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ilybinaya's review against another edition
5.0
to love larkin is easy, so as to criticise him just for the sake of it. to none of my surprise after finding numerous collections of collected/ completed poems disappointing, larkin is such a breath of fresh air that cleanse my soul's tired ramble in pursuing the good stuff with little or no return, as he cleverly remarked in his poem midwinter waking: "those who give all for love, or art, or duty, Mustn't complaine when the return is small; Stop, now; be honest: doesn't the chief beauty Really consist in getting rid of all?" behind his careful deterministic quietism and resignation to battle against reality, it is also remarkable how he teases life itself, and mostly that of people; like in this humourously titled peom "to +++++ +++++++ and Others", he basicallt wrote: "why don't you have a go, if you're so bloody clever? just to show us, you know."
it is with a great deal of self-defeat but this innate contempt for modernism that he wrote in such way, but not so much of actual learned helplessness, as supposed to be so depressed. this recognition of the reality is crucial to him, that brings him to write in such ways. i think it mainly differs from the american bunch of poets with the same themes that the Englishness of larkin, the inherent state of being sick of life, sick of the government, the king or queen, people, even love, etc etc. it differs from the american notion which is so imbedded in their consciousness, as well as for which the Beat Generation was without, they over-emphasised on the importance of sex, which firstly objectify women and secondly, degrade their works due to the lack of transcendence. larkin was the perfect mediator of the down-to-earth style in his poems, and that while i was reading the full of his poetry collection i as listening to how they were read. the experience was so much better than going out to a pub and simply seduce yourself with beauty or a round of beers. i was astonished at the number of people on this platform who actually read larkin or those who wants to read him. it was pure pity to not have read his works, as they were quite influential in the great great britannia. nevertheless, the themes might be slightly redundant as he overly focused on the bad aspects of the society, but like the even more depressing band Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke commenting on the "depressed" bits in his songs, he only replied that if no one was going to care about what's bad then the world would just be not good. this simple idea is what makes philip larkin so relatable and very much one of the best poets of the modern age.
to praise larkin's greatness, it is also about his form which actually varies throughout the book. they adapt themselves styles of free verse, or the traditional, classical, 18th, 19th century romantic poems, as well as which that reeks of the modernist of the same period. his lyricalism seems unfit to the context, but it is the essence of which he writes in a irrational romantic observant way that critiques the society somehow more powerful that social theories. it is ample evidences of why we need to improve as human, and the poems themselves are a place to find refuge in, to simply embody escapism in an existentialist way which sartre himself might promote. he was so obssessed with the summer imagery, which actually contrast his winter-ish poems of desperation and passiveness. it is not contradictory, but rather a mix of optimism in despair. focusing on the inevitability of death, the poems shines light on how life is simply so small in the face of eventual death, and which we spend most of our times neglecting, and it was until the approaching of it that we started to worry. this reminds me of a passage i read yesterday around death, and the sole recognition of it, is like to recognise the power relations in sociological order, that it is supposed to teach us about the structural constraints, and rebel against them if we wish to. in the face of death, larkin views it in a neutral tone, even though all of his poems reek of the same life's meaninglessness, but in that sense it is a revolt upward to finding meaning, rather than the neglect of the sum of events that are determined in life. this is the significance of such a saddening philosophy in his poems, but i deem it best to declare the truth, as it often takes courage to combat grief in the face.
with a modernist imagery on nature, people, societies, life and institutions, larkin provides a safe haven for those who find themselves the failure of the existing order of society. it is as if like the hopelessness depicted in the film Detachment (2010), which suggests a determinism of societal order that no one is powerful enough to refute. larkin is full of such sentiment, but he elevates the essence of life, and humourise the absurdities, giving us an example of laughing in the face of defeat. the ultimatum of life.
it is with a great deal of self-defeat but this innate contempt for modernism that he wrote in such way, but not so much of actual learned helplessness, as supposed to be so depressed. this recognition of the reality is crucial to him, that brings him to write in such ways. i think it mainly differs from the american bunch of poets with the same themes that the Englishness of larkin, the inherent state of being sick of life, sick of the government, the king or queen, people, even love, etc etc. it differs from the american notion which is so imbedded in their consciousness, as well as for which the Beat Generation was without, they over-emphasised on the importance of sex, which firstly objectify women and secondly, degrade their works due to the lack of transcendence. larkin was the perfect mediator of the down-to-earth style in his poems, and that while i was reading the full of his poetry collection i as listening to how they were read. the experience was so much better than going out to a pub and simply seduce yourself with beauty or a round of beers. i was astonished at the number of people on this platform who actually read larkin or those who wants to read him. it was pure pity to not have read his works, as they were quite influential in the great great britannia. nevertheless, the themes might be slightly redundant as he overly focused on the bad aspects of the society, but like the even more depressing band Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke commenting on the "depressed" bits in his songs, he only replied that if no one was going to care about what's bad then the world would just be not good. this simple idea is what makes philip larkin so relatable and very much one of the best poets of the modern age.
to praise larkin's greatness, it is also about his form which actually varies throughout the book. they adapt themselves styles of free verse, or the traditional, classical, 18th, 19th century romantic poems, as well as which that reeks of the modernist of the same period. his lyricalism seems unfit to the context, but it is the essence of which he writes in a irrational romantic observant way that critiques the society somehow more powerful that social theories. it is ample evidences of why we need to improve as human, and the poems themselves are a place to find refuge in, to simply embody escapism in an existentialist way which sartre himself might promote. he was so obssessed with the summer imagery, which actually contrast his winter-ish poems of desperation and passiveness. it is not contradictory, but rather a mix of optimism in despair. focusing on the inevitability of death, the poems shines light on how life is simply so small in the face of eventual death, and which we spend most of our times neglecting, and it was until the approaching of it that we started to worry. this reminds me of a passage i read yesterday around death, and the sole recognition of it, is like to recognise the power relations in sociological order, that it is supposed to teach us about the structural constraints, and rebel against them if we wish to. in the face of death, larkin views it in a neutral tone, even though all of his poems reek of the same life's meaninglessness, but in that sense it is a revolt upward to finding meaning, rather than the neglect of the sum of events that are determined in life. this is the significance of such a saddening philosophy in his poems, but i deem it best to declare the truth, as it often takes courage to combat grief in the face.
with a modernist imagery on nature, people, societies, life and institutions, larkin provides a safe haven for those who find themselves the failure of the existing order of society. it is as if like the hopelessness depicted in the film Detachment (2010), which suggests a determinism of societal order that no one is powerful enough to refute. larkin is full of such sentiment, but he elevates the essence of life, and humourise the absurdities, giving us an example of laughing in the face of defeat. the ultimatum of life.
dbjorlin's review against another edition
5.0
Even though Larkin is a bit to cynical/pessimistic to read as part of my regular poetic diet (I have enough of that on my own), Burnett's scholarly work in this book is incredible. And "Church Going" is always worth five stars.
maeclegg's review against another edition
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
joannakatz4's review against another edition
This is quite an exhaustive collection. I did enjoy it but by the time the book was due back at the library, I was ready to return it.
lawrenceevalyn's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed Larkin's work! Especially the unpublished poems -- often hilarious! The archival material was illuminating too. A great resource.
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