Talking In Bed Analysis - Literary devices and Poetic devices

Talking In Bed

Talking in bed ought to be easiest,
Lying together there goes back so far,
An emblem of two people being honest.
Yet more and more time passes silently.
Outside, the wind’s incomplete unrest
Builds and disperses clouds in the sky,
And dark towns heap up on the horizon.
None of this cares for us. Nothing shows why
At this unique distance from isolation
It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.

Summary of Talking In Bed

Popularity of “Talking in Bed”: The poem, “Talking in Bed” by Philip Larkin, a promising English poet, and writer, is a sad poem. It first appeared in 1964 in his book, The Whitsun Weddings. The poem unveils the truths about life and how relationships decline over time. It voices the idea no matter how close we stay with someone; we can still taste the bitter loneliness. Philip Larkin’s use of various literary devices and universal thematic strands has made this poem laudable.
“Talking in Bed”, As a Representative of Sorrow: The poem accounts for the speaker’s failing relationship with his significant other. It begins when the speaker describes how talking in bed with one significant other should be an easy task to perform. Unfortunately, this comfort is missing in his life. The distance between the two bars them from having a healthy dialogue. He goes on to state that these joys sparkle only in memories. Time has changed almost everything; even positive traits like honesty, truthfulness, and love have got various definitions. As the poem continues, the speaker talks about nature, like how it works in a pre-destined manner, being ineffective of his condition. The distance between him and his significant other is a worry only for him. Nothing in this world is bothered about the loneliness that is getting on his nerves. The lack of communication and misunderstanding between the two have made them stand where they are unable to find any point for discussion.

Major Themes in “Talking in Bed”: Lack of communication, loneliness, and uncertainties of life are the major themes of the poem. This symbolic poem presents us with a couple having a strained relationship. It shows how loneliness can invade even the most intimate moments. They seem so close that they share one bed, but in reality, the two are not related to each other. The growing distance between the two is triggering the speaker. He seems to be worried about the strange attitude of his significant other. Unfortunately, he cannot do anything to change these present challenging moments. Therefore, this simple poem unfolds the bitter realities that even intense emotions like love can lose their charm.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “Talking in Bed”

literary devices help to have determined impacts of the poem on the intended audiences. It is due to these devices the writers become able to express their feelings, ideas and emotions impressively. The analysis of the devices used in this poem is as follows.

Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration, a technique in which initial sounds of neighboring words are consonants such as “together there” where the initial sound is the same that is /t/.
Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “Yet more and more time passes silently” and the sound of /o/ in “An emblem of two people being honest.”
Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /t/ in “Or not untrue and not unkind” and the sound of /s/ in “Builds and disperses clouds in the sky.”
Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;

“At this unique distance from isolation
It becomes still more difficult to find
Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.”

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Philip Larkin has used imagery in this poem such as “Lying together there goes back so far”, “And dark towns heap up on the horizon” and “Yet more and more time passes silently.”
Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning of the words. The writer has used situational irony throughout the poem to show the strained relationship. Despite sharing one bed, two people are ignorant of each other such as;

“Talking in bed ought to be easiest,
Lying together there goes back so far.”

Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used an extended metaphor of loneliness to show its deep effects on man’s mental as well as physical health.
Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. “None of this cares for us” symbolizes the acute misery of the speaker.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “Talking in Bed”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

Diction and Tone: The poem shows descriptive diction with a serious tone.
End Rhyme: End rhyme is used to make the stanza melodious. Although the poem does not rhyme, yet Larking has used end rhyme in it such as “flowers/hours”, “sky/why” and “find/kind.”
Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict rhyme or meter.
Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem contains twelve lines with no stanza break in it.

Quotes to be Used

These lines from “Talking in Bed” are suitable to quote while talking about the effect of loneliness on one’s life.