Hartleys novel Essay Example for Free

Hartleys novel EssayAlthough appearing to submit a distrustful view of cacoethes in the poem Larkin does in fact not doubt have a go at it, however the expectations that we have of it. In the words of Andrew Swarbrick, Larkin expresses not feelings of bitterness or pessimism but of pathos, of a tender sympathy for the leave who rec whollys dreams knowing they ar best forgotten. Though just abouttimes pleasurable reminiscing idler reveal hopes that were unfulfilled, dreams never lived out, right times we female genital organ never experience again.Therefore what we perceive to be pessimism in Larkin is, in this instance, scarce realism, an understanding of the illusions contained in the world, making him less deceived as a result. He once remarked, Poetry is an matter of sanity, of seeing things as they really are it was for him a way of being h wizardst, not overestimating the value of things. Nonetheless, in the final poem of The Whitsun Weddings, An Arundel Tomb, Larkin hints at his belief in love. Despite not having a successful love life himself he still implies that he has faith in its existence, the ultimate word of the anthology being the snare noun, love.This line is a testament to its endurance and strength, What will survive of us is love. John Saunders likens these lines containing the prove/love rhyme to Shakespeares attempt to define true love in Sonnet 73, Larkins concluding line repeat the rhyming couplet, If this be error, and upon me proved I never wrote, nor no man ever loved. An Arundel Tomb concentrates on the historical aspect of the outgoing. The persona in the poem, which is in fact Larkin, examines the concept of artifacts, how something set in nether region can withstand the test of time regardless of whether it actually existed in the first place.Visiting a Sussex churchyard Larkin sees an example of love that both moves and intrigues him, had it not been for the incongruity of both linked hands displayed on th e tomb he would have walked by. It is a gesture small yet touching but the faultfinder in Larkin questions its validity presuming it to be a case of a sculptors sweet commissioned grace or else than a symbol of a long and devoted marriage. Together in death the couples faces blurred but the husband is still holding her hand.Over time their features have been wea in that locationd but their effigy cadaver as a reminder of their lives, a monument to their love. Archaic language is used to complement the equal to(p) matter of the poem, capturing a bygone time so unlike todays unarmorial age. Further manipulation of syntax is unmixed with the effective juxtaposition of the adjectives sharp and tender, conveying simply but perfectly Larkins confused and mixed chemical reaction to the union of the stone hands. There is debate over Larkins true feelings towards the real meaning of the faithfulness in effigy.Whether or not he again intended the pun with the use of the verb lie just as lovers were lying together in bed is unclear. As Brother Anthony (An Sonjae) points out in his paper Without Metaphysics there is a huge diversity in the interpretations of Larkins intended meaning in his work, it is up to the reader to check over their own response which is good for the reader, but a challenge too. Does the poet imagine that love survives not just in stone? Or as Andrew Swarbrick quite rightly points out does he almost believe it as the penultimate line suggests?Our almost-instinct almost true therefore cancels out the optimism of the following statement. Here we find oneself Larkin lowering his defenses, allowing himself to hope for the best, to want love to be that much mentioned brilliance but he cannot do so completely for fear of it being an illusion. Although hinting at what he truly believes it is as though he will not allow himself to trust it in case he is mistaken. Yet whether love survives or not it lives on in Arundel where merely an attitude remai ns. This is also true of Larkins poetry, and in fact to the unanimous genre.Whereas fictional characters and places from novels are lost, forgotten, poetry allows thoughts to survive as art long after the death of the artist. Larkin wrote of this shake philosophy in 1955, contained in a statement to D. J. Enright he explained, I write poems to preserve things I have seen/thought/felt I think the impulse to preserve lies at the bottom of all art. Yet as mentioned previously the meaning of Larkins lit is not always clear, just like he could only assume the significance of the joined hands we can only guess at the thoughts of Philip Larkin which are contained and live on in his verse.The poem Dockery and Son relates the events and emotions that occur when Philip Larkin revisits his old college, steps back into the past times only to be disappointed with what he finds there. An outsider there, he no longer belongs and finds himself a outlander in his own past, as well as physically being unable to enter his past residence the door of where (he) used to live is also locked metaphorically. However, the most disturbing thing for Larkin is the news that one of his peers now has at son at Oxford Dockery unlike Larkin with no son, no wife, no house or land is a success story.The door to fatherhood is therefore also locked for Larkin. By starting with conversation the poem is made more authentic as it adds an injection of humankind to the verse. It also alerts Larkin to the fact that he is no longer pop out of that world, of public school boys and ranks, he, unlike Dockery, has no reason to revisit that part of his life. He feels ignored. As in The Whitsun Weddings Larkin philosophizes whilst on a train which is not only a vehicle in the normal sense of the noun but a vehicle for his thoughts and also a metaphor for direction, move forward in life.The simplistic repetition in the third stanza How much How little conveys Larkins disappointment in himself as he c ontemplates his own achievements in comparison with those of Dockery. Whereas king of beasts Colston benefited from his nostalgic visit to the past it has been a negative experience for Larkin who should never have returned. Both Larkin and Hartley present philosophies on the past in two contrasting but equally effective genres, which themselves give insight into the pasts of the authors.The past is, as both pieces of literature show, inevitably significant to us all. How we are affected by it however, either negatively or positively, is to some extent in our own hands. Even a god cannot change the past (Agathon 445 BC) yet we can move on, learn from our experiences and in the future be less deceived. L. P. Hartleys novel is a message to us all that we should not dwell on what has come before, but concentrate on living the present, Leo recognized that he should not be sitting alone before it was too late.In reality the past does not fully exist in the words of Larkin it is a love so ng that can never sound the same, a locked door which we can never be reopened, only an attitude that lives on in our minds. We may try to capture moments and emotions in stone, or in verse yet the only place where they truly exist is in our memory. We have the ability to dictate the significance the past holds for us. And so whilst we cannot change our pasts, we have the ability to change our future Shakespeare declared that Whats past is prologue yet we can observe what is contained in the epilogue.