A 'long defence against the non-existent' : Englishness in the poetry of Phillip Larkin

Larkin's place in the genealogy of English poetry is significant since, unlike many of his predecessors, his work lacks the hope or possibility of redemption offered by faith. Larkin countered the void created by his agnosticism by appealing to the power both of ritual and of the English landscape, and yet ultimately these attempts - although not wholly unsuccessful poetically - appear fruitless philosophically. Larkin's awareness of English society is not explicit, and yet his preoccupation with death and nothingness is inexorably linked to the political despair and religious questioning of post-war England. Through the use of the many' Englishes' of his time Larkin manages to construct a passable means by which to fill the lacuna left by godlessness. A thorough review of the critical opinion of Larkin is undertaken here, in order to sketch out the landscape of English letters and Larkin's place within, or in relation to, English poetry. His interrogation of the dominant societal structures is rigorous, and while his habit of constantly contradicting himself and his insistent ambiguity may seem to undermine his efforts, on closer inspection this lack of clarity complements his aims precisely. This dissertation will demonstrate how Larkin's use of cliche epitomises this struggle, and that in his poetry the often-assumed emptiness of such language is turned on its head. Larkin, it will be argued, deploys common English expressions as a modem substitute for the social links provided to earlier poets by means of reference to classical mythology.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of English Language and Literature

Year dc:date.issued

2008

Author dc:creator

• Malec, Jennifer

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Anderson, Peter

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11599

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/11599