Collected Poems

Rating:
Summary: All the Really Good Stuff, and lots besides
Review: Larkin's pre-1945 poetry is interesting as juvenilia, but not as poetry. In fact, what I found most remarkable about this edition is how slowly he became a powerful and moving poet. His first collection of poetry, The Less Deceived, had some terrific poems but also a lot of fairly pedestrian stuff. The next two collections were more consistent in their quality -- and had some excellent poems -- but even in those, Larkin's range is rather limited: it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that all of his mature poetry has the same emotional atmosphere.

This does not decrease the value of any of it as poetry, but it does mean that you will be disappointed (and, perhaps, bored) if you try to read through the book rather than opening to a random page and reading what's on it.

But Larkin wrote several absolutely superb poems, like "The Whitsun Weddings", "Aubade", "Dockery and Son", "Reasons for Attendance", "The Mower" etc. And any serious reader of poetry should probably read them all.

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest poets of the (past) century
Review: Philip Larkin no longer needs any introduction: he is widely recognised as one of the greatest English poets of the twentieth century.
His poetry may however not be to everyone's taste: there is no place for lace and flowers in Larkin. His work is more often than not dark and reflects the feelings of a man who probably felt everything was wasting away about him: not only his own life, but the world as a whole. Through his poems we discover a man who seems to have skipped childhood and adolescence and who finds himself at fifty having had life pass him by. Larkin's poetry expresses his sourness, his fears, his repressed anger, his spite, his general disgust with society and the modern world. And it does this in the most expressive of ways, never shying away from the words that seem necessary, however crude they might be. There is much beauty in his despair.
If you are sensitive to poetry, then you cannot avoid reading Larkin. Be warned however that you should not read Larkin to brighten up your life: the "happy poems" are few and far between. But read him nonetheless and decide afterwards whether his work is to your liking. He may just hit the spot on one of those lonely evenings when you feel yourself that everything just isn't as it should be. And after that, you will never be able to separate yourself from a copy of Philip Larkin's Collected Poems...

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Summary: Larkin will make you love poetry
Review: Philip Larkin once remarked that he felt the poet should take the reader by the hand and lead them right into the poem. Maybe that is just another way of saying that his poems are accessible and will touch you even when reading them for the first time.

Yes, Larkin does embody the somewhat grumpy spirit of post-war Britain, but like all good poetry they are about the something that seems to be missing in our lives. There are some feelings no writer has ever put more precisely. Formally rather conservative (rhyme, no daring metaphors), the vocabulary is utterly down to earth. "Talking in bed should be easiest," Larkin begins, only to find out that with the lengthening of the silence "It becomes stil more difficult to find / Words at once true and kind, / Or not untrue and not unkind."

The feelings expressed may not always be nice, nor is this much of a self-help book, so it is utterly opposed to the spirit of our times, but this "old-type natural fouled up-guy" will make you love poetry if you are not yet sure about whether your do ("to prove our almost-instinct almost true: / What will survive of us is love.") Get this European poet looking at himself as if he were a complete stranger as a contrast to you confessional poets!

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Summary: Lovely, melancholy Larkin
Review: Philip Larkin's poems are never bright and cheerful--but that's okay. Whether sad, poignant, or wickidly funny, his poems speak directly to you--you feel like he is someone with whom you have a lot in common. He is also, of course, a true poetic genius, a virtuoso with sound--for proof of that, look no further than the trochaic rhythms of "The Explosion", one of his few non-personal poems. There are gems all through this book. Read them a few at a time, to savor them.

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Summary: Chronologically compiled collection of Larkin's verse.
Review: Philip Larkin's weltschmertz and English dreariness were too much for most Brits to swallow, so it's understandable that his modest literary fame never extended outside of the UK. The poems here are arranged in chronological order, which allow the reader to see when the solitary Hull librarian began to make a linguistic departure in his poems.

Critics and casual readers alike have often remarked at Larkin's blatant use of obscenities, particularly in 'This Be the Verse', which begins 'They f#@k you up, your mum and dad, they don't mean to, but they do'. Larkin viewed his use of vulgarity as tying in with the language of the time, to the talk and behaviour that were especially rapid, exciting and unavoidable during the counter-culture zeitgeist of the late '60's and early '70's. The sudden 'f@#k' and 'crap' with which Larkin begins some poems from this epoch often contrast with the elevated diction and stately rhythms of the poems' final stanzas. For example, 'This Be the Verse' ends with 'Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf, get out as early as you can, and don't have any kids yourself'. This gap in diction between the beginning and the end of 'This Be the Verse', as well as most of the poems on 'High Windows' is a generation gap. Larkin was a man who felt estranged when he saw two sixteen-year-olds necking in public, and one of the ways he reacts in that poem is to move into, and then out from under, their language.

