'Terrified of the thought of time passing' : the significance of time in the poetry of Philip Larkin

Abstract

The poetry of Philip Larkin has often been seen to concern itself with themes of death, love, and religion among others. This dissertation, however, analyses just how much of an effect the idea of time had on Larkin's poetry, and subsequently on his own personality and mentality. Through a close reading of a number of his poems, concepts such as the loss of time, the passing of time, and the relation between time and death in Larkin's poetry are deeply analysed, and through them a great deal of Larkin's own most personal sentiments and fears can be revealed. Such sentiments and fears include his fear of growing old and subsequently losing his grip on reality, the terrible feeling that he has ultimately wasted all of his youth by concerning himself with meaningless affairs, as well as that many of society's most popular constructs, such as those of marriage or religion, are ultimately completely pointless and only serve to bring anguish and deception to those involved. For Larkin, the concept of time seems to only bring corruption with it, which by its own nature affects everyone and everything it comes into contact with, and the way in which time is portrayed in Larkin's poetry is testimony to this.