This document analyzes Philip Larkin's poem "Essential Beauty" through discussing its themes, techniques, and context. It examines how the poem juxtaposes idealized advertisements with a less perfect reality, using rhyme and repetition to emphasize contrasts. Additionally, it explores how the poem reflects Larkin's negative views of industrialization dominating society and how advertisements promote an unattainable image of life. The context discussed is that the poem was written about post-World War 2 Hull and Larkin's belief that society prefers covering up problems rather than addressing them.
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Essential Beauty
This document analyzes Philip Larkin's poem "Essential Beauty" through discussing its themes, techniques, and context. It examines how the poem juxtaposes idealized advertisements with a less perfect reality, using rhyme and repetition to emphasize contrasts. Additionally, it explores how the poem reflects Larkin's negative views of industrialization dominating society and how advertisements promote an unattainable image of life. The context discussed is that the poem was written about post-World War 2 Hull and Larkin's belief that society prefers covering up problems rather than addressing them.
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Essential Beauty
What it is about
How publicity doesnt reflect real life
Juxtaposes the idealistic adverts with a less perfect reality suggesting people shouldnt buy into the fake world it is portraying
Larkins techniques
Juxtaposition e.g. screen graves with custard,
cover slums with praise - screen and cover represents the medias coverage of real life - custard silver knife/golden butter suggests his sarcasm, making the poem slightly comical
Larkins techniques
Rhyme scheme emphasises the contrasts
e.g. gutter and butter suggesting they are two things that should not go together They dominate outdoors shows Larkins negative and destructive views regarding industrialisation
Larkins techniques
Repetition of pure emphasises how
idealistic and unobtainable the advertisements are Pure coldness to our live imperfect eyes coldness suggests we are allowing items that are not alive to define our lifestyles
Larkins techniques
Taste old age synaesthesia, reflecting the
impossibility of what the advertisements portray Where nothings made as new or washed quite clean advertisements force its audience to strive for the unachievable
Larkins techniques
White clothed ones from tennis clubs
juxtaposes the boy puking his heart out in the gents as the drunk wouldnt be portrayed in advertisements, contrasts with the upper class who would be - ones reflects the detachment of the upper class and the general population
Links
Whitsun Weddings doesnt believe in
happiness of the couples or of what the adverts are portraying, paranoid he is being tricked Talking in Bed couples should be an emblem however it shows an interpretation that is not true
Links
Here they dominate outdoors is mirrored
and shows Larkins hatred for the power industrialisation holds An Arundel Tomb both present an unobtainable image that Larkin disagrees with
Context
Written about Hull, after World War 2, about
the large amount of billboards covering the destruction caused by the bombs Larkin doesnt like industrialisation, and believes societys dysfunctional ways would rather cover problems than fix them repetition of graves reinforces the idea that idealistic advertisements cover the parts of society that arent working