Afternoons - Larkin

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  • Created by: Noah_S
  • Created on: 26-01-19 15:44
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  • Afternoons
    • Philip Larkin
      • 1959
    • Beginning
      • 'Summer is fading:'
        • indicates that the changing of the seasons may be a metaphor for the progression of life.
      • 'Young mothers assemble'
        • The language suggests there is little meaning in the lives of the “young mothers” – “hollow” and “assemble” suggest routine and boredom creating a sense of emptiness.
    • Middle
      • 'Our Wedding, lying'
        • It shows that the marriage between husband and wife has stagnated, like it has been forgotten like the wedding album.  Or it could be interpreted that the marriage is a lie.
      • 'at intervals'
        • It describes the husbands as anonymous and faceless and not supporting the mothers
    • End
      • 'Something is pushing them To the side of their own lives'
        • The children are taking over their mothers.  The mothers are not in control of their own lives anymore.
      • ''That are still courting-places'
        • The repetition implies that the next generation is doomed to follow the same fate as their parents
    • Context
      • Larkin never married, had children or even left the UK in his whole life.
      • He thought he was better than everyone else
      • Larkin examines the lives of others, analysing the existence of a group of young mothers he observes at the local recreation ground
      • treats the theme of the passing of youth and the setting-in of middle age
    • Structure & Form
      • The poem is set out in three unrhymed stanzas of eight lines each
      • First stanza takes cynical views of marriage and regimented lives
      • Second stanza more descriptive of individuals such as single or little-supported mothers.
      • Third stanza focuses on lost dreams, hope and needs.

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