church going , At Grass , Whatever Happened, No Road Flashcards
(39 cards)
what is the significance of the title Church Going
The title is polysemic in meaning both relating to the speaker’s activities who visits the church and the exploration of an increasingly secular society leaving the church as an irrelevant and unimportant place.
how does the speaker sound ? ‘Another church’
Whilst the speaker implies that these buildings are in importance and hold not unique value individually it also refers to how the speaker’s church visits are a sustained undertaking therefore suggesting the church does possess some significant effect over the speaker.
what style of poem is church going?
Elegiac - reflecting on the loss of the church in a growing secular society
‘little books’ with AO3
‘the echoes snigger briefly’
‘brewed God Knows how long’
What connects these quotes?
The dimishing language and mockery of the church to easily dismiss a sacrosanct text which fits with Lakin’s intention to represent the perspective of a ‘Young heathen to whom there are plenty of these days’. Particularly shown through the ‘sniggers’ where the speaker displays a rather immature response.
Along with the unholy misuse of religious language
‘sprawling of flowers, cut/
for Sunday, brownish now’ ao2
The fading vibrancy of the flowers represent the decay of the church where the enjambment literally severs the statement in half and symbolically, so do the church’s ties with society.
musty unignorable silence
The synesthesia portrays the church as an overwhelming experience a place that is incredible outdated and somewhat vacuous.
‘donate an irish six pence’
‘i take off my cycle clips in akward reverence’
The actions of the speaker show that whilst he is keen to distance himself completely from religion and the church’s values he is still compelled to be respectful and comply with the ritual behaviors specific to a church. Despite the ‘Irish sixpence’ being an antiquated currency it is the thoughtfulness of the speaker who compromises through donation that suggests there is some meaning left in the religious setting.
where is the volta in church going?
a03
The volta is marked by the argument marker
‘Yet stop i did in fact I ofter do’
speaker admits that the church sustains his interest and has a profound effect on him , providing a nuanced attitude which may reflect Larkin’s own views as Hardy placed them ‘Not a church person but quite churchy’ and therefore the church is a catalyst for wider contemplation both about societal and spiritual concern.
why does the speaker use the language of ‘their parchment, plate and pyx’
The speaker despite initially rejecting any knowledge specific to the church now embraces it selecting specialized language and even showing careful attention to detail and ‘tending to the cross on the ground’ not just observing but appreciating the intricate detail of the church.
whilst respect the inside of the church what does ‘will dubious women come to make their children touch a particular stone.
The speaker still demonstrates some reluctancy toward devoting himself completley to religion suggesting the place could be one of superstition where beliefs are baseless and commitments intangible
‘found/only in separation - marriage and birth, And death’
The speaker conveys the church still holds a relevant function in society holding records of key milestones in people’s lives
‘this special shell’
How does the speaker’s view develop and what does it contrast?
The church is presented as a fairly vacuous and obselete place, Yet the repetion of ‘a serious house on a serious earth’. The tone is one that is genuine and truthful suggests by the end the speaker concludes the church holds new founded respect for the speaker which contrast the previous ‘young heathen’ who endevors to continue to learn about the church that is ‘proper to grow wise in’ wanting knowlege he does not yet have.
What is the significance of the title At Grass
Both refers to the horses current position and the idiosyncratic phrase referring to retirement and redundancy.
‘the eye can hardly pick them out’
‘stands anonymous again’
‘shade they shelter in’
The semantic field where the horses features are unremarkable and unimportant where even the speaker’s descriptions are unobtrusive highlighting the horse distance and isolation from the human world.
‘till wind distresses tail and main’
‘cold’
The pathetic fallacy initially outlines the horses stressful existence of being one that’s unhappy and out of control, seemingly neglected
How do the former racing lives of the horses contrast the beginning of the poem?
two dozen distances sufficed to fable them : faint afternoons’
the horses seem to uphold an incredible famous and public appeal where ‘two dozen distances sufficed to fable them’ acclaimed to an almost legendary status that contrast the initial insignificant identities of the horses at the opening. The Casurea also indicates how the reputation built up in the horses careers is so strong that it continues to linger in the present despite the past relinquished by the horses themselves who are not keen to remeber.
‘cups and stakes and handy caps’
ao3
the polyndeton conveys the abundance of reward and importance placed on the horses’ careers demonstrating their level of success and the tangible reward they have to show for it. Yet also represents the constant pressure placed on the horses to succeed and obtain reward. The fame of the horses that are renowned to the public perhaps reflect horses such as ‘Brown Jack’ who during the 20s and 30s rose to fame and was the inspiration for the poem by larkin after watching a short film dedicated to the horse whose name even transcended outside the racing community and gained national recognition.
how are the horses treated compared to humans?
‘‘number and parasols’
‘squadrons of cars, and heat,/And littered grass’
Whilst the humans are shaded and protected from the oppressive heat by ‘parasols’ the horses are exposed to it. With the military-esque language conveying the intensity and regimented nature of their working lives where the natural world has been corrupted by human interference an overwhelming pressure amplified by the polysyndeton.
‘do memories plaugue there ears like flies?/ They shake their heads’
The speaker comes to understand the horses are contempt in their current retired states not lamenting on the past as the speaker suggests they should and how he has placed human values onto the natural world.
Summer by summer all stole away
The sibilance highlights how through their careers the horses have been deprived in the prime of their lives with their youth taken from them, lacking agency both over their autonomy and the passing of time.
‘unmolesting meadows’
vs
‘stop press columns of the street’
the sibilance conveys the invasive nature of the public and media where the horses are unable to evade attention. Therfore the prefix in ‘unmolesting meadows’ consolidates that the horses retired lives are not neglectful but rather defined by peace and tranquility where the natural world is no longer polluted but liberated.
‘slipped their names and stand at ease’
There is a sense of relief as the horses relax into their retirement and break away from the uptight and regimented stance expected of them by the human world. Through anonymity the horses gain freedom.
Or gallop for what must be joy
The horses reclaim a sense of agency able to find freedom in movement rather than having to run with purpose and intent as they did at the races. The horse have been so bound by the human world the speaker speculates that the display of the horses is happiness suggests it is a rare and unfamiliar sight.
‘dusk brims the shadows.’
‘bridles in the evening come.’
casurea is symbollic of the finality of ageing and growing old.
