‘Myxomatosis’
Larkin wrote this poem in response to the myxomatosis disease which was introduced to reduce the
growing rabbit population in the 1950s. The poem begins from the perspective of the rabbit, who is
left in a state of paralysis as a result of the disease, and moves on to the speaker’s perspective as he
kills the rabbit with a stick to put it out of its misery. There is a sense of empathy for the rabbit, who
is left helpless and suffering, metaphorically symbolizing the inevitability of death perhaps.
Different themes:
Natural world and animals
Death
Violence
Key poems to link to and why:
Wires- animals
At grass- animals and death
Age- approaching death
Contextual links:
Myxomatosis is the name of a disease fatal to European rabbits caused by the myxoma virus.
The disease was introduced into Britain in 1953 to control the wild rabbit population.
Incredibly fatal and effective, it was reported that up to 99% of the rabbit population was
wiped out.
Some believe that the poem was prompted by what Larkin called a ‘foul article’ written by
Ronald Duncan and published in Punch magazine that year. In the article, Duncan cheered
the arrival of the disease in his village. Larkin on the other hand often wrote touchingly
about the plight of small animals.
Larkin left 1/3 of his estate to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Larkin sent this poem to Monica Jones with the note: ‘I strove… to give the essential pathos
of the situation without getting involved in the argument.’
Key aspects of form and structure:
Single stanza of 8 lines, broken mid-way with an indentation as the focus of the narrative
switches from the rabbit’s perspective to the speaker’s response.
The interesting balance of perspectives between the solemn poet and the unknowing rabbit
leads the poem to have a dualistic nature.
While the poem does not have a consistent rhyme scheme, some instances of end rhyme
occur, creating this balance between the two perspectives that is explored in the poem.
Larkin wrote this poem in response to the myxomatosis disease which was introduced to reduce the
growing rabbit population in the 1950s. The poem begins from the perspective of the rabbit, who is
left in a state of paralysis as a result of the disease, and moves on to the speaker’s perspective as he
kills the rabbit with a stick to put it out of its misery. There is a sense of empathy for the rabbit, who
is left helpless and suffering, metaphorically symbolizing the inevitability of death perhaps.
Different themes:
Natural world and animals
Death
Violence
Key poems to link to and why:
Wires- animals
At grass- animals and death
Age- approaching death
Contextual links:
Myxomatosis is the name of a disease fatal to European rabbits caused by the myxoma virus.
The disease was introduced into Britain in 1953 to control the wild rabbit population.
Incredibly fatal and effective, it was reported that up to 99% of the rabbit population was
wiped out.
Some believe that the poem was prompted by what Larkin called a ‘foul article’ written by
Ronald Duncan and published in Punch magazine that year. In the article, Duncan cheered
the arrival of the disease in his village. Larkin on the other hand often wrote touchingly
about the plight of small animals.
Larkin left 1/3 of his estate to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Larkin sent this poem to Monica Jones with the note: ‘I strove… to give the essential pathos
of the situation without getting involved in the argument.’
Key aspects of form and structure:
Single stanza of 8 lines, broken mid-way with an indentation as the focus of the narrative
switches from the rabbit’s perspective to the speaker’s response.
The interesting balance of perspectives between the solemn poet and the unknowing rabbit
leads the poem to have a dualistic nature.
While the poem does not have a consistent rhyme scheme, some instances of end rhyme
occur, creating this balance between the two perspectives that is explored in the poem.
