If, My Darling, Places, Loved Ones and Church Going Flashcards
La
‘__________, I have never found’ (Places, Loved Ones)
No
‘This is my _________ / ___________ here I shall stay’ (Places, Loved Ones)
proper ground
In Places, Loved Ones what is significant about the language Larkin uses when imitating the voice of society?
The language is pompous (self-important) and somewhat cliched - e.g. ‘proper ground’/’special one’. This is done to mock the generic ideas of finding happiness through a person or place.
Why does Larkin use multiple negators in Places, Loved Ones, e.g. ‘NO, I have never found’/’NOR met that special one’/’You want NO choice’
To convey how the speaker is entirely and forcefully rejecting the cliched expectations of society.
What are the connotations of the word ‘claim’ and ‘prove’ used in Places, Loved Ones?
These words have formal, legal connotations - this conveys the speaker’s view that romantic relationships are actually just a form of restrictive contract.
What is the correct term for the 8-line stanzas, like those used in Places, Loved Ones?
octaves
Why does Places, Loved Ones begin with the speaker saying, ‘No….’?
He is responding (and rejecting) the expectations of society - that we should all find happiness through a person or place.
‘you’re __________ none the less, to act’ (Places, Loved Ones)
bound
In the final verse of Places, Loved Ones, why does the speaker say the speaker is ‘bound’?
To convey ideas of restriction. The speaker suggests that ‘having missed them’ - the person you hoped to meet and love - you are trapped by having to pretend you are happy with what you ‘settled for’.
Does Places, Loved Ones use a regular rhyme scheme?
Yes, a regular AB rhyme scheme.
Places, Loved Ones was written just as Larkin was moving from Belfast to ___________?
Hull
How might Places, Loved Ones be linked to events in Larkin’s own life at the time?
He was leaving Belfast after working as a librarian there. Therefore, like the speaker in the poem, he had no solid sense of home at the time.
‘Once I am sure there’s nothing _________ / __________’ (Church Going)
going on
What is the significance of the opening line from Church Going? ‘Once I am sure there’s nothing going on’
The phrase ‘nothing going on’ perhaps suggests the speaker views the church with suspicion - almost as a place of strange, cultish practices.
sprawlings of flowers, cut // For Sunday, ___________ now; (Church Going)
brownish
In Church Going, what is the significance of the ‘brownish’ flowers and the ‘musty’ silence?
Both ideas have connotations of something stale and past its best. This is perhaps what Larkin is suggesting about the church and the role of religion.
‘some brass and _________’ (Church Going)
stuff
What is the significance of Larkin referring to the sacred items in the church as ‘some brass and stuff’?
It suggests that the speaker sees the church, and the objects in it, as insignificant and dull.
What technique is used in the title of Church Going?
A pun
How does Larkin employ a pun in the title of Church Going?
‘Church Going’ could literally refer to the practice of ‘going’ to (attending) church. However, it could also be describing how the relevance of the church is ‘going’ from society.
In Church Going, what worthless currency does the speaker donate to the church?
‘An Irish sixpence’
In Church Going, why does the speaker donate ‘an Irish sixpence’?
This currency is worthless, so this gesture is used by Larkin to convey how, initially at least, the protagonist sees the church as having no value.
Where does Larkin employ a volta in Church Going?
At the beginning of the third stanza. After previously commenting that the church was ‘not worth stopping for’, the speaker then admits ‘Yet stop I did: in fact I often do’
What is a volta?
The turning point in a poem
