Ignorance/ Nothing to be said.

Ignorance.
This poem comes back to resemble Larkins negetive views, the poem is about life and the idea of a meaningless exisence. He uses the idea of making a choice without knowing much about it. This links to the idea that he feels in life you make choices without looking at consquences or reasons why you chose certain ideas. He backs this idea with "knowing nothing, never to be the same"that if you know little then you are less likely to be intrigued than to if you know more than you should, being a different person. Larkin uses the idea of being " ignorant of the way things work" not knowing much is often harder as you question more yet "for our flesh" for yourself in time you age and change; as does time.
This poem links to 'Nothing to be said' as in both poems there's an idea of life being pointless and the last line in 'Ignorance' is "have no idea why" the idea that in life you have so many questions but many are left unanswered or untold because in life things change and get forgotten.

Nothing to be said.
The main point in this poem is reflected in other poems. It also shows a divide in culture or class, the idea that the rich or poor live their life in different ways. The location of this poem is found by "coble-close" and the "mill-towns" suggesting Larkin located it in Northern England. To finish the last stanza Larkin uses a paradox "life is slow dying" this idea reflects that live lasts to long when all you have as a result is death and to combat the "ways of slow dying" all you can do is "hunting" or "holding a garden party" to just fill up the time you have between birth and death.
Larkin shows the idea that "love and money" along with birth and death are all equal, as you cant measure one without the other.
the last stanza Larkin uses a 'zeugma'( connection of words with different meanings) "hours giving evidence Or birth" implying both are equal yet in different ways. The last line "to some it means nothing; others it leaves nothing to be said" showing two types of people the optimistic people who don't care and the pessimistic who feel it offers a perfect explanation and sums life up.

Days/ Water

Days.

Again this poem is about life and death. The first line opens with a question "What are days for?" this shows Larkin is unsure and wants the audience to think.But also could show that he overthinks to much. There is two voices in this poem which is split by the stanza's. The first is seen in the first stanza which is Larkin questioning himself about life yet the final stanza is him answering his question and the conclusion if life is often death. The tones of the voice seem quite childish and and uncertain. Larkin uses "brings the priest and the doctor" this could indicate when your time is over the 'priest' repressents a funeral and the 'doctor' shows the idea of death or illness.
The idea of the poem is that in life you think too much, which causes and waits for death to approach due to so many unanswered questions.

Water.
I feel compared to Larkins other poems this seems quite positive. He uses a pronoun 'I' which shows its about Larkin therefore it's more personal than many of his other poems. The idea of "water" being refreshing or purity prehaps show the poem is positive.
This poem seems religious as he uses words such as "raise" and "east" which could symbolise recerection. The idea that Larkin wants people to "congregate endlessley" may imply he wants people to be together. Showing an idea of freedom and that 'Water' is endless and shows life or eternity.

Home is so Sad

Home is so sad. It stays as it was left,      -A home is to provide comfort yet now that ideas gone.         

Shaped to the comfort of the last to go    -Left, no one to please or keep safe anymore.

As if to win them back. Instead, bereft

Of anyone to please,it withers so,            -Can't comfort anyone- has no meaning anymore         

Having no heart to put aside the theft      - Stolen' its old life has been taken and is lost.       

 

And turn again to what it started as,

A joyous shot at how things ought to be,          -little things hold happy memories from the past

Long fallen wide. You can see how it was:

Look at the pictures and the cutlery.                 -show memories and emotions of the past.   

The music in the piano stool. That vase.           -classic nostaglia. ( uncovering the past)

 

This poem shows classic nostalgia, everything was better in the past than it is now. However this shows a different side to Larkin as it's him that's sad and his memories and happiness that has been left behind.

The last stanza the use of the words pictures,cutlery,music and vase show how his life used to be. The pictures may symbolise family and company while the cutlery shows family and gatherings whilst the music implys happiness and good memories. The vase could show life and love, as its now empty without flowers could show little life and the lost love that was held in th past.

 

'Home is so Sad'  In the title Larkin uses antropomorphism, a house is an object therefore doesn't have any emotion or feelings. I feel the house is used to repressent how Larkin feels, his house may hold many memories of the happiness and people that have walked into his life and left. Yet  now there's little reason to relive the past as the memories therefore he is left alone and he feels sad. 

