Afternoons by Phillip Larkin
Themes: The passion of time, marriage and families, social class
As the title suggests, the poem highlights the inevitability of change and the
erosion of memories, as afternoons signal the day drawing to a close, not
yet old, but no longer young – in a state of decline.
“Summer is fading” connects the idea of seasons with the passage of time
using pathetic fallacy. The poem immediately starts with this idea of loss
and degeneration which can indicate a certain happiness coming to an end,
for example for the women who have entered motherhood, but quite
literally it represents the transition of summer to winter.
“Young mothers assemble” inevitably Larkin suggests marriage leads to
motherhood and loss of identity, as the “young mothers” live a mundane,
regimented life. The fact that they “assemble” presents as a routine, but
alternatively the only time where the mothers have the freedom to gossip
with one another rather than tend to their children’s needs. The alliteration
of “swing and sandpit” emphasises the dull depiction of their lives.
“An estateful of washing” constitutes life for the mother’s — unpleasant and
not enriching. The household chores are their only work, aside from looking
after the children. The slow pace of the poem too adds to the dullness they
experience.
A wedding album: a symbol for love is “lying on the television” suggesting
the distance between the couple as they enter adulthood. However, it may
create the impression that the contents had recently been viewed —
perhaps to relive the memories as the mothers reminisce over a more joyful
times, where children were not their number one priority.
The children “expect to be taken home” which indicates that women live
lives dictated by societies expectations. As this poem was written in 1959,
traditionally women would cease work and look after their children, full time.
Larkin appears somewhat sympathetic in the last two lines, commenting
that “something is pushing them to the side of their own lives” — the
Themes: The passion of time, marriage and families, social class
As the title suggests, the poem highlights the inevitability of change and the
erosion of memories, as afternoons signal the day drawing to a close, not
yet old, but no longer young – in a state of decline.
“Summer is fading” connects the idea of seasons with the passage of time
using pathetic fallacy. The poem immediately starts with this idea of loss
and degeneration which can indicate a certain happiness coming to an end,
for example for the women who have entered motherhood, but quite
literally it represents the transition of summer to winter.
“Young mothers assemble” inevitably Larkin suggests marriage leads to
motherhood and loss of identity, as the “young mothers” live a mundane,
regimented life. The fact that they “assemble” presents as a routine, but
alternatively the only time where the mothers have the freedom to gossip
with one another rather than tend to their children’s needs. The alliteration
of “swing and sandpit” emphasises the dull depiction of their lives.
“An estateful of washing” constitutes life for the mother’s — unpleasant and
not enriching. The household chores are their only work, aside from looking
after the children. The slow pace of the poem too adds to the dullness they
experience.
A wedding album: a symbol for love is “lying on the television” suggesting
the distance between the couple as they enter adulthood. However, it may
create the impression that the contents had recently been viewed —
perhaps to relive the memories as the mothers reminisce over a more joyful
times, where children were not their number one priority.
The children “expect to be taken home” which indicates that women live
lives dictated by societies expectations. As this poem was written in 1959,
traditionally women would cease work and look after their children, full time.
Larkin appears somewhat sympathetic in the last two lines, commenting
that “something is pushing them to the side of their own lives” — the
