence in the rude drawings over it
• 'one day' makes it sound insignificant
• 'snaggle toothed and boss-eyed' demonstrates the focus on appearance, as well as showing the comedy in what has happened. 
• 'scored well in' reinforces the idea of it being a violent action and suggests the ad/girl has been permanently effected and tainted by this. 'scored' also links to a poor treatment of women
• 'place between her legs...held...a tuberous cock and balls' links to her sexuality which in Larkin's view has been ruined.
• 'breasts' becomes 'tits' in this stanza reflecting the way the doodle has made it more derogatory

Stanza 3:

• 'stab' is a violent action, suggesting a violence towards women or at society and the way it works
• 'stab right through mustached lips' suggests that once her sexuality is gone she has no use
• 'she was too good for this life' suggests she has literally been killed by this action, possibly suggesting once your dignity has gone you have nothing. It also suggests women have value because of their good looks, but once this is gone they are pointless. It also demonstrates the way men want perfection but then ruin women themselves ( as 'titch thomas' was a man )
• 'now fight cancer is there' could show that 'cancer' wouldn't be disrespected like that, linking to the way people are sensitive to some things but disrespect others. Alternatively it could be Larkin's annoyance that the pretty girl he wanted to look at has gone, or suggest people have no respect for anything, they just are destructive to everything. 

Mr Bleaney

In this poem the persona looks at a room to rent that belonged to a Mr Bleaney, described as a sad isolated character, living in a bare neglected room, however the persona sees himself in him. The repetitive rhyme scheme reflects the repepitive life of Mr Bleaney. 

Stanza 1:

• 'he stayed the whole time he was at the bodies, till they moved him' shows he didnt have a permanent residence and lacked stability and control of his own life, reinforced by 'till they moved him' which shows how he a more of an object than person, and could mean he died. The 'bodies' is a colloquial term for a car making employment he had, but also connotes him not being alive. 
• 'flowered curtains thin and frayed' connotes the neglect in this room and suggests a state of mental deterioration. The 'flowered' suggests that nature is being destroyed in this room, as if it is almost poisonous. 
• 'fall to within five inches of the sill' suggests that Mr Bleaney, like the curtains didnt quite fit, with 'fall' reinforcing the idea of a lack of control. 

Stanza 2:

• 'whose windows shows a strip of building land' demonstrates Larkin's negative views of industrialisation, and the lack of hope there is around this room as there are no good parts. 
• 'bed, upright chair, sixty-watt bulb' shows the bareness of the room, and the lack of imagination there is there, the use of the list showing the repetitiveness of it. All these practical things suggests a lack of fun in his life, suggesting it was purely functional. The bulb also shows his surroundings werent bright. 

Stanza 3:

• 'no room for books or bags' suggests any leisure in his life was not even possible. 
• 'I'll take it' shocks the reader as it follows the list of uninviting aspects of the property. We then realise as we read on the similarities between the persona and Mr Bleaney as  he says 'i lie where mr Bleaney lay, and stub my fags on the same saucer-souvenir'. 

Stanza 4:

• 'stuffing my ears with cotton wool' suggests trying to block out life, and the noises that make it interesting which may be one of the reasons the life of Mr Bleaney was so dull. It also suggests that isolation is something he wants. 
• 'i know his habits' reinforces the idea that his life was repetitive and predictable. 
• 'jabbering set' shows Larkin's views on modern things. 

Stanza 5:

• 'he kept on plugging' reiterates the repetition in his life, as does his annual visit to family members, 'the frinton folk who put him up for summer holidays'. 'Put him up' suggests he isnt wanted, even by his family. 

Stanza 6:

• 'if he stood and watched the frigid wind' suggests he should turn to nature, that it can give you answers and could suggest that he sees himself in the 'frigid wind'. 
• 'telling himself this was home, and grinned, and shivered' implies however much he tries to convince himself this is where he is happy, it will never be true and he will not be able to feel completely at home and comfortable. 

Stanza 7:

• 'how we live measures our own nature' shows he is trying to convince himself this life doesnt define him, but it does.
• 'One hired box' evokes pity in it being all he has, and he doesnt even own it, as well as connoting a coffin reiterating his death. 
• the final line 'i dont know' shows the uncertainty of life. 

Broadcast

Broadcast is a poem that Larkin wrote about a woman he was in love with, Maeve Brennan, as he uses music to try and connect with her as he listens to a concert on the wireless that she is at, however as the poem goes on reveals the distance between them. 

