Dockery and Son by Philip Larkin

I enjoyed reading this poem although the meanings behind it are very depressing and dull but it was interesting to hear another point of view on life from someone who has experienced it and does not conform to society's 'laws'. The poem is about a college friend of Larkin's who's son is now attending the same college, Larkin works out that his friend would only have been about 20 when he had the afore mentioned son. This shocks Larkin and, just like The Whitsun Weddings leads him on to thinking philosophically about life in general. 

         Larkin thinks that many people have children to be 'added to' as he puts it but Larkin believes that having children would decrease his power or 'dilute' him. This could not only mean decreasing his power but also decreasing the amount of time for himself as Larkin seems to believe that all your time is spent with your children once you have had them. Larkin also comments on that fact that he has not conformed to what society expects of you; 'to have no son, no wife, no house or land still seemed quite natural' this comment implies that Larkin is quite happy not having these things and that they were not for him. 

      Larkin also seems to think that the decisions you make shape your life and once you have made them you are unable to go back. 'Those warp tight-shut, like doors' the doors are metaphors for the doors and once you have made that decision, the door is shut forever leaving you unable to backwards. Therefore maybe Larkin believes that children are a mistake.

       However, once again like in 'The Whitsun Weddings' Larkin appears to be able to see the positive side to having children 'embodying for Dockery and son, for me nothing'. Here Larkin seems to be able to see that some people enjoy the experience of having children but for him it would not have the same affect. 

Here by Philip Larkin

This poem appears to me to be about the potential of things if you leave them alone. Larkin describes things that are natural in an attractive way such as ' the piled gold clouds' and the 'shining gull marked mud' however unnatural things he describes in a way which implies that he is almost disgusted by them such as; 'within a terminate and fishy smelling pastoral of ships up streets'. This implies that he is horrified by the way that man has treated the natural world and changed it for his own benefit.
     Towards the end of the poem Larkin describes things that have been left alone 'leaves unnoticed thicken' and 'neglected waters quicken' implying that when things are left untouched by man they flourish and grow and this is being stopped by industrialisation and urbanisation.

The Whitsun Weddings Poem

I enjoyed reading the poem 'The Whitsun Weddings' by Philip Larkin. i felt that the comments made about weddings themselves were very clever such as; 'happy funeral'. This seems to be the perfect way to describe a wedding as it is the death of your life as you know it and everything changes from that point onwards- your youth independence and freedom are gone and for women you must stay at home, have children and look after the house.(not so much now but in the era in which the poem was written).
      Larkin also subtly points out the fact that weddings are all a facade using phrases such as 'nylon gloves' and 'jewellery substitutes'. This implies that weddings are all a show to cover up what marriage really means, in the speaker's eyes marriage is not something great and amazing, in fact he almost seems appalled and repulsed by the very idea of marriage.
        However although Larkin/ the speaker seems to hold these views on marriage he is open minded in realising that marriage can be a great thing, 'out of sight' implies that all marriages have potential but it depends upon what you do with that potential as to how your marriage will turn out.
      The structure of the poem is also interesting as it shows the thought process of Larkin whilst writing this poem, it begins with him looking at the landscape out of the train windows, it then moves onto him noticing the weddings and describing them and finally he takes a more philosophical view on the meaning of marriage incorporated with what he believes about marriage.

First impressions of Larkin's poems

Upon first reading Phillip Larkin's poems I found them quite miserable and sombre. Many of the poems seem to be very critical of what has come to be human nature such as getting married and having a job. Larkin also seems very critical of the way humans have changed the natural landscape, for example; when he talks about factories and industrialisation.