Is Philip Larkin a Precise Observer of Daily Life?

Although I agree that Philip Larkin was on ‘observer of daily life and class distinctions’, I am not sure about how precise his observations actually were. Philip Larkin was highly aware of the world surrounding him. He seemed to be an introvert, and looked at the world like an outsider looking in. I think that helped him judge the situations more correctly as he was not directly involved himself. However, his was also plagued with pessimism, to him it seems, the glass was always half empty. This means that Larkin took away all the joy in his observations and replaced it with negativity, this leaves us unsure as to how precise his observations actually were.

In the first verse, Larkin begins his train journey. He seems to be annoyed at the start of the poem and the images he conveys of the state of the train lead us to believe that Larkin was not happy, “All windows down, all cushions hot, all sense of being in a hurry gone”. His observations of the train are not particularly detailed, it is the outside world that interests him, the annoyance of Larkin at the beginning

of the poem could have impaired his judgement throughout the rest of the journey meaning that perhaps his observations were not entirely ‘precise’. Larkin also states in this verse, “Did my three-quarters-empty train pull away”. Larkin could have said quarter full train, which is also easier to say, this reinforces the fact that he is extremely pessimistic by nature and also the fact that he seems to be having a bad day.

The final two lines of this poem add a sense of mystery to Larkin, “a sense of failing, like an arrow-shower, sent out of sight, somewhere becoming rain”. As if, perhaps, he has come round to the idea of marriage and there is optimism buried deep inside this complicated man. There has been much debate over these final two lines and people are unsure of what they mean but I believe that it is a glimpse of the not so sour Larkin. Maybe he is trying to view the prospect of marriage from a different angle. If so, they perhaps Larkin was more of a precise observer as he was not always looking at life so full of negativity.

Larkin’s seems to think that once you get married you are almost dead in a way, he talks about the “fresh couples”, as if it is sad that they will marry and have that freshness ripped away from them. It is true that Larkin is an observer of daily life but as he writes about things the way he imagines them to be, with “the children frowning at something dull”, his observations are not entirely precise.

Larkin does not understand the concept of marriage and children. He looks upon the wedding he observes as a horrendous event, with the “mothers loud and fat” and “an uncle shouting smut”. To Larkin a marriage is like a “happy funeral”, he considers them to be like a ceremony

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