Wedding Wind Flashcards
analyse the quote ‘the wind blew all my wedding-day […] night of the high wind’ from Wedding Wind
- pathetic fallacy hints at marriage’s ability to change the future and shift in identity for the speaker; almost becomes one person, not two - she is ‘his’ wife
- wind is symbolic and initially represents excitement and joy
- assonance and present participles create a sense of fluidity imitating the constant surge of the wind dominating her thoughts
- ‘high wind’ is symbolic of high emotions; excitement and anticipation suggesting the pinnacle of marriage is the wedding night
analyse the quote ‘banging, again and again’ from Wedding Wind
- foreshadows her ruined life post-marriage and the lack of joy in it
- onomatopoeia (aural imagery) represents the intrusion of reality in her romanticised ideal of marriage
- repetitions suggests it is unavoidable, constant and never-ending, mirroring the incoming monotony and boredom
analyse the quote ‘stupid in candlelight […] twisted candlestick’ from Wedding Wind
- ‘stupid’ juxtaposes typical connotations of candlelight of hp[e, truth, intimacy, and romance thereby undermining any possible romance
- ‘twisted’ suggests her fantasy does not match with reality; as a result of marriage, her identity has been warped/fragmented and she is unsure of herself in her new role as wife
analyse the quote ‘I was sad / that any man or beast that night should lack the happiness I had’ from Wedding Wind
- simple lexis of ‘sad’ juxtaposes the hyperbolic expectations with simplistic, basic reality, suggesting she is naive for having these beliefs - Larkin subtly mocks the speaker by undermining her exclamation of happiness
- ‘sad’ and ‘happy’ are paradoxical
- sharp end-stop suggests a sharp end to the wedding day and the end of happiness in marriage
analyse the quote ‘in the day / all’s ravelled under the sun by the wind’s blowing’ from Wedding Wind
- ‘ravelled’ suggests the speaker’s romanticised notion of life after marriage had been undone by the ‘wind’s blowing’
- the temporal shift to day is emphatic of the reveal of genuine married life as disappointing and unexpected
- absence of ‘wedding’ in ‘day’ removes any uniqueness suggesting her life is no longer special but defined by the ordinary
analyse the quote ‘set it down, and stare.’ from Wedding Wind
- lifeless list created monotonous, mundane imagery of domesticity and stability, which Larkin mocks
analyse the quote ‘hunting through clouds and forests, thrashing my apron’ from Wedding Wind
- personification as animalistic and destructive suggestive of a predator and prey; the wind of unhappiness and regret is inescapable
- ‘thrashing’ is aggressive as speaker loses control of her own life and becomes defined by marriage
- ‘apron’ is symbolic of traditional gender roles
analyse the quote ‘like a thread carrying beads’ from Wedding Wind
- fragile nature of happiness in humanity
simile where ‘thread’ symbolises marriage (without marriage she falls apart) and - ‘beads symbolise happiness bur happiness is precarious and contrived
analyse the quote ‘perpetual morning shares my bed’ from Wedding Wind
- hyperbole suggests the ridiculousness of the speaker’s supposed happiness
- ‘perpetual’ suggests the speaker’s happiness will last forever; Larkin suggests she is stuck in a cycle of entrapment
- ‘morning’ is symbolic of new life and happiness which seems good but means intimacy in the marriage is lost and she cannot sleep; impractical
analyse the quote ‘can even death dry up / these new delighted lakes, conclude / our kneeling as cattle by all-generous waters?’ from Wedding Wind
- ‘lakes’ represent the vitality and joy of her marriage (the ‘floods’ created by the wind) suggesting her love is so powerful she wonders if even death could end it
- ‘kneeling’ has religious connotations, suggesting their love is almost holy. also emphatic of subservience and desperation, suggesting her happiness remind her of the frailty of humanity. In her simplicity, she is content to resign herself to a higher power, trusting and compliant.
- ‘cattle’ is inhuman and reflective of the masses; presents marriage as a foolish social norm and suggests speaker has a sense of naivety and innocence
- triple rhetorical questions reflective of genuine anxiety and uncertainty in post-married life. Speaker’s questions undermine her supposed happiness and make it ingenuine.
how is voice used in Wedding Wind?
In Wedding Wind, Larkin uses the voice of a female speaker on her wedding day and in her life post-marriage.
Larkin uses this persona to subtly indicate his own beliefs regarding married life.