Stanza 1:

• 'giant whispering and coughing' is an oxymoron used to demonstrate he is listening to the radio and the reception is poor, so it is not easy to distinguish what is going on. 
• 'sunday full and organ frowned on' suggests they are in a church/churchlike place. 'frowned on' denotes his negative view of religion. 
• 'sudden scuttle of drum' anthropomorphism introducing national anthem. 'A huge resettling' hints to the large number of people at this concert, isolating Larkin as someone listening alone.
• 'a snivelling of the violins' suggests the start of a love song, 'snivelling' could be interpreted as Larkin's negative view of this music, or the sadness it makes him feel or portrays. 
•  'i think of your face among all those other faces' introduces Maeve and demonstrates his love for her. 

Stanza 2:

• 'beautiful and devout' shows the strong relationship and love he seems to have for this woman. 
• 'cascades of monumental slithering' contrasts with 'beautiful and devout', suggesting things may not be as good as they seem. 
• 'gloves unnoticed on the floor' shows Larkin is paying attention to the small details showing his love, but could suggest she is discarding him like the gloves. This is reinforced by the 'i lose' at the end of the line, the line break emphasizing his desperation.
• this followed by 'new slightly oumoded shoes' could suggest he feels replaced. It also demonstrates she is not that fashionable but Larkin doesnt care.  
• 'it goes dark' links to the unpredictability of the radio, as well as life as Larkin suddenly looses 'all but the outline'. 

Stanza 3:

• 'leaves on half-emptied trees' is pathetic fallacy of autumn suggesting something is coming to an end. Leaves falling also gives a sense of things dying and being lost.
• 'rapid storms of chording' demonstrates how the music reflect his rampant emotions.
• 'distant overpower my mind' shows how he feels overwhelmed by his isolation.
• 'the cut off shout' shows something has ended, leaving him 'desperate to pick out your hands, tiny in all that air, applauding'.  

For Sidney Bechet

In this poem, Larkin talks about New Orleans, the birth place of jazz something which he loved, particularly Sidney Bechet, a famous jazz musician. IN the poem music reminds Larkin of love and happy times as he talks about the positive effect music has on him. The rhyme scheme is consistent like a jazz song, giving it a beat. 

Stanza 1:

• 'note' links to music. 
• 'narrowing and rising' gives a sense of water and flow linking to the jazz beat and the theme of water in this stanza. 
• 'shakes like New Orleans reflected on water' simile over two lines reflects a ripple and the way things are distorted by water. 'shakes' also suggests movement linking to the idea of music. 
• 'in all ears' demonstrates the power music can have as it 'appropriate falsehood wakes'.

Stanza 2:

• 'building for some...' shows how music does different things for different people. 
• 'balconies, flower-baskets and quadrilles' connotes romance.
• 'everyone making love and going shares' describes people relaxing and having a good time, reflecting Larkins positive view of jazz.

Stanza 3:

• 'mute glorious storyville' is new orleans red light district, introducing the darker side of the area. 'Glorious' shows as a man Larkin sees the good in this bad thing, although he knows it needs to be 'mute(d)'.
• 'sporting house girls like circus tigers' talks about prostitutes and how they were seen as animals. 
• 'priced far above rubies' shows how women could be bought. 

Stanza 4:

• 'scholars manques nod around unnoticed'  describes the audience and how no one ever looks at them. 'manques' means 'to lack' in french suggesting that because they are just scholars they are incomplete. 
• 'like old plaids' suggests that they could be engrossed and immersed by the music to the point they are interwoven with it, or it could suggest that they are stuck in their 'old' ways.

Stanza 5:

• 'as they say love should' demonstrates Larkins strong love of music.
• 'like an enormous yes.' caesura used to emphasize the positive view of music. 
• 'my crescent city is where your speech alone is understood' demonstrates how at home and understood Larkin feels in New Orleans and he sees it as the only place jazz is accepted as it should be. 

Stanza 6:

• 'the natural noise of good' combines Larkins positive views of both nature and jazz music, reinforced as it is 'scattering long-haired grief and scored pity'. 

Faith Healing

Faith Healing looks at ideas about both love and religion, suggesting that love, like faith healing is something that promises to make everything better, but in reality does not. 

