Born Yesterday Flashcards
how does Larkin use structure in Born Yesterday to illustrate his messages?
free verse - opposes regular rhyme scheme typical of the movement; freedom for her in life
how does Larkin use rhyme in Born Yesterday to illustrate his messages?
- rhyming final 2 lines give sense of finality
- other half-rhymes throughout poem - not too anything
analyse the quote ‘tightly-folded bud’ from Born Yesterday
- metaphor for the baby
- speaker feels protective; paternal connection
- nature; flower = feminine; circle of life = will bloom into a young woman
- unopened, unknown, unlearned, youthful; not yet exposed to societal norms
- full of potential and possibility
analyse the title of Born Yesterday
idiomatic meaning: naive, foolish, vulnerable, innocent, easily manipulated - It has connotations of naivety and foolishness. Larkin suggests the cliched expectations of society should be seen in this way.
- literal meaning: newborn, young
analyse the quote ‘none of the others would: / not the usual stuff’ from Born Yesterday
- repeated negation
- separation from normality/society; typical Larkin outsider voice
- wants Sally to be an individual like him and avoid mindless conformity
- colloquialism suggests its unimportance, as well as conveying such ideas lack originality.
analyse the quote ‘beautiful […] spring […] innocence […] love’ from Born Yesterday
semantic field of femininity and youth; romanticised, stereotypical
analyse the quote ‘well, you’re a lucky girl’ from Born Yesterday
mildly cynical tone; condescending towards voice of society
analyse the quote ‘but if it shouldn’t, then / may you be ordinary’ from Born Yesterday
- argument marker ‘but’ indicates soft shift, not a volta
- subversion of expectations; society expects people to want to be extraordinary
- to be ordinary is to be unique in a society where everyone is chasing perfection (there is safety and positivity in normalcy); destroying the fallacy of belief that beauty and love make a life/person worthwhile
analyse the quote ‘not ugly, not good-looking, nothing uncustomary’ from Born Yesterday
repeated negation in asyndetic list removes pressure to fulfil standards
analyse the quote ‘in fact, may you be dull - / [adjectives] catching of happiness’ from Born Yesterday
- extended pause almost like a new stanza
- monosyllabic - plain, simple
- asyndetic list of adjectives reframes and redefines what it means to be dull
- list is no longer monosyllabic language; this language is deep and meaningful showing important values
