Poetry Writing Prompt

Philip Larkin, the author of the short poem Here, uses many different techniques to not only get his point across but to convey his attitude towards the poem. He uses words and their denotation to portray the place he is describing. The significance of Larkin's techniques is linked to his attitude which illustrates the picture he gives readers while reading the poem.

The author's attitude toward the poem is always found in the poem itself. Larkin uses several techniques to show the tone of the poem. The diction of Here seems to be somewhat depressing and dark because he often uses words that relate to bad or scary things. He uses words like, solitude, pheasants, mud, dead, slave, grim, isolate, and loneliness that help portray his attitude.

Larkin is also a very descriptive author and uses several alliterations in his poem. He repeats the consonant sounds in many lines. For example in line 3 he says, "Too thin and thistled to be called meadows", or in lines 5 and 6 he says, "swerving to solitude of skies and scarecrows." Ultimately, Larkin keeps the poem moving by using different alliterations which helps to show his attitude. He does not use periods and his phrases are often run-on.

Imagery is another important method Larkin uses to express his attitude towards the poem. The way Larkin uses his imagery throughout the entire poem makes the readers feel as though they are actually in this place. He uses extreme detail in every line to truly describe the place which gives his attitude a truer meaning. Larkin's imagery starts off in the very first line and continues from there on with, "swerving east, from rich industrial shadows and traffic all night north; swerving through fields too thin and thistled to be called meadows".