Philip Larkin 483n13

PHILIP LARKIN Days

Days BY PHILIP LARKIN What are days for? Days are where we live. They come, they wake us Time and time over. They are to be happy in: Where can we live but days?

Ah, solving that question Brings the priest and the doctor In their long coats Running over the fields.

Philip Larkin (1922-1985) wrote the poem "Days" in 1953  . At first reading, it appears to be a simple, almost child-like dialogue. However, on second glance, the poem raises several disturbing questions as Larkin returns to his constant theme of mortality and the pointless brevity of life.  Structure  two short stanzas , first stanza is six lines , Stanza two four lines only  The first stanza asks two separate questions. "What are days for?" and "Where can we live but days?  Stanza two provides an answer to question two  Voice  The voice that asks the questions could be the voice of a child.  The second voice is different At first, the voice appears to be kindly, positive even, telling the questioner that days are "to be happy in." In the final lines of the poem, this second voice adopts a worldly, macabre tone, almost mocking and cruel, as it dryly observes that the only place people can inhabit, apart from days, is death. 

Language  The language of the poem is extremely simple. As is often the case with Larkin, he adopts a casual, conversational tone  Most of the words in the poem "Days" are monosyllabic  The word "days" is repeated three times and this repetition forces the reader to think about the meaning of the word  . Once a person no longer has any days left to live in, the only other place that person can occupy will be the grave.  Theme  the futility of existence  Larkin examines with brutal honesty the inevitable truth that all life must end in death  first paragraph: "revolves around the theme 'realization of human limits  "Days" by Philip Larkin is about the realization of human limits: how humans and time have an unequal relationship and the civilization's struggle to understand the universe  Metaphors also play an integral part in conveying the theme. "Days" is used as a synonym for time, the priest and the doctor representatives of social beliefs 'seems to be aiming at a plain, timeless quality very different from the practical everyday flavour of most of Larkin's poetry...

 an ordinary, colloquial style