First Sight

First Sight:

Lambs that learn to walk in snow                    harsh winter, born early
When their bleating clouds the air
Meet a vast unwelcome, know               winter isn't welcome, spring is needed
Nothing but a sunless glare
Newly stumbling to and fro
All they find, outside the fold
Is a wretched width of cold

As they wait beside the ewe
Her fleeces wetly caked, there lies
Hidden round them, waiting too
Earth's immeasurable surprise                 spring offers hope and surprise.
They could not grasp it if they knew
What so soon will wake and grow         spring gives a sense of hope
Utterly unlike the snow.

This is a generally optimistic poem by Larkin, it describes nature which often offers a sense of hope. The idea that the lambs were born in the snow suggest a harsh winter that's latest longer than expected as lambs are normally born in spring. Due to the winter the lambs are suffering from the coldness and lack of food. The fact the lambs are waiting for "earth's immeasurable surprise' suggests  to them that spring is a great surprise that they wont know and that it brings them hope.
The rhythm of the poem is ( A,B,A,B,C,D,D) this may suggest a cycle at the start which then dies down towards the end representing the seasons. The idea of a cycle of nature and that out of bad comes goodness with surprise or hope.

Ambulances

'Ambulances' is a symbol of morality and mankind's fight against it. The title shows desperation along with being frantic with a sense of life or death. The first stanza opens with a simile "closed like confessionals" this portrays the ambulance as being a place to confess sins before your death and the doctors replace the priest and help you in their way. The idea that the ambulance reaches "all streets" shows that everyone can have help when in need.
The second stanza is  again a typical Larkin as he shows his snobbery towards certain people, he describes the "women as coming from the shops" implying that's the only thing they are good at and the children are described as being "strewn" meaning they look thrown and are just objects place to make the town messy. He uses a oxymoron "wild white" to show the ill people the colour 'white' is often associated with peace or a being bland whereas 'wild' is meant to be a brighter more exciting colour. The word 'Red' also may show a difference in opinion as the colour is often associated with danger or trouble. Larkin describes the people who are watching as being pitiful and almost sarcastic saying "poor soul" at their "own distress" showing they are so absorbed in their self that they don't show sympathy to others. A paradox is used in "for bourne away in deadened air" shows the cycle of birth and death and how the air seems silent and 'deadened' showing no life.
Larkin's view on family seems quite negative because he says "unique random blend of families and fashions, there at last begin to loosen" this line implies Larkin means that together families can be so different  and your searching for a meaning yet before you die everything changes as you begin to feel closer to others and that when you realise your coming to an end, your life means more to you. But death is shown to be lonely and all you do is wait for "what is left to come", perhaps showing you wait for your death.
The title Ambulance is quite meaningful as Larkin focuses on the bad points of the vehicle and how it focuses on the death yet life can also be brought by this. The rhyming in this poem is quite consistent and has a more structured, patterned rhyme. the first stanza alone has a repeated rhyme this may suggest the circle of life. The idea that you need to return to the start.

Wild Oats

The title 'Wild Oats' itself shows the idea of having fun and living a little before marriage. Here Larkin talks of two girls who he likes but he gets to one by using the other. Larkin describes the first girl as a "bosomy English rose" which shows she is pretty and classical, perhaps out of his league. Whereas her "friend in specs" is easily approachable and he feels he has more security with her, the way he describes her just as a "friend" may suggest she means very little to him and he gets bored easily. His relationship with this girl is quite selfish and means very little to either because after "four hundred letters" they break up yet, there is no sympathy explaining little passion. He describes having "two snaps" of the pretty girl in his wallet and that perhaps its his "unlucky charm" his dream is unrealistic and perhaps implying that beauty leads to trouble.
Larkin seems to use objectification because he cares more about the looks rather than personality showing that there's a failure and resignation in the face of unstainable beauty.

This poem is based on Larkin's own life as the "bosomy English rose" is meant to be a girl who frequently visited Larkin in the library where he worked. Over time they connected by letters but often didn't maintain the correspondence, perhaps due to being bored of Larkin as she had other offers because she was so pretty. Showing many people believe that 'beauty' is more of an object.