afternoons

Question 1

who wrote the poem?

Answer 1

Philip Larkin

Question 2

what are the main themes of the poem?

Answer 2

• change
• love and relationships
• passage of time
• sense of place

Question 3

what are the possible links?

Answer 3

• to autumn (time)
• as imperceptibly as grief (time)
• death of a naturalist (loss of innocence/growing up)
• cozy apologia (uses ordinary objects to discuss relationships)

Question 4

what are the main feelings and attitudes of the poem?

Answer 4

• sympathy
• superiority

Question 5

what is the poem about?

Answer 5

reflects on the subject of marriage, the poem is observational, the narrator describes an ordinary scene, paints a picture of the women’s lives, ends by showing how the women’s lives have changed and how they aren’t in control of their own lives. there’s a sense that the next generation will fall into the same pattern, couples had children too young - missed out on youth

Question 6

what is the structure of the poem?

Answer 6

3 8-line stanzas

Question 7

what is the metre of the poem like?

Answer 7

there’s no regular metre (free verse), which makes the poem feel stilted, suggesting a lack of excitement in the mothers’ lives

Question 8

what is the perspective of the poem?

Answer 8

it is written in third person, but the tone is unclear; the narrator could be belittling the woman or pitying them

Question 9

what kind of imagery is there?

Answer 9

domestic imagery and natural imagery

Question 10

what do the narrator’s images of domestic life do?

Answer 10

reinforces the gender roles of the era, which appear to be the cause of the women’s repetitive existences, also show how the marriages have lost their spark over time and how love has settled into something ordinary

Question 11

what is nature used to do?

Answer 11

it is used to mirror change in people’s lives. the arrival of autumn suggests that a new phase of the women’s lives has started and the best part is over. the way the wind ruins their ‘courting places’ makes it seem as though nature is actively working against them

Question 12

why is the title ‘afternoons’?

Answer 12

suggests that the young mothers are in the ‘afternoons’ of their lives where children have taken away their identities and their lives are not their own

Question 13

what is the first half of the first stanza?

Answer 13

Summer is fading: / The leaves fall in ones and twos / From trees bordering / The new recreation ground.

Question 14

what are the annotations of ‘Summer is fading’?

Answer 14

-change in seasons mirrors a change in people’s lives. it suggests that the people in the poem have peaked and now their lives are fading
- ‘summer’ could represent the happy times in life, and the verb implies that their life/happiness is coming to an end

Question 15

what are the annotations of ‘fall in ones and twos’?

Answer 15

• decline is gradual and almost unnoticeable
• makes change seem irregular and uncontrollable

Question 16

what are the annotations of ‘bordering’?

Answer 16

the trees are ‘bordering’ which is almost stopping the mothers escaping

Question 17

what are the annotations of ‘bordering / the new recreation ground.’

Answer 17

• enjambment puts the focus on the recreation ground. the word ‘new’ and the ‘creation’ part of recreation are ironic as they imply change but the people’s routines remain the same
• new could also imply that this is a new stage in the mothers’ lives or it could suggest that there is a new generation

Question 18

what is the second half of the first stanza?

Answer 18

In the hollows of afternoons / Young mothers assemble / At swing and sandpit / Setting free their children.

Question 19

what are the annotations of ‘hollows of afternoons’?

Answer 19

hollows suggests that the mothers’ lives/their daily routines are empty, afternoons being plural implies that this emptiness applies to all their afternoons

Question 20

what are the annotations of ‘young mothers’?

Answer 20

women are only referred to as ‘mothers’ which implies that they’re restricted by gender stereotypes

Question 21

what are the annotations of ‘mothers assemble / at swing and sandpit’?

Answer 21

sibilance creates a sense of repetition - hinting that this happens regularly

Question 22

why does the poem use short lines?

Answer 22

reflets how the mothers’ lives have been cut short

Question 23

what are the annotations of ‘assemble’?

Answer 23

suggests that the mothers gather without choice and that it is routine

Question 24

what are the annotations of ‘Setting free’?

