The Whitsun Weddings - Philip Larkin

This collection, which is all I have read or will hopefully read, deals with a number of issues, although the main theme is of love and relationships. on examining it in detail, I discovered that that poems "Love Songs in Age," examining how the youthful hopes and promises of true love were false; the eponymous "Whitsun Weddings," a lengthy criticism of the institution of marriage; "Talking in Bed," noting the boredom of a long-married couple; "Afternoons," the young housewife's unhappiness, and "an Arundel Tomb," examining the effect or existence of eternal love after death. This final poem is the only time Larkin ...  Read the complete review

I am not a great fan of poetry, and even less a fan of depressing, unfunny and tedious commentaries on British life in the 20th century. It's not surprising that I didn't enjoy reading one of Larkin's most famous anthologies, "the Whitsun Weddings." The only reason I became exposed to this poet and this collection was through my A-level English Literature, and along with my Louis XIV topic in history it was one of the rare occasions when I've felt pushed to succeed at an examination simply so I can forget all about it for alway. However, Larkin certainly appeals to some people, my English teacher at least, and he certainly has a grasp ...  Read the complete review

One of the strangest chaps I?ve ever seen, performance poet Christopher Twigg, wrote a song (considered by many Tonbridgians to be his finest) called ?Phillip Larkin?. It includes the words ?You can?t come in under my umbrella, even though the rain is pouring down? before working up to a painfully funny falsetto ?Come in!? The downright meanness of the sentiment expressed in these words is a reflection of the popular image of Larkin. We see him as grumpy, selfish and a bastard. He was, and that?s why I like him. Larkin?s world is unpretentiously down-to-earth. It is a world of ?groping back to bed after a piss? and being ?fucked up?; a world ...  Read the complete review

I think Larkin, believe it or not, would have accepted that title and maybe would have secretly tittered that a 25 year old woman wants to even bother writing an opinion on him. I was introduced to Philip Larkin’s work whilst studying English Literature at A’Level. The Whitsun Weddings was the start of a beautiful friendship with his wit, cynicism and downright sexist attitude. Despite my ‘feminist’ leanings and the fact that if any man were to comment on any inferiority I had as a woman, they would no longer be able to father children, Larkin made me laugh. Larkin quite simply mocked his own failings and anything, which he does insinuate ...  Read the complete review