My Bleany- Everyday Flashcards
Overall
-shows the theme of everyday through a depiction if life defined by routine
-shows that the seemingly inconsequential elements of daily life reflect broader existential concerns
–Larkin initially establishes distance between mr gleaning and landlady, and himself
-details rooms unattractive as and discomfort living there
-however in the final two stanzas he establishes a kinship with mr Bleany asking whether we are defined by the life we live and whether we deserve what we get from it
“Flowered curtain thin and frayed fall to within five inches of the sill” “ bed, upright chair sixty watt bulb”
-enjambment
-highlights the ordinariness and bleakness of the room showcasing life to its bare essentials
-fricative alliteration
- reflects the mundane reality of mr bleanys life and existence and by extension the speaker as well
-the room he surveys is bleak and rundown
-detail of curtains not fitting is phrased sarcastically
-frivative alliteration
“Strip of building land” “tusskosy” “littered” “my bit of garden properly in hand
-the imagery emphasises the desolation of the environment
-reinforces the idea that ordinary life is often associated with neglect and void of beauty or excitement
-Larkin looks out the window to an Unprepossessing view of hulls post war building programme \
-again comments sarcastically on mr bleach’s efforts at gardening even though he took it “property in hand”
It is still “tussocky, littered” suggesting little can be done to improve on this miserable excuse from agarden
Characterisation of my bleanys habits and lifestyle “preference for sauce to gravy” “frequent visits to ‘frinton folk’” “Christmas at his sisters”
-paints a picture of mr bleany enriched in routine
-his habits profile a life of complete ordinariness and predictability
‘Where mr bleany lay”
-speaker now inhabits mr bleanys former room lying where he lay
-the speaker is now physically occupying mr bleanys former position
“1st person’
-blurs the lies between persona and mr bleany
Suggesting the ordinary existence exemplified by mr bleany is not a unique but a universal condition
-linking to Larkin =s affiliation of the movement which focuses on the common experience
‘Telling himself that this was his home, and grinned and shivered without shaking off dread”
-profound realisation that a life measured by such ordinary moments may come with an underlying sense of inadequacy or dread
- reveals that the everyday life when viewed from a distance os seen as empty or lacking fulfilment
Existential message embedded in its depiction of ordinariness “how we love measures our own nature”
-suggests that the way we live even if mundane/everyday/ ordinary is a reflection of ones self worth
Ordinary life represented by “hired box”
-becomes a metaphor for a life that offers little to show for itself
-makes readers question whether simplicity and a lack of distinction are inevitable or a result from personal or social limitations
‘Warrented no better”
-persona acknowledges mr bleanys accepted his life of ordinariness in his everyday routine because this is what her believed
-but its really a projection of the personas own self doubt, he settled for a mediocre everyday life and might even deserve it
Rhyme scheme
-write in quatrains
-ABAB
-mirrors the regularity of mr bleanys everyday routine
-occasional enjambment “why he kept on plugging” and cesuras “he was at the bodies, till they moved him”
Add ellemsts of surprise that keep the verse from being unbearably monotonous
-could reflect the speakers resistance too to the everyday routine that trapped mr bleany
-sytanx of the final sentence is almost straining against the poems formal limits reflecting the personas attempt to do so as well
‘The bodies” “they moved him”
-reference to car manufacturing plant where car bodies are assembled
-duplicity, hint of death
-one of many such bodies, have no meaning like identical to the cars where we worked
Impersonality of “they” and “the bodies” are an indication of working men
-also suggest the lack of control, “they moved him”
“Bed, upright chair sixty watt bulb no hook”
- list of sparse furniture in the room none designed for comfort, suggesting a temporary resting place
-“upright…no hook” further emphasises the bleakness and a anonymity,
-enjambment
“No room for books or bags” “so it happens i lie”
- contrast between Larkin and Mr Bleaby is present in there being no space for his books or bags
Things which he has by mr bleany had no use for - even so he resents the room and find himself living mr bleanys life using his ashtray” stub my fags”an lying in his bed
- Larkin observing mr bleanys mundane details consequently has him ending up the exact same way.
“The jabbering set” “stuffing my ears with cotton wool”
- he tries to block out the sound of the television mr bleany convinced the landlady to buy
-purchase of television sets after the war doubled , accelerated by the queens coronation
-adjective jabering applies to the landlady, becomes clear she’s pestered him with tales from her former lodger
Mr bleany used to ‘come down(stairs)’ and he ‘preferred sauce to gravy”
“Four away” “plugging”
Mr bleany used to do the football pools probably in the hope of a big win
- ‘plugging’ suggests dogged repetition
-Larkin learns too that his years were divided; work then holiday then Christmas
-seemed that mr bleany may have saved his wages to enjoy the delights of ‘frinton on sea’ the most exclusive seaside resort in Great Britain as th Walton and frinton guide book described
- however it seems impersonal eve tho he goes every year
- hospitality of his sister also seems grudging, limited to an annual visit
-impression that his life is limited and devioid of both friends ans family
Context of mr bleany
-Larkin wrote this song after moving to hull where he stayed in a boarding house
-boarding houses: large private houses which owner let out for long term residency
-shows larkins use of colloquial style
Regular rhyme scheme Abab, accomplished by use of enjambment
