Wires, Maiden Name and Toads Flashcards
Flashcard Revision
What is the main technique used in Toads?
Extended Metaphor
‘Why should I let the toad work __________ on my life’
squat
What technique is used here - ‘six days of the week it soils/with its sickening poison’ (Toads)
sibilance
Although the speaker in Toads resents work, how does he feel about those that don’t - ‘lecturers, lispers/losers, lob-lolly-men, louts’?
He mocks them via Larkin’s use of alliterative listing
Towards the end of Toads, the speaker realises that ‘something sufficiently ‘________ - _________ squats in me’
toad - like
The speaker in Toads ultimately decides that work is a necessary part of human existence - how could this link to Larkin’s own life?
Despite being a poet he continued to work as a librarian, even twice rejecting the prestigious position of poet laureate.
What technique is used here - ‘their unspeakable wives are skinny as whippets’? (Toads)
simile
In Toads, why does Larkin refer to ‘unspeakable wives are skinny as whippets’?
He is dehumanising and mocking those that don’t work; although Larkin’s narrator resents the restrictions of work, he also looks down on those that don’t.
How does Larkin use an intertextual reference in Toads?
In the line ‘that’s the stuff/That dreams are made on’ he refers to the Shakespeare play The Tempest.
Why does Larkin employ an intertextual reference to The Tempest is his poem Toads - ‘that’s the stuff/That dreams are made on’
These philosophical lines are spoken by the magician Prospero, who dreams of a utopian world. Larkin’s speaker is therefore perhaps mocking the notion of a perfect society.
What does the word ‘blarney’ mean that is used in the poem Toads?
It means to speak in a flattering or persuasive way - the speaker mocks an existence of such insincerity.
‘The ________ and the __________ and the _________’ (Toads)
fame/girl/money
Why does Larkin employ listing in the line ‘the fame and the girl and the money’?
He is perhaps intending to mock such generic and superficial ambitions.
What major event ended in 1945 - ten years prior to The Less Deceived being published?
WWII
After WWII, food rationing was still in place until…?
1954
Which political party came into power in 1945, promising to create a fairer, more equal Britain?
Labour
What did the Labour government create in 1948 that was seen, by some, as a positive symbol of social progress?
the NHS
In what year was the NHS created?
1948
Although Larkin is not especially a political poet, we might describe his views as being c_____________ ?
conservative
Which war, just beginning in the 1950s, brought the fear of nuclear apocalypse?
The Cold War
‘The ____________ prairies have electric fences’ (Wires)
widest
What technique is used in the line: ‘The WIDEST fences’ (Wires)
superlative adjective
In the poem Wires, what do the ‘old cattle and ‘young steers’ represent?
The ‘old cattle’ are the older generation, who understand and accept societal restrictions. The ‘young steers’ are the younger generation, who are optimistic and naive to the limitations they face.
‘Young steers are always scenting ___________ / ___________ ‘ (Wires)
purer water
In Wires, which verb (beginning with ‘b’) describes the clumsy movement of the ignorant ‘young steers’?
blunder
In the poem Wires, why is the word ‘wires’ repeated in the fourth and fifth lines of the poem?
To represent the idea of continual confinement. Although the ‘young steers’ are unaware, restriction if ever-present.
What technique is used in the line: ‘muscle-shredding violence’ (Wires)?
sibilance
Why does Larkin employ sibilance in the line, ‘muscle-shredding violence’? (Wires)
To represent the brutal and unforgiving pain caused by the electric fences (and the restrictions they represent)
Does Wires use a regular rhyme scheme?
Yes. ABCD DCBA (this can also be referred to as an ‘envelope’ rhyme scheme)
Why does the poem Wires use a ABCD DCBA (or ‘envelope’) rhyme scheme?
The way that the lines of the second stanza lock into those of the first is perhaps intended to represent the unavoidable restrictions we all have to face.
Did Larkin ever marry?
No. Although he was briefly engaged to Ruth Bowman when he was younger.
What did Larkin say of marriage (referring to his parents’ marriage): ‘the only married state I know is ___________ / ___________’
bloody hell
The poem Maiden Name is thought to be partly inspired by…?
Winifred Arnott
Maiden Name is thought to be partly inspired by Winifred Arnott. Where did Larkin meet her?
Larkin met Winifred Arnott whilst working as a librarian at The University of Belfast.
‘Marrying left your maiden name ___________.’ (Maiden Name)
disused
Which part of the poem Maiden Name might we consider to be a specific reference to Winifred Arnott?
‘its five light sounds’ (the five syllables of her name)
What technique is used in the phrase ‘thankfully confused’? (Maiden Name)
oxymoron
Why does Larkin use an oxymoron in the phrase ‘thankfully confused’? (Maiden Name)
To juxtapose the cliched positive sentiments connected with marriage - being ‘thankful’ - with the starker reality: that you lose your identity and become ‘confused’ with someone else.
‘since you were so thankfully confused by ____________ ‘ (Maiden Name)
law
In Maiden Name, why does Larkin describe the women as being ‘thankfully confused BY LAW’?
To suggest that the marriage is nothing more than a legal contract. As we see elsewhere in the poem, Larkin disconnects marriage from ideas of romance or intimacy.
In Maiden Name, how is the newly married women described - ‘scentless, weightless, ________________?
strengthless
Why is the ‘less’ suffix repeated in the poem Maiden Name: ‘scentless, weightless, strengthless’
To show the extent of what she has lost through marriage. ‘Strengthless’ in particular implies that by giving herself to another she has been weakened.
‘old lists, old programmes, a __________ / _____________ or two’ (Maiden Name)
school prize
Why does the speaker in Maiden Name link the female character’s old self to ‘a school prize or two’?
To suggest that her old self was notable and worth of celebration - which is in contrast to her less remarkable, married self.
How might the word ‘unfingermarked’ be considered a pun? (Maiden Name)
- It refers to a time when he finger was literally not ‘marked’ by a ring. 2. It refers to a time when she was untainted, pure and not ‘marked’ by someone else.
‘with your _________ / ___________ / ____________ ‘ (Maiden Name)
depreciating luggage laden
What technique is used in the line ‘depreciating luggage laden’?
Metaphor. This is used to describe her new life or perhaps new new partner - something that is losing value and quickly becoming a burden.
Does Maiden Name use a regular rhyme scheme?
Yes. ABBACCA.
Why does Larkin use a regular rhyme scheme in Maiden Name?
The regularity of the rhyme, alongside the regular stanza and line length, perhaps represent the monotony and routine nature of marriage.
