An Arundel Tomb

Themes
The passage of time, a reflection on death and love as an eternal ideal that transcends time or as a distorted interpretation of history.

Content
The poem centres around a medieval tomb of the Earl and Countess of Arundel which Larkin himself visited at the Chichester Cathedral. The tomb features effigies of the couple holding hands and Larkin questions whether this love was really a truth or a lie.

Analysis

• The poem starts with the phrase "side by side", implying a restful and intimate scene that places the two people on equal standing, as emphasised by the alliteration. However, the faces are "blurred" and distorted by time, making the people anonymous and unrecognisable-faceless symbols, universal.
• Larkin again uses the pun "lie" as is present in so many of his other poems in the collection to mean lying down or lying to deceive. The "proper habits" of the people set in stone are no longer remembered as the substance and meaning of their lives is a thing of no consequence to visitors.
• That the Earl wears "jointed armour" implies chivalry and heroism and even the "absurd" detail of the dogs represents companionship and loyalty.
• The "plainness" of the design (a reference to art of the time) is contrasted to the "sharp tender shock" that the couple are holding hands-they are the embodiment of eternal love. The oxymoron of "sharp tender" is meant to show a shocking but pleasant surprise at finding that the couple decided to be portrayed this way but also to contrast to the cold nature often assigned to a warrior wearing armour.
• Yet again, "lie" is used as a pun but with further sarcasm to hint that it is tiresome for this lie of love to have gone on for so long and that the tomb wasn't intended to be a monument for love. The couple are imprisoned in their marriage and the lie. The "faithfulness" is suggested to be simply an act that "friends would see" to make them envy them or just for friends to appreciate.
• "Sweet commissioned" is another example of an oxymoron to show that the effigies were only created because it was the sculptor's job and wouldn't have been done out of feeling at the time. It appears that the couple simply wanted their "Latin names" to be remembered and that perhaps it was all a ruse to earn fame after death.
• The fourth stanza starts to put emphasis on the passing of time and the "supine stationary voyage" that the couple embark on-lying unmoving as people come to see all they represent ( a type of life after death). The old world  and its tenants have disappeared and the Latin language is a symbol of the past that it is unreadable for many. This perhaps is the meaning of "to look, not read" or it could additionally mean that it is the image, not the names that matter- they are a symbol of all we hope for. The particulars are ignored in favour of a sheer visual impression and the oxymoron "soundless damage" is the erosion of the stone by time and nature. Few  people remain to see the tomb as what it really is rather than as an historical artefact. The tomb shifts from a token of their memory to a monolith of their age.
• "Rigidly", forever linked, the effigies face the "lengths and breadths of time"- lasting and enduring this test.
• The "light" and "snow" are symbols of purity meant to cleanse as further highlighted by the identities of the couple "washing" away- the elements are removing the lie or reducing the scene to its simplest form. The "birdcalls" also represent new life to be contrasted with the "bone-riddled ground", however, the couple remain "helpless"-stuck in one place with no protection ("unarmorial")
• "The endless altered people" are changed by the stark display of love they view but this is also a reference to the loss of religion. The alliteration of "smoke in slow suspended skeins" refers to modern industrial life blurring the truth.
• In the end, it is only the "attitude", not the individuals that remain. People enjoy the notion of love as pure and permanent and ultimately, the effigies' erosion over time has made the scene they portray false. Their "final blazon" is the ending line: "What will survive of us is love". Whilst this may seem an optimistic end to a poem that has been querying love, it is tarnished by the word "almost". The love is "almost true" but not fully- Larkin is unsure whether to fully embrace the scene and that which it symbolises. The poem may be interpreted as a testament to love, in that it will conquer even death as Larkin was able to be more positive about other's experiences or, many think, more likely, it is bleakly realistic as the tomb is a delusion that people want to see but actually means nothing at all- a touching lie.
• It is interesting to note that the title of the poem is the tomb's name yet the poem itself talks about the people themselves more personally.
• Enjambment appears to show the lasting nature of the effigies.
• Equivocation-an almost truth but not the whole truth- the basis of the poem. The poem talks about what sentimentality looks like the morning after.

Links to other poems
Talking in Bed- breakdown/erosion of love
Self's the Man-selfishness
The Whitsun Weddings- the journey of marriage

Academic links:http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/guide/237912