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Larkin Sample Essay In Larkin’s poetry close observations of people, place and events result in profound and thought provoking moments. Discuss. In Larkin”s poetry, detailed and accurate descriptions of people, places and events capture the moment in an uncompromisingly realistic fashion. While his poems can be sneering and contemptuous of people, places and events, there is something else at work in Larkin’s poetry that is difficult to ignore. For all their bleak realism, the poems of Larkin that I have studied lead to profound and thought provoking moments that have challenged some of my most deeply held beliefs. Larkin’s poems are at their most interesting and thought-provoking when an unexpected event provokes the speaker’s curiosity. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the utterly fascinating poem, “The Whitsun Weddings”. In this poem, the speaker’s close observations of the people and places of England on a “sunlit Saturday” in June, provide the material for a truly memorable piece of writing. The poem opens as Larkin”s train pulls slowly out of the station. The rhythm, syntax and the cadence of the language capture the momentum of the train as it runs “behind the backs of houses”. In the next stanza, detailed descriptions of the bland English suburbs do little to prepare us for the profound epiphany that lies at the heart of this poem. As the wedding couples board the train, the poet at first notices little more than their “whoops and skirls” of delight. There then follows a series of detailed observations of the wedding parties. Larkin describes the “grinning and pomaded, girls | In parodies of fashion”. Although his tone is laced with cynicism, he is also “struck” by the scene that presents itself before him. The next time he leans out “More promptly [...] more curiously”. Once again, Larkin relies on close observations of the wedding parties in order to convey his bemusement to us. He describes the “fathers with broad belts under their suits” and the “mothers load and fat”. The detail, which includes descriptions of “seamy foreheads” and an “uncle shouting smut” is uncompromisingly realistic. However, for all its detailed realism, the poem has, at its heart, a profound and thought- provoking epiphany. As the train gathers speed, Larkin becomes increasingly affected by the incredible “Traveling coincidence” that has joined all these people together on this, one of the most important days in their lives. In the poet”s words, this experience contained: all the power That being changed can give. In order to capture this powerful moment of profound realisation, Larkin turns away form the detailed descriptions of the first four stanzas. Instead he relies on a wonderful simile to conclude his poem. And as the tightened brakes took hold, there swelled A sense of falling, like an arrow-shower Sent out of sight, somewhere becoming rain. Although Larkin professed himself to be highly sceptical about the idea of enduring love, in this poem there is no denying that he is genuinely struck by the power of the moment. “An Arundel Tomb” has much in common with “The Whitsun Weddings”. In this poem, detailed observations of a tomb in Chichester Cathedral in England pave the way for thought-provoking conclusions about love, life and death. The poem opens with a detailed depiction of the “earl and countess” as they “lie stone”. Larkin draws our attention to the “jointed armour, stiffened pleat” and the “the little dogs under their feet”. It was only when I saw a photograph of the Arundel Tomb that I realised just how accurate Larkin’s depiction is. As was the case with the wedding parties in “The Whitsun Weddings”, Larkin at first fails to notice the full significance of the scene before him. Then, towards the end of the second stanza his attention is drawn towards the earl’s hand “holding her hand”. This produces a “sharp tender shock” in the poet. The rest of the poem is a meditation on the true meaning that this statue now holds. Larkin forces us to consider the lack of clarity surrounding this tomb and what it has come to symbolise. In particular, he exploits the ambiguity between the two meanings of the verb to “lie”. A sense of futility hovers around the poem’s conclusion in words like “helpless”,”scrap”,”attitude”, “Untruth” and “almost”. The fact that Larkin refuses to dispel the ambiguity that surrounds this poem is most thought-provoking. The detailed descriptions of the two lovers with their hands clasped together suggest a lasting, even timeless, relationship. However, we are never allowed to forget that this couple is dead and that the world they once knew has vanished forever. The prelude to one of the most shocking and depressing events in European history is highlighted in Larkin’s unforgettable poem MCMXIV. This powerful poem captures the innocence of a people that would soon be plunged into the most barbaric events in human history. The opening stanza depicts the “long uneven lines |standing as patiently | As if [... oustide] | The oval or Villa park”. In this simple description, Larkin captures the all encompassing nature of the conflict that is come. The wealthy followers of cricket are united with their poorer football supporting counterparts, in their innocent rush to enlist. The poem is full of descriptions of the people and places of a long-since vanished United Kingdom. Images of “shut shops” and “bleached | Established names” are mentioned together with “farthings and sovereigns”. While the depictions capture the innocence of Britain in the immediate lead-up to the outbreak of war, the eerie absence of human activity hints at grim reality of what is to come. The form of poem also helps to reinforce this. The roman numerals along the poem’s shape, recall the countless cenotaphs and war memorials that were erected in the aftermath of this horrific conflict. The poem’s final reminds us that the world would never know “such innocence again”. Another profoundly thought provoking event captured by Larkin is detailed in his poem “The Explosion”. The poem takes us to a pit head in the coal district of Wales on the day of a fatal explosion. The use of foreshadowing in the opening tercet hints at the fate that awaits the miners. In the next stanza, we meet these men as they come down lane full of life, “Coughing oath-edged talk and pipe-smoke”. One of men who breaks free from the group to chase a rabbit, returns with “a nest of lark’s eggs”. This wonderful symbol of fragility and life is carefully returned unharmed to the grass by this man. Larkin does not describe the circumstances in any detail. Instead he chooses to understate the physical reality of what happened. A “tremor” “at noon” provides us with the only clue that something awful has happened. Then, in the next stanza which is set off in italics in order to highlights its significance, Larkin takes us to the dead men’s funeral service: The dead go on before us, they Are sitting in God’s house in Comfort, We shall see them face to face - The final image of the poem is a truly unforgettable one. The men have died yet they return “larger than life” “One showing the eggs unbroken”. From the pit heads of Wales to the suburban England, Larkin provides us with accurate descriptions of people, places and events. In the process however he causes us to look again at the world around us. While his poems are often equivocal and ambiguous, they nearly always force us to consider some deeply thought-provoking and profound ideas. .
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