Answer 24

language of imprisonment suggests that domestic life is restrictive, only the children are set ‘free’ - freedom is something that these mothers crave

Question 25

what is the first three lines of the second stanza?

Answer 25

Behind them, at intervals, / Stand husbands in skilled trades, / An estateful of washing,

Question 26

what are the annotations of 'behind them'?

Answer 26

- the husbands are behind so suggests that the mothers don't feel supported by the husbands - 'them' - the women are anonymous and have no individuality

Question 27

what does the caesura in 'Behind them, at intervals'

Answer 27

emphasises the separation between the women and their husbands

Question 28

what are the annotations of 'skilled trades'?

Answer 28

- suggests the women are not recognised for how they raise their children - they don't earn any qualifications and are almost seen as unskilled - suggests the people in the poem are working class

Question 29

what are the annotations of 'An estateful'?

Answer 29

- groups the people of the estate together, makes the narrator seem dismissive of them - the mothers don't have their own identities and Larkin is suggesting that all of the women do the same tasks

Question 30

what are the middle three lines of the second stanza?

Answer 30

'And the albums, lettered / *Our Wedding*, lying / Near the television:

Question 31

what are the annotations of 'lettered'?

Answer 31

the focus on the letters makes the words themselves seem meaningless

Question 32

what are the annotations of '*Our Wedding*'?

Answer 32

quoting the name in italics makes the speaker sound patronising

Question 33

what are the annotations of 'lying / Near the television'?

Answer 33

- suggests the wedding album is ignored just like their relationships with their partners - this is not the most important thing in their lives anymore - implies that their love has become ordinary and neglected

Question 34

what are the last two lines of the second stanza?

Answer 34

Before them, the wind / Is ruining their courting-places

Question 35

what are the annotations of 'Before them'?

Answer 35

'behind them' and 'before them' (line 9 and 15) highlight the separation between the women and their previous identities as lovers, the fact that their courting-places are being ruined before them hints that this is a permanent change

Question 36

what are the annotations of 'the wind / is ruining their courting-places'

Answer 36

suggests their opportunities are being taken away by something can't control

Question 37

what are the first four lines of the stanza?

Answer 37

That are still courting-places / (but the lovers are all in school), / And finding their children, so intent on / Finding unripe acorns,

Question 38

what are the annotations of 'That are still courting-places'?

Answer 38

enjambment over the stanza break, coupled with the repetition of courting-places suggest that even though the lovers change, their loves follow the same pattern

Question 39

what are the annotations of '(But the lovers are all in school)'?

Answer 39

the lovers are who the parents used to be before they had children or the lovers could be the younger generations of people who are in new relationships - could reference how people are getting married/having kids too young and they should be focused on school

Question 40

what are the annotations of 'unripe acorns'?

Answer 40

the adjective 'unripe' suggests that the children are unaware of what life will be like when they are older - they are still naive and not ready for adulthood

Question 41

what are the last four lines of the poem?

Answer 41

Expect to be taken home. / Their beauty has thickened. / Something is pushing them / To the side of their own lives.

Question 42

what are the annotations of 'expect'?

Answer 42

- emphasised at the start of the line - suggests the children are restricted by routing, could also hint that the children's expectations contribute to the mother's restricted lives - suggests that their children make demands on their mothers and the mothers have no choice

Question 43

what are the annotations of 'Their beauty has thickened.'?

Answer 43

- only stand alone sentence in the poem, emphasises how the change in tense connects their past and present - suggests that the mothers are growing older and are not as beautiful as they used to be because they have no time to look after themselves

Question 44

what are the annotations of 'something is pushing them / to the side of their own lives.'

Answer 44

'something' suggests that the mothers don't realise who or what is pushing them, the verb 'pushing' suggests that the mother's are being forced away from their own lives, the most important thing in their lives are the children, the mothers are almost at the side now looking in on a life that isn't theirs; a life they have no control over

Question 45

what does the end stopped line in the third-to-last line do?

Answer 45

makes the last two lines feel separate from the rest of the poem and makes the readers wonder about the 'something' that's pushing them