‘A record of failure and disappointment’ is a reductive assessment of a poignant collection of poetry that explores the nature of existence and the conflicts, contrasts and contradictions of life. Larkin presents experience in a mixture of...

This essay will focus on the tenorman passage from “On the Road” and the poem “For Sidney Bechet” from “The Whitsun Weddings” to explore how Jack Kerouac and Philip Larkin both use language to allow the reader to experience the music they write...

The reader is immediately informed of the nature of the poem by the title: ‘Love Songs In Age’ promises a sense of progression, maturity and, naturally, love. The gentle, nostalgic tone Larkin develops is enhanced by the use of a third person...

‘Dockery and Son’ is a reflective, pensive and uncertain poem in which Larkin produces a sense of life drifting away and considers “how much had gone of life, / How widely from the others.” Although it cannot be assumed that the narrator is...

When one reads the title Church Going, one is inclined to think the poem that follows is going to be deeply religious. However, Philip Larkin's "Church Going" introduces an interesting play of words; when one goes on to read the poem, it becomes...

Larkin’s poetry reflects a certain dark humor, with an often-witty conveyance of a powerful message. There is certainly control and elegance in Larkin’s work; the subject matter is apposite and therefore has an impact on his reader rather than an...

Philip Larkin’s wrote his collection of poems The Less Deceived in 1955, and it became a work which garnered him public recognition. His poems often include a deep sense of his feelings of inadequacy and contain his view that he did not belong...

Philip Larkin’s ‘Church Going’ and George Herbert’s ‘Prayer’ present similarities in that they both explore the ambiguities of religion. The difference lies in their approach: Herbert contemplates the significance of religion, whereas Larkin,...

In ‘Mother, Summer, I’, through a mother and son’s shared distaste for summer weather, Larkin focuses on the dangers of ‘perfection’ which works to hide underlying issues and faults of any given situation. Larkin, through the extended metaphor of...

Larkin's idealised image of nostalgia of 1914 is reiterated through the use of the roman numerals, 'MCMXIV' to represent the Roman Empire. The title gives the overriding impression that although Larkin was not born until 1922 – subsequent to the...

In the poem, ‘The Trees’, Larkin uses a cyclical ABBA rhyme scheme within each stanza to contrast the life cycle of trees with the life cycle of humans. In doing so, he is able to explore the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. His...

The reader is immediately informed of the nature of the poem by the title: ‘Love Songs In Age’ promises a sense of progression, maturity and, naturally, love. The gentle, nostalgic tone Larkin develops is enhanced by the use of a third person...

“Many of Duffy’s poems echo themes of Larkin’s… loneliness haunts her verse.” This belief clearly expressed by Jody Allen Randolph demonstrates that both poets address negative and lonely themes within their respective poems. The concept of...

Larkin and Duffy are well renowned for their respective styles and have frequently been compared due to the overlap of themes to which they explore and the huge contrast in the ways in which they do so. This can be seen through their exploration...