Stanza 1:

• 'Slowly the women file' shows a misogynist attitude as women are seen as the stupid people who believe in this. His distance from them also gives him a god like status. 
• 'upright' and 'in rimless' glasses suggests this man sees life through a narrow view, not freely and has something missing in the personas view. 
• 'tirelessly persuade' shows the dedication people have to this cause, linking to the way people are dedicated to love. 'Tirelessly' also suggests they are ceaseless and almost annoying, and 'persuade' being a command shows they can be quite forceful. 
• 'within whose warm spring rain of loving care' is a metaphor suggesting women find comfort in a preachers soft voice, reinforcing them being naive. Also reinforces his god like qualities as he seems immersive. 
• 'dear child' is repeated to mock the stereotype. 
• 'deep american voice' shows stereotypes.
• 'demands' reinforces the forceful nature of these people. 
• 'scarcely pausing' reiterates that they are ceaseless. 
• 'directing god' suggests that the persona feels they are trying to play god. 
• 'abruptly' suggests there is no care in the action, its not a nice thing that is being done to you. reinforced by 'exiled'.

Stanza 2:

• 'they go in silence' suggests they are insignificant, and this gives no evidence that it actually worked. 
• 'sheepishly stray' alliteration gives a whisper like quality suggesting there is something to be kept secret. 
• 'just yet;' suggests they want to cling on to something. 
• 'stiff, twitching' makes them sounds like animals, being derogatory to women and the people that do this as it suggests they are stupid, alternatively could suggests doing this makes them stupid. Reinforced as they are called 'dumb and idiot child' which links to the way god sees them as his children, belittling them, making them stupid-or the part of them that sees themselves as children is stupid.
• 'deep hoarse tears' links to women being seen as emotional. 
• 'still survives' suggests this process is destructive. 
• 'at last calls them home' links to the meaning of life. 
• 'blort' not being a real words, links to larkin believing this process is not real. 
• 'their eyes squeeze grief' objectifies the women, showing he is detached from them. 
• 'unheard answers' suggests the answers are not real.

Stanza 3:

• 'Whats wrong!' repeated forces the reader to ask what is really wrong, which in Larkin's view is 'faith healing'.
• 'moustached in flowered frocks' shows he is a misogynist. 
• 'they shake' may denote religion is something to be feared. 
• 'all's wrong in everyone' could suggests they are beyond the help of religion, or that religion creates the problems in everyone. It also unifies.
• 'life lived according to love' is suggested as a universal measurement, a mistake everyone makes although it is something that seems to heal everything. It also suggests people let love define life. 
• 'it sweeps' connotes the power and control it has. 
• 'That nothing cures' suggests neither love or faith healing can help people. 
• 'rigid landscape weeps' personification shows Larkins bond with nature, more than women, but this idea of the ground weeping is an idea as farcical to him as faith healing and love. 

Essential Beauty

This poem looks at how realistic publicity is suggesting it doesn’t reflect real people and lives, by sarcastically juxtaposing the idealistic adverts with a less perfect reality – suggesting people shouldn’t buy into the fake world it is portraying.

Analysis:

•         Juxtaposition e.g. ‘screen graves with custard’, ‘cover slums with praise', ‘screen’ and ‘cover’ represents the media’s coverage of real life' while ‘custard’ ‘silver knife/golden butter’ suggests his sarcasm, making the poem slightly comical.
•          ™Rhyme scheme emphasises the contrasts, e.g. ‘gutter’ and ‘butter’ suggesting they are two things that should not go together
•          ™‘They dominate outdoors' shows Larkin’s negative and destructive views regarding industrialisation
•          ™Repetition of ‘pure’ – emphasises how idealistic and unobtainable the advertisements are
•          ™‘Pure coldness to our live imperfect eyes’ – ‘coldness’ suggests we are allowing items that are not alive to define our lifestyles 
•          ™‘Taste old age’, synaesthesia, reflecting the impossibility of what the advertisements portray
•         ™‘Where nothing’s made as new or washed quite clean’ – advertisements force its audience to strive for the unachievable 
•          ™‘White clothed ones from tennis clubs’ – juxtaposes ‘the boy puking his heart out in the gents’ as the drunk wouldn’t be portrayed in advertisements, contrasts with the upper class who would be, ‘ones’ reflects the detachment of the upper class and the general population.

