Larkin Context Flashcards
Where was Larkin born and what was his childhood like?
Coventry, a shy child, forgotten and filled with boredom.
Gloomy childhood with no visitors.
What was Larkin’s father like?
Self made, strict and cold.
Ignores his mother and sister.
Philip admired his father as a right wing Hitler supporter.
What did he feel about his parents relationship?
Wanted to have a different relationship.
Who was Monica Jones?
His first engagement with romance.
His partner for almost 40 years, arguably the most important woman in his life.
Became his main woman when Ruth broke off the engagement.
What did Hull mean to Larkin?
It was his home, a frightful dumb, essential place of expatriation.
His place of exile.
What was his approach to death?
Aware of it throughout his life.
Adopts a mood of finality and death.
How did Larkin feel about work?
Liked the idea as it makes us have direction.
A job is neccessary.
Worked as a librarian, later at Hull University.
Who were the three female love interests of Larkin?
Monica Jones, Maeve Brennan and Ruth Bowman
Who was Ruth Bowman?
Woman he proposed too- engagement lasted only 2 years.
16, academically minded school girl.
‘Wild Oats’ is about her.
Who was Maeve Brennan?
A colleague and close friend of Larkin, relationship became romantic when he coached her for an exam.
She wrote ‘the larkin i knew’ to show him in a compassionate light.
‘Broadcast’ is about her.
Who did Larkin live with?
Lived alone for nearly 20 years.
Prefferred an isolated life, observed the world from a distance.
How did Philip’s mothers death impact him?
Impacted his mental health more than most would think.
Devloped a responsibility to her.
What period was Larkin writing in?
Post- war England and all it’s bleakness.
What movement was Larkin a part of?
The anti- modernist movement of the 50’s and 60’s.
The movement sparked the divisions among different types of British poetry.
Who influenced Larkin’s writing?
Hardy and Yeats- the Romantics
Hardy: His pessimism, his use of external world to describe internal and intricate syntax with traditional forms.
Yeats: Themes of loss, time passing and the sense of premature ageing.
What was Larkin’s religious views?
Strongly atheistic
Where did Larkin visit 1956?
Chichester Cathedral with Monica Jones.
Wrote ‘An Arundel Tomb’ vbased on the real monument.
