Negotiating Death in Philip Larkin’s “Ambulances” and “Aubade”

Main Article Content

Aalia Khan

Abstract

“Ambulances” and “Aubade” are two widely read poems of Philip Larkin (1922-1985) which any serious reader of modern poems would be reminded of in these difficult times. The poems help in negotiating and coming to terms with the inevitable fact of life that is death. The imagery of a suffering patient and the way the society responds to such a spectacle is vividly documented. The ebb and flow of emotional flux emanating from the idea of death is uniquely articulated. As a Movement Poet his style in these two poems is traditional but his subject matter is derived from the observations of contemporary life. Despair is one word which haunts the mind on reading the poems. The bleak view of human existence is sharply reflected in the imagery created in the poems. The detachment of which Larkin is capable of as a poet helps in infusing artistic triumph. This artistic detachment shadows the despair forming the tone and tenor of the metaphors used. Use of alliteration in short verses leaves a jarring effect on readers. The color coding like white, red, grey, glossy, dark, is a technique enriching imagery of the poems. Personification of death and un-resting and having neared by a day creates the eerie mood required for the theme of the poems. The rich metaphors used for death bed and death itself are perhaps not very common in modern poetry in English. This paper shall lay threadbare the success of Larkin as a poet in creating a work of artistic excellence out of the most odious idea like death.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Aalia Khan. “Negotiating Death in Philip Larkin’s “Ambulances” and ‘Aubade’”. The Creative Launcher, vol. 3, no. 2, June 2018, pp. 20-25, https://www.thecreativelauncher.com/index.php/tcl/article/view/346.
Section
Articles

References

Abharam, M. H. and Harpham, A Glossary of Literary Terms, Cengage Learning, Delhi, 2012

Can, Taner. “The Movement and the Poetry of Philip Larkin”, International Journal of Language Academy, Volume 3/4 Winter 2015 p. 471/480 DOI: 10.18033/ijla.299, January 2015

Carter. Ronald and McRae. John, The Routledge History of Literature in English, Routledge, London, 1997

Chaudhary. Aditiand Goswami. Reeta, A History of English Literature: Traversing the Centuries, Orient Blackswan Pvt. Ltd. Kolkata, India, 2014

Excerpts from an interview with Philip Larkin by Miriam Gross from The Observer, 1979

https://www.thelarkintrail.co.uk

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/philip-larkin

Larkin, Philip. Collected Poems. Archie Burnett (Ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012

---. Further Requirements: Interviews, broadcasts, statements and book reviews

-1985. Anthony Thwaite (Ed.). London: Faber and Faber, 2001

---. High Windows. London: Faber and Faber, 1974

---. Required writings: Miscellaneous pieces 1955-1982. London: Faber and Faber, 1983

---. Selected letters of Philip Larkin.1940-1985. Anthony Thwaite (Ed.). London:

Faber and Faber, 1992

www.PoemHunter.com-the world’s largest poem archive