Philip Larkin as a Pessimistic poet

           Introduction

The age of Larkin was an age of catastrophe and chaos on a social and moral level all over the world caused by the second world war which also resulted in a decline in values and ethics. The deterioration and damage witnessed by people after the two world wars in 20 century produced uncertainty about the existence of God, and people started losing faith in religion. In general, the postwar generation suffered from several sides and some of them reflected their fears, doubts, pessimism and bitter realities in their work of arts, especially literature. Like many other poets, Larkin's attempts were to show and express those feelings and state of mind through his poems. In almost all of Larkin's poems there are portrayals of death, isolation, age, religion and sex; his view for all facets of his world is highly pessimistic; and we seldom find the sense of hope in his poetry.

      Philip Larkin as a pessimist

The most prominent theme of Larkin's poetry is his melancholy, incurable pessimism. With reference to deeper thought of M.L. Rosenthal who says about Larkin as "A fundamental lugubriousness marks and mars much of Larkin's writings... "

Larkin is known as most pessimistic poet on the basis of some of his poems. We come across the pessimistic ideas and obsession to death in his poems. His outlook on life is undoubtedly bleak, grim and gloomy and this gloom is deepened by his reference to the inevitablity of death. He himself, of course, has denied the charge of pessimism, saying that the impulse in writing the poems was not negative. The most negative poem of the world is a proof in itself that Larkin had a capacity for positive writing. Larkin present the same grim and gloomy picture in his poetry. Most of Larkin's poem, however much pleasant they be, end with a pessimistic note. For example, in his poem "Whitsun Weddings" he looks on a married couple and soon changes to very sad end of the life. This indicates that he has the pessimistic influence in his work.

Pessimism in the poem 'Ambulances'

The main idea in this poem is that an ambulance signifies illness, and that it feels the spectators with the thought of death. The spectators perceive their own lives coming to an end when they see a seriously ailing man being taken to a hospital by an ambulance. The approach of death, says the poet, would mean an end to a life of activity which include family, relationships and fashions. But, when death comes, this "unique random blend of families and fashions" would come to an end, thus depriving life of all its meaning. Here then is another poem about death by Larkin who had felt obsessed with the fact and the reality of death throughout his life. This, again, is a pessimistic poem with an atmosphere of pathos and melancholy hovering over it. It does not matter how good life a person is pending, ultimate destination for him is death. Life is a lie and death is a universal truth and its acknowledgement is necessary for everyone. The struggles of the life and worries are not eternal; they will soon be finished and death is the power which can overpower it. Permanent cure for pains and sufferings is death, which is fatal. Philip Larkin is trying to show that death does not differentiate between the good and the bad personality; its duty is to end life.

Pessimism in the poem 'The Explosion'

Larkin's poem 'The Explosion' is concerned with the movements of grief and loss in the working class community. It is the description of a tragic incident and its aftermath. It describes an explosion in a coal-mine in which a number of people were killed; and it also describes the reaction of the wives of those men to the tragic deaths. Pathos is the prevailing atmosphere of this poem. In this poem Larkin surely takes a very dark view of human life. He speaks of the inevitability of death. We are all aware of the facts of failure and frustration in human life; and we are all aware of the inevitablity of death. But what makes Larkin a pessimist and a confirmed pessimist at that, is his repeated emphasis, and over-emphasis, on these aspects of human life. On account of his repeated reminders to us of the inevitability of death; he has been regarded as "a graveyard poet"; and the general and brooding atmosphere of melancholy and despondency in his poems justifies the label "pessimist" for him.

Pessimism in the poem 'Toads Revisited'

It is a monologue about the need to work. The people who avoid working are compared to toads. All such people are either stupid or weak willed. Who spend their time listening to the clock striking the hours or watching the bread being delivered at the doorstep or looking at the clouds covering the sun or children going home. This aimlessness in life tells about his pessimistic feelings. 'Toads Revisited' is a mental debate in which the speaker weighs the pros and cons of work and of leisure. This poem affirms the poet's sense of discomfort with nature. The fact that he says that walking around in the part should be regarded as superior to inside office work hints at a bright romanticism. Yet he also hints at the inability of nature to be invigorating - or consoling. Through this poem he tried to explain his lack of satisfying connection with nature. This poem achieves the same sort of finally balanced tension between desire and necessity. His argument is based on the loneliness to those people rather than on his own inner conviction of what he desires. As complaints necessarily arise from one's sense of grievance, the poet here sounds like a whiner or grumbler. These things shows the pessimism in the poem 'Toads Revisited'. 

Pessimism in the poem 'The Whitsun Wedding'

In this poem the poet treats marriage as a happy funeral and as a religious wounding. The implication is that, although a marriage is a happy event, it carries within it the seeds of the death of happiness which is bound to occur in the course of time. Similarly, the ceremony of marriage is here described as a religious bounding, meaning that the ceremony would subsequently turn out to be a painful affair. Thus, Larkin takes a cynical view of marriage. The happiness of marriage cannot last for ever, according to him. He find a recognition of weddings as moments of painful loss and suppression. In this poem Larkin focuses on intense personal emotion but strictly avoided sentimentality or self pity. Therefore, this would create a pessmistic view on his work. This poem is very observational and provincial and his feelings of failure could have affected this. Therefore, this poem is almost left with the two sided argument. Thus he is often regarded as a hopeless and inflexible pessimist. 

Conclusion

Therefore, from the above poems we can say that Philip Larkin is a Pessimistic poet.