Poems About Belief

Ignorance

Content

An abstract poem which explores our beliefs and knowledge.

Analysis

• The word "ignorance" means a lack of knowledge, pig-headedness, stupidity or obliviousness. Larkin's poem questions whether we are all ignorant and of an uncaring nature and how uncertain people actually are throughout their lives.
• The word "strange" is repeated to emphasise how odd it is that we claim to have so much knowledge yet actually "know nothing" and how complex the truth can be to understand. There are many different answers to questions, whether they be "true or right or real" and people are never certain "of what is true" as humans are constantly questioning themselves. However, this also highlights Larkin's uncertainty regarding the future and he wants people to question their beliefs.
• Tentative phrasing appears at the end of the first stanza  (e.g. "it does seem so") to imply that people have to offer opinions or beliefs even when they know nothing, suggesting an element of stubbornness and pride. Larkin wishes to know the answers and states that "someone must know", however, this is perhaps just a lie people tell themselves to make themselves feel better or safer in the belief that the knowledge is out there.
• Processes and objects are personified as adept at "finding what they need"- they are living reminders that we cannot understand everything. Alternatively, the "their" that Larkin refers to may be every other person looking for answers and simply learning to survive. The "spread of seed" is perhaps a reference to the spread of ideas or reproduction and people are willing to "change" what they believe as they are influenced by outside forces.
• We "wear" our "knowledge" as a barrier to make ourselves feel secure and the "decisions" of our "flesh" (our actions)  make it seem like we know what we are doing. When people have strong beliefs, they flaunt them yet they are "imprecisions"- we base our lives so fully on things we often cannot prove.
• Larkin creates a paradox in the last stanza in that we have "knowledge" but "no idea why". In the end, when death nears, we cannot fully understand death itself and why we had to create beliefs of no substance. As life draws to a close, we have no use for beliefs as the one truth is death . Therefore, Larkin may have meant to convey the idea that belief is futile as everyone claims to know something when they are in fact ignorant. People have learnt to survive by enclosing themselves in obliviousness and Larkin wishes to question this.
• Beliefs are not truths but ideas we hold onto for security. They are easily subject to the influence of others. Larkin was ignorant of other's beliefs because they were not concrete. The last line highlights his view that there is no life after death, despite what others believe and Larkin questions whether people make the right life decisions.

Days

Content

'Days' is a philosophical poem about time and the meaning of life which concludes that the only answer to life is death.

Analysis

• People's lives are governed and restricted by days of the year. Days are eternal, mundane and over-looked but at the same time, they offer us the chance for creating memories and happiness. They are a way of passing the time until death, as is a response to the opening question of the poem.
• As Larkin states, days are "where we live". "Time and time over" the days are repeated and we are stuck in a constant cycle without any control. Days are personified as real living things which act as kidnappers of life and structure the way we go through daily routines.  However, at the end of the first stanza, the question arises of "Where can we live but days?". This is paradoxical as it would seem that the answer is nowhere- if days are life, we cannot "live" anywhere else. The only other alternative would seem to be death. This then is perhaps why the "priest and the doctor" come running as a person would be suicidal if they were trying to challenge beliefs and live outside of normal time or they would be considered insane. However, these two people also represent contrasting views-science and religion. Whilst the priest believes in afterlife and could offer prayers for a blessed life outside of days, the doctor would try to prolong the number of days you stay on earth. It is the thought behind the question and not the answer to the question itself that Larkin is emphasising.
• The fact that the two men come "running over the fields" implies freedom and the natural cycle.
• The poem is deliberately simple with no rhyme, simple language, simple answers and short sentences in order to have a sharp impact on the reader. It is almost childish in some ways, thus exploring a complex matter in a way that makes it seem less important. Larkin wishes to make us question even the simple things we know (or that we think we know). He tests all that we believe as routine and leaves us think this over.
• Within the poem, there may be one or two voices. One interpretation could be that there is a questioner and the speaker who are having a conversation- this may even be a psychological review to test a person's sanity. Alternately, there may be just one voice who is questioning what they know about life. Days are a form of time and the way through which we organise our lives- without them, we would be lost.
• The poem itself is particularly puzzling in that no clear answers are offered- it could be suggesting that we should live to the full while we have it or that death is the only solution to the endless days we have to endure.

Academic links: http://poetry-fromthehart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/days-philip-larkin.html


Nothing To Be Said

Content/Theme
A pessimistic poem about how death draws ever closer with every passing day, despite that which we do to deter it.

Analysis

• Larkin starts the poem by describing different groups of people or places: "nations vague as weed" (an unflattering description of those developing countries), "nomads among stones" ( unattached and without a home), "small-statured... tribes" ( isolated with stunted growth) and "cobble-close families" (those people tied down in family life). No matter how different each of these groups are, they are all slowly dying. This paradox highlights that anything we do with our lives simply brings us one step closer to death. Alliteration could also appear to suggest the whispers of time and death that always surround us.
• There are various different "ways of slow dying" that people use to pass the time, whether this be surrounding themselves with "benediction" or "measuring love and money". This juxtaposition of ideas presents both at materialistic and commercial. "The days spent hunting pig" are typical of the upper-class of the time and their differing ways of passing the days.
• The "Hours giving...birth" imply that even those bringing new life into the world are just slowly dying and that though people may try to convince themselves that this new life signals hope, there is no way out of death. The phrase could alternatively be related to the superior profession of a doctor to emphasise that everyone, from every place, class and profession on Earth will die.
• However, when people are told this, they are divided up into two groups. To "some" it "means nothing"- they do not care about death and want to simply take life as it is. To others, "it leaves nothing to be said"- this sums up everything that can be said and its traumatic nature robs the people of any words. There is no escape and they take this to heart.
• The point Larkin is trying to make is that we spend our whole lives viewing other people differently and trying to prove that we are alive when actually we are just drawing closer to death, step by side. The fact that the poem title refers to the second type of people implies that Larkin himself belonged to that group and in many ways, feared death. 

