Poetry of departures

Philips Larkin Poetry of departures analysis

Poem Name Poetry of departures
PoetPhilip Larkin
Poem TypeAutobiographical
StyleCharacteristic Colloquial Style

Introduction Poetry of departures

Philip Larkin poem of departure is an autobiographical poem. This poem is a description of an office worker. at present, the life of modern office workers is temperate and active. in opposition to this life, there are so many people in an Industrial society, even those who have some type of safety and a good package of salary.

This poem is related to those persons who dream of getting away from it all and living more adventurously the message of the poem is the Desire to break the wearisome Routine of life.

Larkin’s poem poetry of departure is the beautiful defence of the conventional morality and ordinary routine living against the glamorized romanticizing to which all of us,  and perhaps particularly artists, for some time prone. 

The poem manages to defend the humdrum without sowing pompous. The poem poetry of departure comes from Philip Larkins volume, one titled “ The Less Deceived” The poem poetry of departure was written in the year 1955. 

Poem: “Poetry of departures”

Sometimes you hear, fifth-hand,
As epitaph:
He chucked up everything
And just cleared off,
And always the voice will sound
Certain you approve
This audacious, purifying,
Elemental move.

And they are right, I think.
We all hate home
And having to be there:
I detest my room,
Its specially-chosen junk,
The good books, the good bed,
And my life, in perfect order:
So to hear it said

He walked out on the whole crowd
Leaves me flushed and stirred,
Like Then she undid her dress
Or Take that you bastard;
Surely I can, if he did?
And that helps me stay
Sober and industrious.
But I’d go today,

Yes, swagger the nut-strewn roads,
Crouch in the fo’c’sle
Stubbly with goodness, if
It weren’t so artificial,
Such a deliberate step backwards
To create an object:
Books; china; a life
Reprehensibly perfect.

Introduction of the “Poetry of departures”

The poem “poetry of departures” is an autobiographical poem. this poem is related to the life of an office worker. according to the poet, the life of a modern office worker is sober and laborious.

In contrast to this life, there are so many people in an Industrial society, even those who have some type of security and good earnings. this poem is related to those people who dream of getting away from it all and living a more adventurous life. 

In the poem, The Desire is to break the weariness of routine life. The poet presents of fact that nobody likes home and to be tied at home. The ironical paradox is that though the home is a safe and comfortable place to fulfil the needs of a person and protect him from the Furies of life, strangely He finds it repugnant to his spirit of freedom.

In the poem, the poet realises the futility of such renunciation. He Thinks That the act of renunciation Is only an escape from the laborious life of this materialistic world. Those who find themselves. unable to fulfil the household responsibility, Choose the way of a saint type life. Finally, the poet badly condemns the life of renunciation. 

Summary

The poet says that sometimes we hear from someone the news that a certain man has given up everything,  and just gone away.  News of this kind quickly spreads,  so that when you receive it, it has already become stale.

Whoever hears this news approves of the action of the man who had abandoned every possession of his life,  and simply gone away. Everybody would describe that man’s Action as a courageous and uplifting one.  

The poet also approved of that kind of action on the part of a man, and so he endorses the opinion of other people in this matter. the poet says that we all hate home, And we all hate. I am going to continue to stay in our homes.

The poet himself heats the room in which he lives, And he hates all the rubbish which he has Connected and arranged in his room with special care. the rubbish includes books and a good bed to sleep in. He hates this room even though he is leading an orderly kind of life here. 

With this behaviour towards his room and his having to live in it, The poet feels excited and when he hears the news that a certain man had given up everything and simply gone away, leaving the whole crowd of his family and relatives And acquaintance behind.

The poet feels as thrilled on hearing this news about somebody as he would feel when someone describes to him a woman undressing. and he feels as excited on hearing this news about somebody as he would feel when someone were to call him a bastard And were thus to speak In a highly offensive manner to him.

When the poet hears news about somebody’s sudden departure from home,  it occurs To him that, if that fellow could do such a thing, He( The Poet)  could also follow the same route.

But when this idea occurs To him he becomes all the more encouraged To stay on where he is, and to continue doing the work which he has been doing so far. this is purely a paradox. 

And yet,  the poet would depart from home and roam freely over the roads on which nuts life is scattered. He would depart from home and hide in the forecastle of the ship, To escape the notice of the ship’s crew. 

In other words, he would become a wonder on the roads, or sailor on a ship, In order to escape his life at home which he had begun to detest. And yet he avoids talking about such a step because of his view that such a step would appear to be artificial.

and that it seems to be a retrogressive step, he would give up his present routine life in the Course of which he has been collecting books, Chinaware,  and other articles,  and he would continue to lead this Perfect routine life even though “ perfection”  of this kind is something to be e condemned.

And he would continue to lead this routine life because giving up this kind of life in favour of a life of travel and adventure seems to him to be something natural and retrograde.

Poetry of departures Theme

When a person learns even though from any known or unknown person that somebody has snapped all relations and lifted the word fortunate activities, he or she appreciates this adventure considering is a very bold Ud, essential and ennobling step.

The poet says that the thinking of such people is right because nobody likes home and being tied to home.  the poet also hates his room which is equipped with good books and furniture as much as he hates his life of perfect order.

The bold step of the man who walked out on the whole crowd excites the poet with a wonder thirst for action and adventure-packed life.  his action provoked in like the provoking English cliches.

Then she undid her dress or take that you bastard, “He too would new home and go today Swagger the nut strewed roads. 

But soon he realises that all the poetry of departure and the romantic script looks highly absurd,  artificial and futile.  like many of Larkin’s other poems,  it also puts forth are debate between two contrasting viewpoints.

At first, the idea of leaving home and leading a life of adventure and travel seems to be most exciting and tempting. but 8 another undercurrent of Idea makes nonsense of All The Romance o exciting escapades. 

Thus after judging the various pros and cons of an exciting life of adventure on one hand,  and placid and routine life on the other,  the poet decides to remind settle down to his routine existence.  for him, the poetry of romance of all departure is just natural, artificial and retrogressive. it would be a step in the wrong direction.

Form, Style and Language

The poem is written in Larkin’s characteristic colloquial style. the very opening line is an example of that kind of Style. “sometimes you here”  etc. then the line” and they are right, ok it I think”  ok I also so has the same colloquial quality.

In fact, the whole of this poem is written in that conversational style. The poem shows also Larkin’s laconic manner of expressing himself. larkin’s poetry presents a model of compression and condensation.

The fewest possible words are used by him to express an idea, and sometimes even the syntax is sacrificed for the sake of economy. as in many other poems here to the stanza Is not observed as a separate unit in a poem.

For example, the last line of the second stanza runs into the first line of the next stanza, and the same thing happens in the case of the third stanza. there is no full stop at the end of the second stanza or at the end of the third stanza mark, there are stanzas off from what follows.

This is certainly an ‘  audacious ‘ Way of writing like the audacious Action of the man who “chucks up” Everything and just clears off. another feature of this poem is the anti-heroic and anti-romantic stance. 

If the poet had come to the farm conclusion that a life of travel and adventure Would be preferable to the stationary and stagnant life at home, we would have said that Larkin is a romantic poet with a heroic attitude towards life.

But that does not happen, leaving home and embarking on  aimless travelling or voyaging Seems to him” a deliberate step backwards.”