Larkin does this again in the poem, and my personal favourite, 'High Windows', which begins 'When I see a couple of kids, and guess he's f@#king her and she's wearing a diaphragm, I know this is paradise'. The word 'f@#cking' in 'High Windows' sounds aggressive, like a smear on the girl and perhaps also on the boy in the poem. But this pejorative effect is reversed when, further into the poem, the word gets reclassified as high praise :'I know this is paradise'. What sounds early on like simple resentment or jealousy modulates into jealous admiration. And, like 'This Be the Verse', the poem's denouement is a complete deviation in diction from the opening stanza's 'Rather than words comes the thought of high windows: The sun-comprehending glass, and beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows nothing, and is nowhere, and is endless'. Just like 'This Be the Verse', its ending is more traditionally 'poetic'. The subcultural indicators, then, can only be part of the force.

Also recommended is Andrew Motion's biography of the petulant poet.

Rating:
Summary: Audenesque and more
Review: Philip Larkin, 1922-1985, worked as a librarian. He was the best loved poet of his generation. The earliest poems to strike his characteristic note were written in 1946. Larkin's reputation as a poet began late in 1955 with the publication of THE LESS DECEIVED.

Larkin said he was a meagre poet. He had responsibility for a university library after 1955. Perhaps this task drained away his energy. His fame frightened him.

Larkin's poetry was strongly Audenesque for about three years. Following Larkin's period at Oxford, influence modulated to Yeats and Vernon Watkins according to Anthony Thwaite. The editor sought to show the growth of a major poet in the collection.

The arrangement of the poems is chronological. There is a special section for the early poems, 1938-1945. The early work is very accomplished, particularly that from 1940 and throughout the decade. One shining line, just to give an example, is "A prayer killed into stone."

Some of the poems have not been published previously. Some are unfinished. All are mature products of the poet. Larkin worked over his drafts. The selection of the poems is careful and sure. The poem "The Dance" is similar to a short story.

The poet is funny, ironic, and sad. His reportedly obnoxious qualities show through in the work, in the sense that his curiousity shows, his mindfulness. The poet is self-aware.

Larkin presents to us his good ear, he presents to us his philosophy. He says, for instance, that to be ambitious is to fall in love with a particular life you haven't got. "High above the gutter a silver knife sinks into golden butter." He fears that England will be bricked over, that it will not last.

He is a master of rhyme, half rhyme, interior rhyme, and most importantly of selecting the appropriate word. Larkin's poetry deserves the permanent place on the poetry shelf it has attained.

The introduction by the editor and the publishing information in the back of the book is useful to the reader. The care taken in compiling the collection is admirable. The American reader will enjoy sinking into the post-World War II English world portrayed so colorfully by Philip Larkin.

Rating:
Summary: Audenesque and more
Review: Philip Larkin, 1922-1985, worked as a librarian. He was the best loved poet of his generation. The earliest poems to strike his characteristic note were written in 1946. Larkin's reputation as a poet began late in 1955 with the publication of THE LESS DECEIVED.

Larkin said he was a meagre poet. He had responsibility for a university library after 1955. Perhaps this task drained away his energy. His fame frightened him.

Larkin's poetry was strongly Audenesque for about three years. Following Larkin's period at Oxford, influence modulated to Yeats and Vernon Watkins according to Anthony Thwaite. The editor sought to show the growth of a major poet in the collection.

The arrangement of the poems is chronological. There is a special section for the early poems, 1938-1945. The early work is very accomplished, particularly that from 1940 and throughout the decade. One shining line, just to give an example, is "A prayer killed into stone."

Some of the poems have not been published previously. Some are unfinished. All are mature products of the poet. Larkin worked over his drafts. The selection of the poems is careful and sure. The poem "The Dance" is similar to a short story.

The poet is funny, ironic, and sad. His reportedly obnoxious qualities show through in the work, in the sense that his curiousity shows, his mindfulness. The poet is self-aware.

Larkin presents to us his good ear, he presents to us his philosophy. He says, for instance, that to be ambitious is to fall in love with a particular life you haven't got. "High above the gutter a silver knife sinks into golden butter." He fears that England will be bricked over, that it will not last.

He is a master of rhyme, half rhyme, interior rhyme, and most importantly of selecting the appropriate word. Larkin's poetry deserves the permanent place on the poetry shelf it has attained.

The introduction by the editor and the publishing information in the back of the book is useful to the reader. The care taken in compiling the collection is admirable. The American reader will enjoy sinking into the post-World War II English world portrayed so colorfully by Philip Larkin.

