Why did Philip Larkin Write An Arundel Tomb?
Historical Background. Larkin was inspired to write this poem after a visit to Chichester Cathedral, where he came across this monument, dedicated to the memory of the fourteenth century Earl of Arundel, Richard Fitzalan, and his wife, Eleanor of Lancaster.
How is love presented in An Arundel Tomb?
“An Arundel Tomb” meditates on the stone effigies of an earl and countess, provoking a rich and complex discussion about love. Indeed, that’s because the object on which the poem bases its discussion—an earl and countess lying down holding hands—is a deliberate image of love.
What type of poem is an Arundel Tomb?
It describes the poet’s response to seeing a pair of recumbent medieval tomb effigies with their hands joined in Chichester Cathedral. It is described by James Booth as “one of [Larkin’s] greatest poems”. It comprises 7 verses of 6 lines each, each with rhyme scheme ABBCAC.
What remains of us is love Larkin?
The last line of “An Arundel Tomb” is among the most quoted in all of Larkin: “What will survive of us is love.” Its popularity can seem ironic. And while Larkin unravels, somewhat, the conviction that love survives, he also shows that it has an inevitable ring of truth—if only because we want so much to hear it.
What is the explosion by Philip Larkin about?
This poem is the elegy to remember the tragedy of the explosion. Thus, the main themes discussed by the author are life and death, and the main idea is the victory of life over death in spite of the experienced tragedy.
What will survive of us is love Larkin?
What is Philip Larkin known for?
Philip Arthur Larkin CH CBE FRSL (9 August 1922 – 2 December 1985) was an English poet, novelist, and librarian….Philip Larkin.
| Philip Larkin CH CBE FRSL | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Poet, librarian, novelist, jazz critic |
| Employer | University of Hull (1955–85) |
| Notable work | The Whitsun Weddings (1964), High Windows (1974) |
What is Larkins message to the reader?
In summary, Larkin’s speaker tells us that reading books used to provide escapism for him: first at school, where reading provided consolation from bullies by letting him live out his fantasies of vanquishing the school bully; then, as a young man, reading provided an outlet for living out all of his sexual fantasies.
What disaster occurs in the explosion by Philip Larkin?
In his poem “The Explosion,” Philip Larkin discusses the dramatic event of the mine disaster observed in 1969. This poem is the elegy to remember the tragedy of the explosion.
What is the meter of Philip Larkin’s poem explosion?
“The Explosion” is written in trochaic tetrameter without rhyme, both of which are very unusual in the poetry of Larkin, who used the iambic meter, usually pentameter and hexameter, and brilliant rhyme. There must have been something in the event and his treatment of it that insisted on this meter.
What are the themes of an Arundel Tomb?
‘An Arundel Tomb’ by Philip Larkin muses on themes of life, death, and the passage of time. The speaker alludes to the strength of love and how affecting a demonstration of it can be.
What does Larkin say in the last line of an Arundel Tomb?
Larkin varies the poem’s typical meter in the last line of this stanza by using the word “under” rather than “beneath,” drawing special attention to the “absurd” dogs. Yet even though the speaker finds them rather silly, the dogs add a human touch to the effigy—after all, who doesn’t love their dog and wish he could live forever?
When was the poem An Arundel Tomb written?
It was included as the final poem in his 1964 collection, The Whitsun Weddings, and is also one of his best known works. In the poem, the speaker is looking at stone effigies of a medieval earl and countess.
Why are Earl and countess holding hands in Arundel Tomb?
In the poem, the speaker is looking at stone effigies of a medieval earl and countess. Surprised to see that they are depicted holding hands, the speaker sets off a complex meditation about the nature of time, mortality, and love.