Critical analysis on Philip Larkin

Critical analysis on Philip LarkinThe metrical composition The Trees by Philip Larkin deals with the reflective descriptions of the speaker units observation of trees. Despite its misleading superficial simplicity, the poem bears a deeper meaning underneath the trees that are reborn any year leg reformation and hope in the pillowcase of the humans who name to face death eventually. Yet, throughout the poem, Larkin ambivalently ruminates somewhat this symbolism, as he delightedly views the exhibit of the growing trees only denies the immortality of their juvenility as a superficial facing marked by the inward aging and an eventual death. The poem is in a strictly regular metrical and rhyming social organization, arranged into 3 different stanzas, severally one four lines long. Such regularity of structure is reflective of the natures cycling of birth, growth and renewal. The Trees demonstrates the transience of youth as a result of the destructive passage of time, one of the recurring pedestals of Larkins works.In the preliminary stanza, through the portrayal of the burgeoning trees as both cheerful and melancholy, Larkin purposefully reveals the bunkum of deportment. Larkin illustrates the trees as coming into leaf. The speaker deploys the phrasing leaf as a symbol of life and conveys a positive, hopeful connotation. by means of this physical depiction, Larkin establishes an two-baser of fresh, growing trees, and sets a mood of liveliness in the scene. Larkin tho strengthens this gamy mood as he describes the comforting view of recent buds that straighten and spread. The poet cleverly deploys sibilance to effectively evoke the sound of sound tree runs, signifying life and youth. Hence, Larkin further emphasizes the vivacious go steady of the bustling trees, and enhances the encouraging, hopeful atmosphere. by dint of the moot choice of verbs relax and spread, Larkin personifies the leaves and wasting diseases trees as a metaphor for humans, comparing their pointedness of youth to a humans entering of a new stage in life. Such comparison between the trees and humans implies that Larkin is contemplative about the cheerful, comforting message of hope that trees give to humans. The speakers use of trees as a consolation to humans can also be found in his other poem Forget What Did where the natural and celestial recurrences appear as consolation in the face of individual sufferings. However, immediately aft(prenominal) much(prenominal)(prenominal) use of metaphor, Larkin repudiates that their greenness is a kind of heartbreak. Larkin deploys the alliteration greenness and grief to highlight that such beauty of life is a grief because it is however ephemeral. The negative connotation conveyed by the phraseology grief suggests Larkins abrupt mistake of caliber from optimism to pessimism. Furthermore, Larkin deliberately deploys the noun grief to create a rhyming span of leaf in the first line and grief i n the oddment line of stanza. This rhyming couplet effectively severalizes the two distinct connotations of logical positivism and pessimism, further highlighting the speakers ambivalence. Additionally, as the speaker compares the growth of trees to something close to beingness said, the repeated use of ambiguous diction such as something and almost signifies the speakers state of two different minds. Through the predominant footfall of ambivalence, Larkin underscores such greenness of nature that seems so cheerful is no less(prenominal) casual than human life and effectively conveys that all life has an end.In the abet stanza, Larkin underscores that trees that outwardly seem perpetually young, in fact, age and eventually have to go across, demonstrating the authorship of inevitability of death. Larkin marvels the immortality of trees in comparison to the transitory lives of humans, as he asks is it that they are born again// and we grow old?. Through the deployment of t he diction born again signifying fresh renewal, and of diction grow old signifying death, Larkin reveals the theme of contrast between youth and age. The speaker deliberately utilizes the punctuation of question mark to reveal his pensive tone that effectively causes the lector to ponder about what life really means to the ref and even to belief back at all the time this lector had robotically spent in his life. Immediately following the question however, Larkin denies, No, trees die too, commenting that the lives of trees are no less transient than those of humans. Larkin utilizes caesura to effectively highlight that his thought about trees endless youth is immediately defeated by his realization that trees do eventually die as well as humans. This caesura underscores his abrupt wavering of tone from spoilt to pessimistic, and further emphasizes the ambiguous mood of the poem. It is through this predominant ambiguity of the poem that Larkin reflects the opaque meaning of life in