Larkin critic quotes on pessimism Essay Example

Larkin: critic quotes on pessimism Paper Christopher Ricks [He writes] like something almost being saidit is a study in self-pity. Bryan Appleyard (misanthropy) He is an advocate of misanthropy and pessimism. Bryan Appleyard (pessimist) [Larkin is] a hopeless and inflexible pessimist. Bryan Appleyard (triviality) Many poets have adopted a personal pose of extreme pessimism and loathing of the world None has done so with quite such a grinding focus on littleness and triviality as Larkin the man Philip Larkin Its unhappiness that provokes a poem. Being happy doesnt provoke a poem. Leo Cox (non-existence) For him, life is just a brief and over-rated interlude in the ongoing state of non-existence. Leo Cox (nature) Larkin uses nature as a medium for discussing his preoccupation with how transient and pointless everything in the world is. Leo Cox (existence) Larkin feels cheated by existence. Janice Rossen So much of Larkins habitual melancholy is driven by intense fury. Andrew Motion Larkins poetry grows out of rage: the rage of unsatisfied desire, the rage of shame. Leo Cox (degraded) Birth, death, funerals, love, community and marriage are all degraded at Larkins hands. Bryan Appleyard (misery) His dreary, predictable, damp, reductive misery tolls relentlessly. Bryan Appleyard (inward) Larkin was seldom more than grimly inward and futile. Andy Golding Cynicism is never far away from Larkins poetry.