This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Philip Larkins Witsun Weddings collection

Hey, Anyone doing this for unit 5 edexcel on 11th june?
Anyway if anyone is can you write what you think of poems etc.. and the themes they would go under as im really stuck.. We can make a whole forum about his poems from the witsun weddings collection
Thanks alot

Reply 1

rainbowspiderweb

No but im doin AQA unit 4 on the 11th of june which is a comparative unit between Phillip Larkin (Whitsun weddings) and Sylvia Plath (Ariel)
In class we discussed what themes would come up:

Contemporary life
>Post-war Urban renewal, suburban housing
>Industrial ugliness vs. rural beauty
>Working class aspirations and materialism
>The routine and tedium of ordaniary life

Such poems include: Here, Nothing to be said, Naturally the foundation will bear your expenses, For sidney bechet, toads revisited, The whitsun weddings, Selfs the man, Take one home for the kiddies, The large cool store, The importance of elsewhere, Sunny prestatyn, Essential beauty and Afternoons

The Indivdual in soceity
>People are reduced to types by the need to conform and the pressures imposed
>Indivduals are trapped
>Issues of identity, rootlessness and belonging are explored

Such poems include: Mr Bleany, Love songs in age, Whitsun weddings, Selfs the man, As bad as a mile, A study of reading habbits, The Importance of elsewhere, First sight, Dockery and son and Reference back

Relationships - Love and Marriage
>Difficulties and disapointments of personal relationships
>Love is an illusion and reality rarley matches up to it
>The frailty of human happiness

Such poems include: Love songs in age, Broadcast, Whitsun weddings, Selfs the man, Talking in bed, Reference back, Wild Oats and An arundel tomb

The meaning of life
>The knowledge that death is only certainty in life
>How can we find the meaning of life?
>Issues of faith and belief

Such poems include: Mr Bleaney, Nothing to be said, Faith Healing, Water, Days, Ambulances, Ignorance, Send no money and An Adrudel Tomb

Time
>Impact of time on peoples lives
>Youth vs. Age
>The paradoxical nature of time in that it both erodes and preserves

Such poems include: Love songs in age, Days, MCMXIV, A study of reading habits, Ignorance, Send no money, Afternoons and An arundel tomb

Hope this helps :smile:

Ps. I apologise for my spelling even though im an english student its appaling lol

Reply 2

westhamrock

OP

Thanks alot. Do you know properly how to structure such an essay? cos im hopeless with all that.

Reply 3

rainbowspiderweb

Erm I dunno introduction point, quote, explain paragraphs and conclusion is always what ive been taught.

Reply 4

LauraJayne

westhamrock

Hey, Anyone doing this for unit 5 edexcel on 11th june?
Anyway if anyone is can you write what you think of poems etc.. and the themes they would go under as im really stuck.. We can make a whole forum about his poems from the witsun weddings collection
Thanks alot

I'm doing this exam, unfortunately!
I'll see if I can help you out a little bit :biggrin:

Then again, I'm a bit rubbish! Lol!

Also, I could probably post a few essays up, if I can find the ones that I did well on? Let me know if you want them, lol.

Anyway, I'll just go through the poems, shall I?

Here

This poem is essentially about the city of Hull, and it's environment. Through the detail that he includes, we learn that Hull is pretty industrialised, ''urban, yet simple.''

The journey is a literal journey through contemporary England, and at the same time, an ''imaginative flight away from moern urbanisation towards a vision of solitary freedom.''

The style of the poem focuses on ensuring that the first three stanzas appear to be quite 'restless', whereas the fourth is much more peaceful and organised. Notably, the first 24 lines is only one sentence, and we are brought to an abrupt stop on line 25, with another sentence. The initial 24 line long sentence effectively swerves throughout the 3 stanzas.

Themes-wise, Larkin establishes two significant desires of everything we do, 'desire of oblivion' and 'the wish to be alone.' This is evident in Here, especially within the final stanza where there is celebration of stillness and solitude. The poem also comments deeply on materialistic nature of Contempory England, and it's inhabitants.

Mr Bleaney

In 5 stanzas, the outlines of Mr Bleaneys life are established. However, the final two stanzas are more generalised, focusing on the emptiness of Mr Bleaneys life, and the similarity between the persona of the poem, and Mr Bleaney himself.

The drabness of the surroundings is simple an extension of the drabness of Mr Bleaneys life. The final stanza suggests that Mr Bleaney deserved his surroundings because he was incapable of achieving better. The tone of the final 2 stanzas shows more than contempt, and have complex syntax. There is more probing within these stanzas.

I know these arent really what you're asking for, but it's the best I can do.
I'll return later with the resrt, but for now, I need a break from revision... SMALLVILLE HERE I COME :]

xxx

Reply 5

DestinedMalice

''imaginative flight away from moern urbanisation towards a vision of solitary freedom.''

Where's that quote from and who said it?

Reply 6

jessu

heyyy our teacher made us use the CLLOG structure, which is Context, Literary terms, language, pinion and Genric features, thats wat our teahcer told us to use in philip larkin

Genric features?

context is like the angry young men and the movement
Literary terms is like allieteration, sibilance comppund words---
Languag is like imagery, bathos, pathos etc
opinon is like feminist readings
generic features is death, lack of fate, religion, work, frailty of human, identity, lonliness, emotion, contemporary life...etc
Hope this helps

Reply 9

jessu

ohh and typical of larkin also, like precise exacty decision, qualifying tentative phrasing, colloquial, familiar unpoetic language,...

Reply 10

DestinedMalice

So bassically Generic features = Themes?

yupssss

You didn't say anything I didn't know. But thanks for trying. If I could remember how i'd give you rep.

Reply 13

MREKPO

westhamrock

Hey, Anyone doing this for unit 5 edexcel on 11th june?
Anyway if anyone is can you write what you think of poems etc.. and the themes they would go under as im really stuck.. We can make a whole forum about his poems from the witsun weddings collection
Thanks alot

Isnt Unit 5 on the 10th on June

Reply 14

Bugzy

10

MREKPO

Isnt Unit 5 on the 10th on June

Yes it is.

Philip Larkins Witsun Weddings collection

Related discussions

Articles for you