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Solitude, Distance, and Proximity in the Poetry of Philip Larkin

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Solitude, Distance, and Proximity in the Poetry of Philip Larkin Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Dominika Dovčíková The Wish to Be Alone: Solitude, Distance, and Proximity in the Poetry of Philip Larkin Master’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: doc. Michael Matthew Kaylor, PhD. 2019 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. Author’s signature Acknowledgement First and foremost, my unceasing gratitude belongs to doc. Michael Matthew Kaylor, PhD. for his continuous guidance over the course of my studies that has been of essential importance to my growth. I would also like to thank Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D. for his instructive as well as enjoyable classes that introduced me, among others, to the poetry of Philip Larkin. And lastly, I would like to thank the staff of the English Department that have made my studies both worthwhile and wonderful. Also, to my partner in crime for no whatsoever. Table of Contents Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 “Church Going” .......................................................................................................... 9 1.2 “Vers de Société” ...................................................................................................... 23 2.1 “Poetry of Departures” .............................................................................................. 31 2.2 “Home is so Sad” ...................................................................................................... 40 2.3 “Importance of Elsewhere” ....................................................................................... 49 3.1 “Talking in Bed” ....................................................................................................... 54 3.2 “Love” ....................................................................................................................... 63 3.3 “This Be The Verse” ................................................................................................. 71 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 77 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 81 Resumé ............................................................................................................................ 85 Résumé ............................................................................................................................ 86 Introduction The present work seeks to analyse how Philip Larkin’s underlying wish to be alone pervades his poetry by creating a sense of distance while endeavouring to reproduce his experience in his reader. In other words, Larkin establishes a connection with the reader despite his attempt to achieve a sense of detachment in his poetry. In order to illustrate this, the present work focuses on examining several of his poems, namely “Church Going”, “Vers de Société”, “Poetry of Departures”, “Home is so Sad”, “The Importance of Being Elsewhere”, “Talking in Bed”, “Love”, and “This Be The Verse”. The thesis primarily deals with textual analysis of the chosen poems based on their close reading while also consulting Larkin’s own personal views voiced either in his essays on poetry, personal correspondence, or recorded interviews. It also considers two different biographies of Philip Larkin, specifically Philip Larkin: A Writer’s Life by Andrew Motion published in 1993, and the more recent Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love written by James Booth and published in 2015. Furthermore, the analysis is supported by a number of secondary sources that deal with literary criticism of Larkin’s work. Larkin’s sense of distance that he achieves in his poetry is twofold. On a personal level, it echoes his own feeling of isolation in different contexts that he portrays in his poetry. However, it also signifies distancing himself from his poems as the implied poet for the sake of enhancing the experience he attempts to convey as an entity separate from the biographical implications of his life. As for the personal aspect, the poet was known for his introverted nature during his lifetime, which became evident even to people beyond his personal circle of friends after his poetry started receiving recognition and, in turn, he started to be asked for interviews. Unsurprisingly, he politely declined most of them. However, when he did agree to one from time to time, it provided invaluable insight 5 into his life as well as work. For instance, on one occasion, he illustrates his preference of being alone by saying that “I see life more as an affair of solitude diversified by company than an affair of company diversified by solitude. [...] Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not fond of company. I’m very fond of people, but it’s difficult to get people without company”.1 He comments on the fact that the general habit of people is to seek company most of the time and enjoy moments of solitude as an exception rather than a rule, which is the opposite of what the poet wants. Moreover, it also reveals that he enjoys observing life as well as people more than he enjoys actively engaging in either, which is also a recurrent theme evident in his poetry. What is further essential to discussing Larkin’s poetry is his own attitude towards it, namely his general motivation behind writing poetry, especially in relation to his source of inspiration, and his perspective on how it should be executed. In his own words, Larkin claims to “write poems to preserve things [he has] seen / thought / felt”,2 which entails that his own experiences in life serve as a basis for his poetry. He also asserts that his “prime responsibility is to the experience itself, which [he is] trying to keep from oblivion for its own sake”,3 thus distancing himself from it for the sake of the reader. In “The Pleasure Principle”, Larkin observes that poetry is “a skilled re-creation of emotion in other people”:4 in order to keep an experience from oblivion, the poet seeks to write it in such a way that will allow it to be recreated through the reader. Therefore, Larkin always writes poetry with the reader in mind and he does not wish to create distance between his audience. In fact, the present work argues that though Larkin’s own life experience is traceable in his poems through his speakers, he does not 1 Larkin, “Interview with an Observer” 54 2 Larkin, “Statement” 79 3 Larkin, “Statement” 79 4 Larkin, “The Pleasure Principle” 80 6 impose it on the reader, but rather prevails in the background so that the focus of his poems can be placed on the experience. This way, the poems can be enjoyed independently without knowing the context of the poet’s life, thus bringing the reader closer to the experience itself. The present work focuses on three major subjects found in Larkin’s poems selected to demonstrate how these principles prevail his work: firstly, aspects of the human nature portrayed in “Church Going” and “Vers de Société”; secondly, Larkin’s attitude in relation to places in “Poetry of Departures”, “Home is so Sad”, and “The Importance of Elsewhere”; thirdly, his treatment of relationships in “Talking in Bed”, “Love”, and “This Be The Verse”. As for the choice of the poems, they certainly have yet more significant counterparts within Larkin’s oeuvre, and there are numerous pieces that would suit the thematic criteria of this thesis just as well. However, the aim here is to focus on those that have been dealt with less by his general readership as well as the literary critics. In any case, that is not to suggest that these poems are by any means obscure or unpopular, as it would be a difficult feat to find such a piece in Larkin’s work. The first section of the first chapter presents an analysis of “Church Going”, focusing around the perspective of a passive and detached speaker who invites the reader to follow his development in perspective. The present work follows the different stages of the speaker’s contemplation in order to demonstrate the devices that Larkin uses to portray his own feeling of detachment. In the second section, the present work examines how Larkin perceives and treats opportunities that threaten to compromise his solitude with invitations to socialise, especially in his older age, as presented in “Vers de Société”. In the poem, the poet seeks to resolve the tension between his innate wish to be alone and accepting invitations to social events he does not particularly enjoy in order to avoid confronting his fears. 7 The second chapter discusses the strategies Larkin uses to evoke a sense of distance through his lack of attachment to specific places. In both “Poetry of Departures”and “Home Is So Sad”, Larkin utilises a notion of the common experience to render messages more relatable for the reader. In particular, the present work analyses the Larkin’s technique of using plain language and his strategy to employ ordinary objects as a device to allow the wide majority of readers to project emotional value onto such items. At the same time, Larkin is able to preserve distance through the speaker’s dispassionate attitude that mirrors the poet’s own experience, which he uses in the poems in order to oppose socially perpetuated stereotypical perceptions. On the other hand, in “The Importance of Elsewhere”, he
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