Links:

•         ™ Whitsun Weddings – doesn’t believe in happiness of the couples or of what the adverts are portraying, paranoid he is being tricked
•          ™Talking in Bed – couples should be an ‘emblem’ however it shows an interpretation that is not true 
•          ™Here- ‘they dominate outdoors’ is mirrored and shows Larkin’s hatred for the power industrialisation holds
•        ™ ™‘An Arundel Tomb’ – both present an unobtainable image that Larkin disagrees with 

Context:

™Written about Hull, after World War 2, about the large amount of billboards covering the destruction caused by the bombs. ™Larkin doesn’t like industrialisation, and believes society’s dysfunctional ways would rather cover problems than fix them – repetition of ‘graves’ reinforces the idea that idealistic advertisements cover the parts of society that aren’t working

Nothing to be Said

This poem talks about lots of different people and the way they live their lives and the different contrasting ways in which they spend their time. From the it questions the meaning of life, and presents life as an inescapable journey to death for all of us. 

Stanza 1:

• This stanza contrasts different types of people and social groups, be they civilized or primitive, firstly 'nations vague as weed, for nomads among stone'. This contrasts large civilizations with lonely 'nomads', however suggests nature is what they have in common. 
• 'small-statured cross faced tribes' are then contrasted with 'cobble close families', the alliteration used to emphasize this contrast and show he is talking about people from all walks of life, no one can escape death. 
• 'life is slowly dying' shows the one thing everybody has in common is the natural process of death, and it provides equality. It also suggests the point of life is just to die. 

Stanza 2:

• This looks at what people fill their time doing in between birth and death, and how different types of people do things  'separate ways'.'Separate' suggests isolation, that people just care about their individual lives. 
• 'building, benediction' alliteration, emphasizes the idea of filling time with personal things like religion.
• 'measuring love and money' suggests those are the two key things in life and people feel the need to compete with them. 
• 'ways of slowly dying' shows we may all have different ways of dying but they all have the same outcome. 
• 'the day spent hunting pig, or holding a garden party' shows a direct contrast between the civilized upper class and the more animalistic, but suggests neither is better which suggests that it doesnt matter at all how you spend your time, you are insignificant. 

Stanza 3:

• 'hours giving evidence or birth advance on death equally slowly' reinforces the idea that it doesnt matter how you spend your time, you will still die. 
• 'to some means nothing; others it leaves nothing to be said' suggests their are two views of death, those that don't think about it, care about it or care to understand it, or those that are almost overwhelmed by the prospect of it, who both understand and are scared of the meaning of it.  

First Sight

This poem describes lambs in the winter and talks about the hope of spring. It discusses the circle of life, being born young and innocent, and growing older until death, this cycle linking to nature and the repetition of the seasons, also reflected in the repetitive rhyme scheme.

Stanza 1:

• 'lambs that learn to walk in snow...meet a vast unwelcome' demonstrates their innocence as they adapt to something they dont need to. Lambs are a symbol of innocence youth and purity, so they act as a sign or new life in a time of no hope. 
• 'know nothing but a sunless glare' reinforces this innocence, as well as demonstrating the way life can seem so cold at points and you think that this is all there is to it, it can change. 
• 'outside the fold' shows the lack of understanding they have for life.
• 'is a wretched width of cold' reinforces how life can be unkind.

Stanza 2:

• 'wait' suggests better things are yet to come. 
• 'hidden round them, waiting too' is 'earths immeasurable surprise' being spring, a time of hope, change and positivity unlike the bleakness of winter.
• 'they could not grasp it if they knew' shows how innocent they are not even being able to understand the prospect of something new. 
• 'what will soon wake and grow' shows it will be a time of new beginnings where things have the opportunity to 'grow'.  
• 'utterly unlike snow' demonstrates how change can be a good thing, and although one thing (snow) can take over your life, that can change. 

Ignorance

This poem is about belief and life, and how much people understand about the things that they do, and whether this is a good or a bad thing. 

Stanza 1:

• 'to know nothing' demonstrates in Larkin's view of ignorance you have no idea about anything, and this idea of a complete lack of understanding is 'strange' to him.
• repetition of 'strange' reinforces how Larkin feels he needs an answer. 
• 'never to be sure' shows a lack of education stops you from being confident.
• 'Of what is true or right or real' shows how there is more than one answer to things, and it seems even Larkin isnt sure, this lack of a certain answer is reinforced by 'it does seem so' which suggests the uncertainty linked to ignorance. 
• 'someone must know' shows how people look to others for the answers, and they are easily swayed in opinion by them, the human race copies others as part of their nature. 

