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Phillip Larkin - Aubade Critical Analysis -- A grade - page 1
Keywords: Phillip Philip Larkin Aubade Critical Analysis
By georgie1 on 31/12/2009
Level: A Level (Year 12) / AS Level
Page Number: 1 of 3 pages: 1 2 3Phillip Larkin – Aubade: Critical Analysis
The aubade is a lyrical poem, primarily highlighting a dissatisfaction or complaint that an individual has about the breaking of dawn, when one has to part with their lover. Aubade by Phillip Larkin is clearly not an exception to this style; not only due to the obvious title, but also the content and effect of the poem. However, the vital element of loss at dawn does not concern a physical lover, but instead focuses upon the anticipation and fear of the inevitable death, and therefore a loss of life.
The presentation of the poem provides a significant link between technique and content. This is demonstrated clearly by the largest first stanza, representing the plethora of emotions being explored. The enjambment used is representative of Larkin’s long chains of thought: “the dread, of dying and being dead”. His apprehension and worry about the death that awaits him is illustrated by the extremity of “dread”. By combining this word with “dead”, the use of alliteration and half-rhyme emphasise the heavy consonant and could therefore show the heaviness of a short, ultimate death. Larkin establishes that his main priority in life is himself, by opening with the personal pronoun “I” and repeating it throughout the poem. He implies an intellectual superiority: “I see”, as though he can understand something no other can do, thus making him more knowledgeable. Perhaps such a competitive facet to his personality is due to his resentment of those who do not fear death as he does, encouraging him to reflect upon and embrace his own mortality in the same way as others have. The progression of the poem allows Larkin time for this reflection and to realise that death is something “we can’t escape yet can’t accept”. The focus on what “can’t” be achieved overpowers what could be achieved, highlighting the pessimistic view of Larkin. The term “escape” illustrates entrapment and the seeking of refuge. Similarly, he also describes death as “the anaesthetic from which none come round”. The word “anaesthetic” provides an idea of a medicinal “escape” from the pain associated with death, introducing a philosophical interpretation that death is a cure for life.
Following Larkin’s own contemplation of life and death his expression becomes more structured and concise, showing the development into conscious, gathered thoughts. Similarly, the stanzas share a pattern of quatrains, all fragmented by a series of rhyming couplets. This
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