Water

Content/ Theme
In many ways, this poem is a flippant musing on religion and Larkin's criticism of its ways. As an atheist, or more precisely, an agnostic, Larkin had no religion but did recognise that others found comfort in it. Larkin himself was unsure whether to believe in religion or not and therefore, this poem shows his uncertainties.


Analysis

• "Water" is pure, simple, cleansing and life-giving. It is a necessity of life, which is why so many religions use it as a symbol.
• Larkin starts by dismissively suggesting that he could "construct" a religion- a mocking view that suggests that religion is a mere fabrication and man-made concept that has little basis in the truth. Larkin wishes people to question their religious beliefs. He states that he would "make use of water" as it is transparent and has no hidden motives.
• Numerous traditions of namely the Christian religion are mentioned, such as "going to church" and congregations, perhaps linking to the idea that many religions 'borrow' from one another and are ultimately the same. As the poem progresses, different uses of water are suggested. The "fording" makes reference to crossing a stream or river, implying that religion can be difficult whilst the "dry, different clothes" are hugely critical in that they relate to the stiff and artificial clothes people wear as their Sunday best. Religion has become too overcomplicated by things that are not needed and Larkin wishes to wash these things away. Moreover, the alliteration creates a sense of dullness and makes the reader dwell on the line as unlike the rest of the poem, there is not the gentle, lazy rhythm to mimic a river.
• The imagery of water becomes more intense as the reader follows the stanzas, leading to a "furious devout drench"-Larkin is angry at the state of religion and wishes it to be cleansed thoroughly. It needs to return to the basics- the death of overcomplicated religions would be a good thing.
• The last stanza focuses on raising a "glass of water" in the "east" as may religions originate from the East and this is where the sun rises to begin a new day. However, it could be interpreted as a mocking gesture, laughing at the absurdity of religion with a "cheers". Where this glass is lifted, "any-angled light would congregate", a simple idea that includes both science and religion. While science often seems to contradict religion, the word "congregate" suggests that religion and science could co-exist peacefully-a positive and optimistic end note.
• The poem as a whole has no rhyme scheme and enjambment to keep it simple with no exaggeration.
• The first person voice is used to make the persona appear god-like and egotistical.
• Larkin manages to question religion in just 13 lines, making the poem whimsical in many ways yet at the heart of the poem is a paradox. Larkin seems to criticise religion  yet at the same time suggests creating a religion himself and acknowledges that religion cannot be dismissed for it brings comfort to many. He wants religion to remain, just in a purer form.

Academic link: http://theviewfromoutside.com/2012/09/17/written-analysis-of-a-poem-water-by-philip-larkin/


First Sight

Content/Theme
An optimistic poem concerning the passage of the time and the changing of seasons, as based around lambs taking their first steps into the world.

Analysis

• 'First Sight' refers literally to the lambs' first sight of the world as they are born. It is a hopeful and positive time.
• The lambs are symbolic of youth and innocence and have many opportunities ahead of them. Though they are "stumbling" and lost, they will gradually learn the necessary skills and find their way. However, they are born into winter (the season of death), which Larkin describes using negative imagery. The oxymoron of "sunless glare" emphasises that the cold is chilling to the bone and that there is no sun to warm the lambs as they adapt. They are born into a harsh and unforgiving season- "unwelcome".
• Despite this initial bleakness, there is a sense of anticipation in the second stanza as the lambs "wait" for something that they perhaps can sense will come. "Earth's immeasurable surprise" is the changing of the seasons from, in this case, winter to spring. Whilst the lambs may not be able to "grasp" what is to come, a surprise has positive connotations and suggests that they will soon receive a gift. "Utterly unlike the snow", spring brings with it light and hope.
• As a whole, the poem is oddly positive and hopeful for Larkin, with the depressively bleak winter landscape being contrasted with the prospect of forthcoming winter that is to unfold. Larkin is suggesting that though life may appear bad at times, there is always hope and things are not as bad as they seem.
• The rhyme scheme of ABABACC is somewhat melodious and the rhyme at the end suggests optimism and serenity.
• Despite this, many would like to think that there elements of pessimism in the poem and that the surprise is death. After all, lambs are bred to be eaten and surprises are not always welcome. The image of the ewe "caked" in mud/snow is strongly negative and suggests that the lambs too will be soiled by their harsh lives, however, I would take the poem at face value.

Academic link: http://www.uni-koeln.de/phil-fak/englisch/larkin.html


Links
Days, Nothing To Be Said- occupy our time to distract us, all drawing closer to death
Days, Toads Revisited- better to do something with your time
Ignorance, First Sight- lack of knowledge about what is to come, contrast- can be a positive, hopeful future
Ignorance, Water- overcomplicating life, wanting something to believe in

Overall
Larkin understood that people wanted security in their beliefs yet he forces them to question this. He himself was uncertain about what he believed in and was searching for answers just like so many others, hoping for a positive future like that in 'First Sight'. He knew that beliefs could be comforting but he did not want to believe in something fake, overcomplicated or untrue.