MCMXIV (1964)
By Philip Larkin
Those long uneven lines
Standing as patiently
As if they were stretched outside
The Oval or Villa Park,
The crowns of hats, the sun
On moustached archaic faces
Grinning as if it were all
An August Bank Holiday lark;And the shut shops, the bleached
Established names on the sunblinds,
The farthings and sovereigns,
And dark-clothed children at play
Called after kings and queens,
The tin advertisements
For cocoa and twist, and the pubs
Wide open all day;And the countryside not caring:
The place-names all hazed over
With flowering grasses, and fields
Shadowing Domesday lines
Under wheat’s restless silence;
The differently-dressed servants
With tiny rooms in huge houses,
The dust behind limousines;Never such innocence,
Never before or since,
As changed itself to past
Without a word – the men
Leaving the gardens tidy,
The thousands of marriages,
Lasting a little while longer:
Never such innocence again.
Summary of MCMXIV (1964)
- Popularity of “MCMXIV (1964)”: Written in 1964 and included in his collection, the Whitsun Weddings, this poem “MCMXIV” by Philip Larkin presents the momentous transformation taken place in England when WWI was going on. The poet presents urban and rural divide to show how WWI impacted both populations and how it made a difference in the level of its impacts. The popularity of the poem lies in the presentation of the true picture of both perspectives.
- “MCMXIV (1964)” As a Representative of English of WWI: The speaker of the poem is the poet himself. He presents both sides of the picture of England from an omniscient point of view, saying when he sees the urban areas, the unending queues of would-be soldiers are stretched far out in the popular parks with different facial expressions and accouterments. People are grinning as if they are on holiday. On the other hand, WWI closed the city shops, making the economy witness a severe slump, emptying markets, enjoying children, and pubs sans customers. However, the rural areas are as if they have no impact of the war. Although the regions look like bleached areas with hazy names on the boards, silence in the fields, and vehicles covered in the dust yet it seems that nobody has witnessed such innocence before amid the doomsday situations, temporary marriages, and abandoned gardens.
- Major Themes in “MCMXIV (1964)”: Impacts of WWI on urban and rural lives, public ignorance about the drums of war, and innocence of the abandoned places are major themes of this poem. Although the poet does not name the arrival or continuance of WWI, it is clear from the suggestive title of the poem how it has impacted city life, making young men queue for recruitment and markets empty without no economic activity. On a rural level, its impacts are rather nascent. The villages are empty, with silence ruling the roost and fields demonstrating complete silence. The government’s neglect is clear from the hazy boards of the names of the villages. The final comments about innocence and marriage show the death of the young men who have already gone to the war.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in MCMXIV (1964)
Philip Larkin used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Allusion: It means to use references of cultural, classical, and social significance, such as Shadowing Domesday lines, the Villa or Oval Park, and references to the English countryside.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Standing as patiently” and the sound of /o/ in “Shadowing Domesday lines.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /f/ and /r/ in “With flowering grasses, and fields” and the sound of /t/ and /s/ in “The differently-dressed servants.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Philip Larkin used imagery in this poem, such as “With tiny rooms in huge houses”, “The dust behind limousines” and “Leaving the gardens tidy.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of queue lines that are standing patiently.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of the queues showing as if they have patience, a human emotion.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as hats, the sun, Villa Park, a lark, and shops to show the impact of war.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in MCMXIV (1964)
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and precise diction.
- Free Verse: It means to use verses sans rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This is a free-verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas each comprising a different number of verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a tragic, sorrowful, and bland tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about a slump in the economy.
And the shut shops, the bleached
Established names on the sunblinds,
The farthings and sovereigns,
And dark-clothed children at play
Called after kings and queens,
The tin advertisements
For cocoa and twist, and the pubs
Wide open all day;