Stanza 2:

• 'their skill at finding what they need' shows how people may be ignorant but they have the ability to survive, that comes natural to them even though they seem to be 'ignorant to the way things work'. This links to the way more educated people look down on others. 
• 'willingness to change' demonstrates that those less educated are more open than others to different points of view, they dont judge or discriminate which would be 'strange' to those with strong views. 

Stanza 3:

• 'wear such knowledge' suggests educated people just use it to impress, and for some knowledge is a temporary thing. It also suggests humans live for finding answers to questions.  
• 'our flesh surrounds us with it's own opinions' shows the innate instinctive human actions and thoughts are more important than any knowledge, suggesting education is a waste of time as it will only be trumped by survival. 
• 'all our life on imprecision's' suggests nothing is really 'true or right or real', there is always different answers so knowledge has little point. 
• 'when we start to die have no idea why' shows how knowledge is useless, as the most important thing it could be used for, it doesnt help us with, ignorance is more healthy as we can never we educated enough to understand life and death so there is no point trying. 

Water

This poem discusses religion looking at the different ways it is practiced, and the different roles water plays in it. It regular structure allows the poem to flow like water and also reflects how religion repeats itself through history. The poem suggests that religion, like water should be taken in moderation. 

Stanza 1:

• 'If I' demonstrates the personal opinion of the persona coming through. 
• 'To construct a religion' suggests it is something that should be done with care, thought and time, suggesting that people don't take it seriously enough. 

Stanza 2:

• 'going to church would entail' shows how people can practice religion in lots of different ways and none are necessarily right of wrong. 
• Paradox of 'fording to dry' suggests that some water/religion is good, if it is the right amount, not too much can do good things. 

Stanza 3:

• 'images of sousing' suggests that some people take religion too far, plunging themselves in, reinforced by 'a furious devout drench' which demonstrates religion being too forceful, powerful and possibly aggressive. 

Stanza 4:

• 'a glass of water' demonstrates the right amount of religion, neither too much or too little.7
• 'where any-angled light' suggests it would accept everyone, and not judge or discriminate as some religions do. 
• 'would congregate endlessly', demonstrates that it is not about how much you have, as he suggests religion in moderation can have 'endless' impact. 

Days

This poem questions the meaning of life, whether we do anything worthwhile with it and what happens to us when we die. The persona questions life in a monotone way in the first stanza and then answers the question himself in the second. 

Stanza 1:

• 'What are days for?' questions what is the point, and could be interpreted as pessimistic. Could also be interpreted as a childlike question, but still applies to us all. The answers that follow it are very adult and simple. 
• 'Days are where we live' suggests they are where we wait to die, triggers the question where do we go when we die?
• 'they wake us' shows how little control over when you live and when you die. 
• 'time and time over' implies the repetitiveness of life, that we have no control but to live in a cycle wasting time. 
• 'they are to be happy in' suggests if you stop questioning them and just live in the moment you will be happy, but if you don't accept them for what they are you will not. 
• 'Where can we live but days' connotes how inescapable life is and also questions the after life and what happens to us when we die. 

Stanza 2:

• 'solving that question brings the priest and the doctor' could be interpreted as when you die is the only time you will discover what lies outside of days. Alternatively it would be a reference to madness, suggesting trying to answer that question will make you loose your mind. Finally it could be seen as 'the priest and the doctor' are the people that could solve it, which is interesting considering their opposing views of life, a contrasting religious and scientific perspective.
• 'their long coats' suggests they have authority, and also suggests despite their different opinions they have similarities. 
• 'running over the fields' suggests freedom but also trampling over nature. It is also a pointless act which may show, as this is the end of the poem that trying to solve life's questions is pointless.  

Wild Oats

 In 'Wild Oats' the persona looks back, regretfully at his younger years, fantasizing not over his ex-girlfriend, but her better looking friend, as he lusts after his idea of the perfect woman, a 'English rose'. In the poem Larkin talks about wanting to sleep with lots of people, in his view a right of passage for a male, as he objectifies women with his dry sarcastic tone. 

Stanza 1:

• 'Twenty years ago' shows he is reminiscing over the past.
• 'bosomy English rose' demonstrates Larkin objectifying women, reinforced by the fact neither women are given a name throughout. 
• 'friend in specs i could talk to' suggests Larkin is not confident, or that the other girl is clearly out of his league and at the time he accepted this, but looking back he rejects this. It also shows how Larkin cared about what socially, was considered ugly (specs), and defined his girlfriend by this. 
• 'faces in those days sparked the whole shooting-match off' suggests people used to be more superficial, and women were considered birds, things men have power over. 'Sparked' denotes physical passion, suggesting that is all women are good for, and 'shooting match' links to old fashioned british men, reflecting the out dated sexist viewpoint. 
• 'But it was the friend i took out', 'but' changes the tone showing the regret. 

