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A Practical Criticism on 'Here' by Phillip Larkin Essay

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A Practical Criticism on 'Here' by Phillip Larkin

‘Here’ was published in 1964 as part of a collection of poems collectively titled ‘The Whitsun Weddings’. It explores the feelings and judgements towards a location and the falsity of the modern industrial culture as it consumes traditional life. The poem describes the mixed judgements of the narrator as he passes through the town on a train journey, as well as concomitantly examining the features of a emblematic reversed journey from ‘industrial’ restraints to ‘unfenced existence’

The first stanza opens with the word ‘swerving’ which is repeated twice more in the same verse, suggesting that the train is trying to avoid something, such as the …show more content…

This reference to water is continued later in the poem with the description of the ‘beach of shapes and shingle’ in the final stanza. This is the dream of the narrator as the sea is wild and untamed and allows liberated expression of self through ‘unfenced existence’, in a stark contrast to the boundaries of a society dominated by industry and rules.

The train travels past the pleasant ‘skies and scarecrows, haystacks, hares and pheasants’ and meets the boundary of the large town with ‘surprise’; this implies that the town is surrounded by countryside. The transition from the unshackled nature to the strict urban area is a shock, and there are many interesting and new experiences to be seen in the town. The narrator describes the striking features of the town ‘domes and statues, spires and cranes’. Domes and spires relate to religion which has a varying influence on life and has extensive traditional connotations. Statues display the history of the town and are show appreciation of past events. These 3 features show the towns’ culture and give it identity. However they are devalued by the fact that they are listed; this distracts from their individual significance. Also the features ‘cluster’ together reducing the impression they have on the public. They are further diminished by the association with the ‘crane’ which,

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