by Philip Larkin English poet Worked as a librarian in Hull Poetry about everyday life and relationships Some say poetry is negative and miserable Never married Didnt ever travel abroad ID: 462366
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Slide1
Afternoons
by Philip LarkinSlide2
English poet
Worked as a librarian in HullPoetry about everyday life and relationshipsSome say poetry is negative and miserableNever marriedDidn’t ever travel abroad
Philip Larkin (1922-1985)Slide3
Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
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6.Slide4
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“husbands in skilled trades”Slide5
Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered,
Our Wedding
”Slide6
Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered,
Our Wedding
”
“something is pushing them”Slide7
Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“setting free their children”
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered,
Our Wedding
”
“something is pushing them”Slide8
Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“summer is fading”
“setting free their children”
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered,
Our Wedding
”
“something is pushing them”Slide9
Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“summer is fading”
“setting free their children”
“husbands in skilled trades”
“an
estateful
of washing”
“the album, lettered,
Our Wedding
”
“something is pushing them”Slide10
Pairs:
Zoom forward about 10 years, when you’ll be in your mid-twenties. What do you imagine you’ll be doing with your life? How would you like your life to be then?Slide11
Pairs:
Zoom forward about 10 years, when you’ll be in your mid-twenties. What do you imagine you’ll be doing with your life? How would you like your life to be then?Now, look back at the poem. Are there any words or short phrases which make growing up seem unappealing?Why might Larkin have this viewpoint? What do you think he might have experienced in this life?Slide12
Summer is fading:
The leaves fall in ones and twosFrom trees borderingThe new recreation ground.In the hollows of afternoonsYoung mothers assembleAt swing and sandpitSetting free their children.
What else does the change of season represent?What does this suggests about both the mothers and their children?Slide13
Behind them, at intervals,
Stand husbands in skilled trades,An estateful of washing,And the albums, letteredOur Wedding, lyingNear the television:Before them, the wind
Is ruining their courting-placesHow do these ideas contrast? Which is reality?
How does your life change when you grow up? Is it always better?Slide14
That are still courting-places
(But the lovers are all in school),And their children, so intent onFinding more unripe acorns,Expect to be taken home.Their beauty has thickened.Something is pushing themTo the side of their own lives.
Ageing highlights memories and youthfulness of children;Time passing is so gradual we barely notice the changes and then wonder how we got there and possibly why we’ve not done certain things. Slide15
What is the effect of the poem being set at a specific time of the year? Is Larkin suggesting something about ‘time’? How could this be linked to the title?
‘the hollows in the afternoons’ is an interesting phrase. Why?There are some patterns in phrases used by Larkin: ‘Behind them’ and ‘Before them’. What is this suggesting about the lives of the young women?Why does Larkin describe the wedding albums as ‘lying/Near the television’? Could there be more than one interpretation here?Who or what are the ‘unripe acorns’ and why are the mentioned in the final stanza? Is Larkin suggesting something about life?What is the tone of the speaker in the poem, who appears to be some sort of observer? Suggest 3 adjectives to describe the tone and find relevant quotations to support your ideas.
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