Larkins use of language Essay Example for Free

Larkins exercising of language EssayThe poems that I have chosen to comment on from the collection The Whitsun Weddings by Philip Larkin ar present, Nothing to be said and Faith Healing. I have chosen to write about these tether because they are all very different in terms of theme, language, verse form and Larkins message and purpose. Here is the opening poem of The Whitsun Weddings. It locates the reader in Larkins England and centres around a travel the protagonist is making from capital of the United Kingdom to Northumberland via Larkins hometown of Hull. Larkin uses a range of language and writing devices to express his feelings and at times his prejudices through his poetry and he does this especially well in Here. The first stanza begins with swerving east. The word swerving suggests a dangerous political campaign and a leave out of control from the person or thing that is swerving. When someone swerves it is usually to avoid something so by using the word swerving Larkin is immediately presenting the reader with a sense of avoidance and escape of control.Larkin then goes on to say that the fields are too thin and thistled to be called meadows. This shows that he is red through an area of land, which cannot quite be classed as countryside but is not quite urban. This could possibly be a representation of how Larkin is feeling at the time about carriage because even the countryside is not actual therefore Larkin may be commenting on the falsity of life because of its in- amongst state.The words Thin and thistled are harsh sounding words that make up beginning rhyme. This alliteration may have been utilize to mime the gentle hissing sound of the rent or can moving along the track or road. The harsh sounding words are probably applied as a vent for Larkins decline on a philosophical level for the falsity and lack of true meaning in life and on a smaller level for the land he is passing through that is not quite beautiful enough to be co untryside.A technique that interests me is used in the line harsh-named halt. This phrase uses a repetition of the /h/ sound, which is quite a hard sound to pronounce and therefore actually halts the readers rhythm. This includes alliteration of the /h/ sound but also a kind of onomatopoeia because the word halt is actually a word that sounds like a stoppage or halt and actively brings the reader to a fleeting pause. The word harsh is actually a harsh word, which adds more emphasis to the phrase.This technique is very effectual because it immerses the reader in the journey of the protagonist as it actually halts their flow when the protagonists train comes to a halt. Larkin uses a lot of alliteration in Here, an example of this occurs in the first stanza when alliteration occurs four times in the space of two lines Swerving to solitude of skies and scarecrows, haystacks, hares and pheasants. There is a repetition of the word swerving which reiterates the lack of control of the pro tagonist.It also shows the part of the journey that is taking him through the countryside and he is swerving east apart from the towns and towards the countryside. The repetition of the /s/ hissing sound gives a sense of speed and also replicates the sound of the train or car moving. The /s/ sound runs throughout two lines which links them together and helps demonstrate the onward movement of the protagonist and the passage of time. The actual shape of the letter /s/ is flowing and therefore mimics the journey flowing onward.In the last line of the first stanza Larkin describes the entrance to a town by proverb the shining gull-marked mud gathers to the surprise of a large town. Gull-marked mud can be used as a equivalence to harsh-named halt a few lines previously and demonstrates the difference between town and country. The comparison between harsh-named halt and gull-marked mud can also be drawn through the hyphen between the first two words (which could be used to show the o nward motion of the journey) and the alliteration used of the /h/ and /m/ sounds.