Stanza 2:

• 'gave a ten-guinea ring' suggests women are bought.
• 'i got it back in the end' suggests he is not surprised it didnt work out, and almost wanted it to. 
• 'wrote over four hundred letters' demonstrates he did care but he feels now it was a waste of time, wished he didnt care. 
• 'unknown to the clergy' implies he was trying to hide his love, he was embarrassed of her because of her looks. 
• 'I met beautiful twice' shows how women to him were defined by their looks, not their personality or even their name. 
• 'she was trying both times (so i thought) not to laugh' demonstrate his paranoia around good looking people, that he feels below them but so wants them. 

Stanza 3:

• 'Parting' suggests breakup was inevitable. 
• 'rehearsals' shows how he could never commits to the real thing, it wasnt real love he felt for her, he was just practicing. 
• 'bored to love' reinforces the fact he didnt really love her, just found her boring. Also connotes how Larkin didnt want to love, he didnt care about it, he just cared about looks and passion. 
• 'useful to get that learnt' shows she was just a mistake of his youth. 
• 'two snaps' which he keeps with him shows how he is still regretful of it now and can't let the 'bosomy rose' go.
• 'unlucky charm' shows how his obsession with this ideal women is messing up his life because now no one can compete with her. 

Love Songs in Age

This poem discusses how love changes over time, with the focus on a widow, suggesting that although love starts off good, it ends badly. Music sheets are described, symbolizing her memories, and nature is used to show how love changes over time. 

Stanza 1:

• Repetition of the past tense 'kept' shows an emphasis on the past, reflecting her love being in the past. 
• 'One bleached from lying in a sunny place' introduces the idea of the music sheets reflecting memories which have been tinted over time, rein forced by 'one marked in circles by a vase of water'. This could be interpreted as the memories being battered and ruined over time, or alternatively it could be interpreted positively that these memories and indestructible and are merely shaped by life. 'lying' also connotes death linking to her husband. 'circle' suggests the repetitive circle of life. These quotes also show haw things are tarnished and weathered by age, emphasized with the repetition of 'one...'
• 'one mended, when a tidy fit had seized her' demonstrates the fact not all memories are good. 
• 'coloured by her daughter' shows how other people effect you memories and your life. 
• 'so they had waited, till, in widowhood she found them' implies that you only realize what you have when it is gone, as she only realizes what she had with her husband when he died. 
• 'looking for something else' demonstrates how you cannot predict life, and you don't always get what you want from it. 

Stanza 2:

• 'relearning' demonstrates how you forget your memories, but remembering them changes you as it did when they happened. 
• 'frank submissive' is an oxymoron denoting the pain she feels looking back at forgotten pleasures. 
• 'had ushered in' shows how music lets in thoughts and memories. 
• 'the unfailing sense of being young' suggests when you are young you naively feel indestructible, like you will live forever, however age proves otherwise as is shown by the death of her husband.  This also shows how music makes her feel young again. 
• 'spring woken tree' denotes age, time passing and memories  shown by rings inside it linking to 'circles' on the music sheets and the way people wrinkle as they age. 
• 'hidden freshness sung' shows how music makes you feel young, as well as reflecting the forgotten memories that came back fresh. 
• 'certainty of time' demonstrates how the only thing you know about time is that it will pass. Also shows how time promises hope and better things but doesn't necessarily deliver. 
• 'even more' suggests there is something better than nature and youth-love. 

Stanza 3:

• 'glare' demonstrates that love can be painful too, as well as showing its power. 
• 'incipience sailing above' shows how love it different and new and 'fresh'.
• 'promising to solve and satisfy' emphasizes the fact love isnt perfect, and doesnt always make you happy. Also links to the way people always try and understand things. 
• 'unchangeably in order' refers to destiny, as people think the have found their 'happy ever after' but with time and age things do change, and love isnt always as good. 
• 'to pile them back, to cry' shows how love can be pain, although it looks perfect and sometimes it is better to push the memories back rather than face the pain that comes with them. 
• 'it had not done so then, and could not now' demonstrates love can no longer help her, and all love is is unfulfilled promises.