At GrassPhilip Larkin

Title: “At Grass”

• Ambiguity of title: positive, pessimistic and literal.

Comfort + relaxation of retirement

Outlived purpose when reached retirement

Horses grazing the grass

Synecdoche: “The eye…”

• Detached and lacking interest• Casual observation leads to profound reflection• Mirrors the nature of old age and how we spend it reflecting.

Anonymity: “them”, “And stands anonymous again”, “shelter”

• Anonymity could make them happy- distance and peace and if they wish to remain hidden/out if sight• “Again” suggests they have been anonymous for a long time• No point in moving/nothing to do= pointlessness of life or the value

of youth.

Universal Theme: “mane and tail”

• Vague reference to horses- age/anonymity will affect us all• Theme of passage of youth/glory and entry to old age is one that

everyone can relate to at some point.

Meaninglessness: “one crops grass, and moves about”, “cold shade”

• No drive, focus or purpose anymore• Ambiguous link to relaxation or unfulfilled lives• “cold shade” suggests an emptiness and unhappiness that comes as a

result of old age.

Word Choice:

• “distresses”- pain and misery. The slightest breeze causes them pain

• “fable”-marked as legends

• “artificed”-grand and formal diction- almost ceremonial

Alliteration: “dozen distances”, “fable them, faint”

• Speeds up rhythm and suggests speed at which we are forgotten/speed of athletic horses.• Contrasts with the tranquillity and solitude of their retired lives

through a faster rhythm

Punctuation: “them: faint”, “parasols: outside”

• Colon elaborates how famous they became-listing• Listing excitement of races and emphasises the emptiness/ peace and

contentment of horses retirement

Repetition: “and”

• Monotony of races they achieved- human entertainment but not enjoyable for the animals=animal abuse. Do our achievements define us?• Emphasises the building of excitement- breathlessness

Imagery: “silks at the start”

• Colour of jockey’s clothes were vivid, colourful- horses joy and vitality

Enjambment

• Increases tension and suspense- notes contrasts between former and current lives.

Themes

• Death• Passage of Time/Youth• Abuse of Animals