Rating:
Summary: Great reading
Review: Philip Larkin: Collected Poems contains poems written between the years of 1938 to 1983. It is divided into two sections, one entitled Poems 1946-83, and the other is Early Poems 1938-45. The book was put together with a forward written by Anthony Thwaite and has over 240 Larkin poems. After first reading many of the poems in this book I can honestly say that I did not care for Larkin's writing. The problem came where I could not stop thinking about certain parts of his poems and it drew me to pick up the book again. This is the point where I realized that I did not necessarily have to like a writer, but if he was a good write, he could make me think anyway. Larkin has a simple style to him that over time did attract me. He is almost like the average man's writer, or blue-collar writer. Throughout the book there is not an abundance of complex language, but more or less simple thoughts that are conveyed easily to the reader. Although I disagree with Larkin's views on a few subjects such as religion, he still made me ponder a few things. Another great aspect of Larkin's writing that drew me to him was how a simple incident brought on great thought. Poems such as Solar, Wires, and The Mower all reflect on life situations brought upon by little incidents. These poems deal with life matters such as taking things for granted, obstacles, and generosity yet they are relayed in such an inviting manner that the reader can't help but listen. Another great Larkin attribute is his honesty. In poems that may be disagreeable such as Church Going, Larkin still speaks in such a way that draws the reader to share his opinion for a moment and although they may not agree with it, from that point his opinion is respected. Modesties is another poem that again draws are Larkin's simplistic ideas. Larkin does also have a deeper side which is reflected in poems such as Aubade which shows Larkin's concern with the inescapable death. All in all I don't think Larkin is for everybody. As I said before he is honest, which is not always a good thing. His honesty may come across as being wry, rude, harsh, and distasteful, yet all in all in is honesty. If you are one who can appreciate this trait despite conflicts of opinion I definitely recommend picking up the book. Larkin's ability to draw such deep thoughts from simple subject matter is really an affinitive trait. In my opinion Larkin takes a different angle that most writers and I certainly appreciated it. For those of you out there who focus on simple subject matter and draw influence from nature and people Larkin is definitely a poet for you. As I said before, differences of opinions may be found, but Larkin's style will invite you to think as he does, at least for a minute.

Rating:
Summary: Philip Larkin: Collected Poems
Review: Philip Larkin: Collected Poems contains poems written between the years of 1938 to 1983. It is divided into two sections, one entitled Poems 1946-83, and the other is Early Poems 1938-45. The book was put together with a forward written by Anthony Thwaite and has over 240 Larkin poems. After first reading many of the poems in this book I can honestly say that I did not care for Larkin's writing. The problem came where I could not stop thinking about certain parts of his poems and it drew me to pick up the book again. This is the point where I realized that I did not necessarily have to like a writer, but if he was a good write, he could make me think anyway. Larkin has a simple style to him that over time did attract me. He is almost like the average man's writer, or blue-collar writer. Throughout the book there is not an abundance of complex language, but more or less simple thoughts that are conveyed easily to the reader. Although I disagree with Larkin's views on a few subjects such as religion, he still made me ponder a few things. Another great aspect of Larkin's writing that drew me to him was how a simple incident brought on great thought. Poems such as Solar, Wires, and The Mower all reflect on life situations brought upon by little incidents. These poems deal with life matters such as taking things for granted, obstacles, and generosity yet they are relayed in such an inviting manner that the reader can't help but listen. Another great Larkin attribute is his honesty. In poems that may be disagreeable such as Church Going, Larkin still speaks in such a way that draws the reader to share his opinion for a moment and although they may not agree with it, from that point his opinion is respected. Modesties is another poem that again draws are Larkin's simplistic ideas. Larkin does also have a deeper side which is reflected in poems such as Aubade which shows Larkin's concern with the inescapable death. All in all I don't think Larkin is for everybody. As I said before he is honest, which is not always a good thing. His honesty may come across as being wry, rude, harsh, and distasteful, yet all in all in is honesty. If you are one who can appreciate this trait despite conflicts of opinion I definitely recommend picking up the book. Larkin's ability to draw such deep thoughts from simple subject matter is really an affinitive trait. In my opinion Larkin takes a different angle that most writers and I certainly appreciated it. For those of you out there who focus on simple subject matter and draw influence from nature and people Larkin is definitely a poet for you. As I said before, differences of opinions may be found, but Larkin's style will invite you to think as he does, at least for a minute.

Rating:
Summary: A librarian's lofty disdain.
Review: The view from Larkins' ivory tower was such that he felt able to look down on and sneer at much of "ordinary" humanity, a somewhat typically British, middle-class disposition. This stance is redeemed, however, by his keen understanding of the deep undercurrents that animate and sustain society, such as the quest for meaning and significance in an otherwise bleak and uncaring world.