Afternoons

Question 1

Poet

Answer 1

Philip Larkin

Question 2

Structure/Form

Answer 2

The poem is written in blank verse (no rhyme scheme) of 3 stanzas of equal length (8 lines.) Each stanza has a different focus.
Stanza 1- Talks about the seasons changing and mothers bringing their children to the play area
Stanza 2- Talks about how things have changed over the years. It has a reflective tone and describes memories of how things used to be.
Stanza 3- Talks about the present and future. Compares the generations of the past with generations of the future.

Question 3

Context

Answer 3

Philip Larkin (1922-1985) was an English poet, who was famous for creating detailed observations about everyday life and relationships. People often thought his poetry was rather negative and miserable. His life was quite restricted as he never married, had no children, never travelled abroad and worked as a librarian in Hull for 30 years.

Question 4

Summer is fading

Answer 4

The seasons are gradually changing, so time is moving on. ‘Summer’ is often associated with youth. In this context, summer is a metaphor for the beauty and youth of the women, that is fading away into the past. The verb ‘fading’ suggests a gradual change that something is happening that is barely noticeable. ‘Fading’ is a negative word that has connotations of old age and shabbiness.

Question 5

And the albums, lettered/Our Wedding, lying/near the television

Answer 5

Alliteration used in this line to create an almost disillusioned tone. Commas are used to slow down pace for a dramatic, ironic pause. Italics used shows the irony of a wedding being a happy event, contrasted with the double entendre ‘lying’, meaning abandoned and also misled into believing that marriage was going to be different. ‘Television’ – gets looked at more than the wedding albums and is more interesting. The old being supplanted by the new again.

Question 6

Something is pushing them/To the side of their own lives

Answer 6

The ambiguous ‘something’ is the unknown that drives the women to continue with their lives, even though they are unhappy and unfulfilled. Enjambment here emphasises that they are not even important in their own lives now that they have children. Sibilance in this line creates a sighing, melancholic sound, emphasising that the women have resigned themselves to this situation. This evokes sympathy in the reader.

Question 7

An estateful of washing

Answer 7

This very powerful image is to show the uniformity of everyone’s lives on that estate. Everyone has their role to fulfil and their roles are identical, meaning their feelings are identical. The ‘estateful’ is a metaphor for the domestic drudgery of the women, which sharply contrasts with the roles of their husbands.

Question 8

Finding more unripe acorns

Answer 8

Summer is fading, along with beauty, romance and memories. Contrast between mothers and children - being supplanted by the next generation.
References to the season changing and Autumn coming is a metaphor for newness and change. However, change is not seen as a positive or attractive idea. Rather, it just emphasises the fact that the lives of the women are slipping away from them. The assonance in this line adds to the sense of disillusionment.

Question 9

Something is pushing them/To the side of their own lives

Answer 9

The ambiguous ‘something’ is the unknown that drives the women to continue with their lives, even though they are unhappy and unfulfilled. Enjambment here emphasises that they are not even important in their own lives now that they have children. Sibilance in this line creates a sighing, melancholic sound, emphasising that the women have resigned themselves to this situation. This evokes sympathy in the reader.