his perspective. Additionally, Larkin compares the trees renewed youth every summer to a yearly lavatory of looking new. The speakers deployment of diction trick connotes that all the hope and consolation one may get from aftermath the trees vivacious coming into leaf are a superficial veneer. This diction further suggests a negative connotation in the speakers voice, and builds his pessimistic tone that shows his desultory, hopeless military position towards revitalizing into having a more meaningful life. Through the word choice rings of grain, Larkin implies that despite the fresh outer appearances, the trees are growing old inside, as they leave traces in the trunk, underscoring the theme of contrast between youth and age. The reader can also interpret this formula of the poet in a different way the speaker is using the trees as a metaphor for humans. As trees outwardly seem lively but inwardly grow old and die in the end, the speaker is scoffingly comparing this to the humans efforts to renew their lives by using various flowery luxuries or by going to prestigious colleges or workplaces, even though eventually the only thing that remains after time passes is their death. Through such pessimistic tone, Larkin hints that death is inevitable and therefore underlines his melancholy attitude towards life that is seemingly full of opportunities but is fundamentally ephemeral and meaningless. This theme of inevitability of death also plays a significant role in the poem Dockery and Son. In Dockery and Son, Larkin conveys that no matter what Dockery does in his life, whether getting married or having a son, and no matter what Larkin himself does in his life, whether eating an horrible pie or sleeping, life is first boredom, then fear. Whether or not we use it, it goes. This poem The Trees reflects Larkins similar idea that life eventually has an end and and so is pointless.In the final stanza, Larkin expresses his admiration for the trees that indefati gably strive for a renewal in contrast to his own resignation to reach for a revival meeting in life. Marked by the use of the transition word soon enough still, implying a change of tone from pessimism to a more positive one, Larkin compares the trees with unresting castles. The speaker uses this metaphor to create an material body of masculine, firm trees, like castle turrets. This image of adamant trees is further developed by the speakers deployment of diction full-grown thickness. Larkin creates this image to suggest his new tone of distant admiration towards the trees that tenaciously repeat the cycle of birth, aging and renewal every year. Yet, his constant wavering of tone between pessimism and hopefulness greatly contrasts the image of adamant, soaked trees. Moreover, Larkin depicts the trees as alive with speech, as they seem to say to him about something. Larkin personifies the trees through the diction say and further emphasizes this personification through the deploy ment of sibilance. The personification of the trees serves to create the effect of aliveness and conviviality of the trees. Additionally, Larkins repetition of the onomatopoeia afresh further enhances the sound of tree leaves bustling and rustling by the wind, thereby signifying life. Through this onomatopoeia, Larkin evokes images of nature and hope. This imagery is symbolic of the trees continuous, unwavering life and renewal. This last line of the poem is a message that Larkin gets from trees to leave the past behind and begin a new life with hope. And yet, the reader can infer from the dominant tone of ambivalence that the speaker is hesitating to act upon this message from nature. Larkin cleverly uses no enjambments at the end of each stanza but instead ends each with a period. The speakers use of this punctuation effectively reflects the predominant message of the poem that even though nature repeats in cycle, there is an end eventually, underscoring the theme of inevitabilit y of death.In conclusion, Larkin purposefully expresses his hesitance towards life, which is meaningless to him. He ambiguously conveys that trees that appear to be young, hopeful and cheering to human eyes, are in fact just as equally mortal as humans. From his ambivalence, Larkin conveys that death after life is inevitable, showing his slackness of the trees cheerful message to begin his life afresh. As an analyzer of this poem, the reader feels differently from the way Larkin feels from viewing the trees the reader feels from it joy and affirmation, and even want to try harder in all he does, as nature and its still views are what he tends to turn to rely on when faced with dilemma. Yet, the reader feels melancholy when faced with the fact that such feelings are vain after death indeed, as Alun R. Jones states in his critical notes on Larkins works, the effect of Larkins writing is equivalent to that achieved at times by Mozart and Schubert at their most tender and poignan t.