2. Whatâs it about?
DEATHAfter a first reading, the poem appears pessimistic and
this is true, however like most Larkin poems there is
philosophical thought in the last stanza and this make
readers think. Links to the majority of Larkinâs poems,
due to the puzzling nature of the ending.
3. Stanza 1
⢠Unites every individual with death, the one thing we all have in
common.
⢠Suggests that despite all of our differences, weâre all going to die.
⢠Doesnât use positive language to describe the people: âvague as weedâ,
âamong stonesâ, âsmall-statured cross-facedâ.
⢠âdark morningsâ implies that every day is dark due to the inevitability
of death, doesnât use any positive language.
⢠Life is slow dyingâ is said after mentioning all of the different types of
people, which dampens the atmosphere of the poem straight away.
⢠Paradox - âLife is slow dyingâ â Life is the opposite to death, so how
can life die? Suggests living is dying, which doesnât make sense.
⢠Man made environment, described negatively to suggest that itâs
damaging its surroundings and is therefore, not worth building.
Everything leads to death anyway, so the people that built it wonât
use it for long.
4. Stanza 2
⢠Everything weâve built, loved, earned is going to die.
⢠Suggests everything is pointless.
⢠First repetition of âslowly dyingâ emphasises Larkinâs views on the
emptiness and pointlessness of living.
5. Stanza 3
⢠âHours giving evidence/Or birth, advance/On death equally
slowlyâ â despite however long you spend living or creating new
life, whether you have lived for a long time or are a new-born
baby, it is inevitable that we will all encounter death at some
point.
⢠Repetition again âequally slowlyâ â Third time, reinforcing point.
⢠âSlowlyâ implies that our time until death is being dragged out,
connotes âslow and painful deathâ which could suggest living is
merely a prolonged death.
⢠Suggests that âsaying so to some means nothingâ in other words,
the thought of death does not bother them, but also that to
âothers it leaves/Nothing to be saidâ. This could be interpreted as
them being taken back by Larkinâs negative thought process,
them being left speechless by how true this could be in reality,
but also them not wanting to talk about death as it does scare
many of us.
6. Literary Devices
⢠Repetition â emphasises death in each stanza and repeats the
word ânothingâ in the last stanza to suggest the emptiness of life
and how it is worth nothing.
⢠Enjambment between stanzas 2 and 3 â drags out ending.
⢠Listing â Elongates everything to the extent where itâs almost too
long, suggesting that this is like everything we do. If weâre bound
to die anyway, why is it that we must wait for so long living, but
always knowing we will succumb to it.
7. Links
⢠Mr. Bleaney â Death. Pointless, bleak life which of course, resulted
in death with nothing achieved.
⢠Dockery and Son â âAnd age, and then the only end of ageâ and
âLife is first boredom then fearâ. Pessimistic, philosophical ending
amounting to death.
⢠Love Songs in Age â Pointlessness of things done in the past. Her
sheet music will only go on to âdieâ, despite once being freshly
written it is bound go to go out of use again.
8. A Wall - Similarities
⢠âit begins for no reason, ends no placeâ â much like Larkinâs view
of life throughout NTBS.
⢠âforty-four paces long, high as your eyesâ â makes the wall seem
predictable, like people. All the same.
⢠âSeemingly unremarkableâ â double meaning. Negative meaning
being that life is âjust thereâ and unimpressive.
⢠Use of similar language, such as âstonesâ and âdifferent greysâ
conveys dullness.
⢠Wall is man-made, like the environment Larkin describes in
stanza one of NTBS.
Dannie Abse
9. A Wall - Differences
⢠âDonât say this wall is uselessâ â suggests that the wall/life is worth
something, despite it appearing âuselessâ, âunremarkableâ and âgreyâ.
⢠âIt exists forâŚâ â gives purposes for its existence, implying that
everything is for something. Even though people are all different and
may seem like they are merely existing, we all have different qualities
which are purposeful for something.
⢠Uses positive language to connote further positive ideas, for example
âgoldenâ, âwinningâ, âhuddlingâ and even âslanting rainfallâ is phrased in
a way which doesnât allude to miserable weather.
⢠Ends poem with âThis wall is beautifulâ â Ends on positive note,
unlike NTBS.
⢠âSeemingly unremarkableâ â double meaning. Positive meaning being
that it could simply âseemâ unremarkable, but could actually hold
potential.
⢠Man made wall actually benefits the environment, whereas
everything man made Larkin describes is just pointless and
therefore, not worth being built in the first place.
Dannie Abse