Friday, 27 November 2015

Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariate "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them" To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to FOUR Larkin poems.

Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariate "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them" To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to FOUR Larkin poems.

In a collection of Larkins poems, it is evident that the proletariat are deluding themselves rather than presenting a a society where they go beyond the limits which society sets for them. In the four selected poems, Larkin presents to us a society in which the lower class believe the false consciousness set by the capitalist society, the belief that commodification and materialism is the way in which power can be gained with in society.  Each of these poems shows that the proletariats are entrapped by consumerism and are deluded by the idea that materialistic objects will gain them power within society.  


Firstly, in the poem 'The Large Cool Store' the idea that the proletariats are deluding themselves is made apparent by Larkin through the use of how the word 'cool'. This word has a dual meaning, the first of which is something being fashionable or not.  The use of this word in this way is an example of commodification and shows that the lower class buy clothes because of their power to impress not because of their function and practicality. This indicates to the readers that the proletariats are materialistic and are buying clothes in the hope to gain power and are therefore increasing the power of the bourgeois by giving them more money. They believe that by buying clothes their oppression will be reduced. However, they are only alienating and marginalising themselves even further by increasing the power of the bourgeois and therefore the distribution of power between the different classes becomes more uneven. The second interpretation of the word 'cool' is cold and therefore presents the store in a cynical way, by saying that the store is unwelcoming and unpleasant to shop in. However, the word could be interpreted in a way in which to represent the capitalist society in which Larkin presents to us. It could also be a reflection of the upper class' treatment towards the proletariats showing that they mistreat the lower classes and marginalise them within the society. It is evident that the society portrayed shows that the proletariats are deluding themselves rather than being pro-active and trying to make a change to the way in which the consumerist society works. 

Similarly, in the two poems Essential Beauty and Sunny Prestatyn, advertisements create a false consciousness in order to delude the lower class to believe the ideology that by  buying something, they will have the 'perfect' life. In Essential Beauty, the line 'of how life should be' shows the reader that advertisement sets standards that everyone should live by however these are unrealistic, and as indicated by the word 'should' isn't how anyone in society lives. This shows us that proletariats are being led to believe, by adverts created by the bourgeois, that in order to gain power within society they need to own the materialistic items chosen by the bourgeois. However, this is merely a false consciousness as, much like in the other poem The Large Cool Store, buying these items only increases the power of the bourgeois and doesn't increase the personal power of the Proletariats. The ideology that buying certain things or going certain places will make you happy despite the mistreatment of you by society is also created through advertising. The line in the poem Sunny Prestatyn 'Laughed the girl on the poster' creates the idea that by going to that place you will become happy. Prestatyn was a popular holiday destination in the 1950s so the proletariats would believe that by going there, it would make them look more fashionable and therefore would be more accepted by the consumerist society. Similarly, in the two poems Essential Beauty and Sunny Prestatyn, advertisements are used to delude the lower class that by  buying something, they will have the 'perfect' life. In Essential Beauty, the line 'of how life should be' shows the reader that advertisement sets standards that everyone should live by however these are unrealistic, and as indicated by the would 'should' isn't how anyone in society lives. This is again an example of commodification, such as in 'The large cool store', not valuing something by its use etc but by the power it has to impress. Within capitalist societies, commodification is common as money is what is the most important thing to people. Ann Dobie in her book, Theory into Practice: An Introduction to Literary Criticism, wrote that, In its need to sell more goods, capitalism preys on the insecurities of consumers, who are urged to compete with others in the number and quality of their possessions: a newer car, a bigger diamond engagement ring, a second house. The result is commodification. Showing that society only starts to commodify objects because of the pressure from the bourgeois to compete with people with more wealth. This attitude from the upper classes is shown in these poems as they are in charge of the base and the superstructure of society and therefore gain power through the proletariats earning money from them, only to give it back by buying what they made. This shows that they are only alienating themselves from the upper class further. 

This commodificaion and materialism is also showed in 'The large cool store'  where Larkin uses the contrast in colours between the ‘brown and greys’ of weekday clothes and the more glamorous ‘lemon, sapphire, moss green’ of the nightwear to highlight that society is materialistic and superficial and that advertising creates the false consciousness that people can escape their mundane lives. These unreal wishes are created because of the commodification of these clothes from the proletariats which makes them feel more powerful. The bourgeoisie sells these clothes to the proletariat to make them believe they are gaining power, however they are just increasing the power of the bourgeoisie by giving them money. The similar message behind these three poems shows us that Larkin was clearly trying to present to the reader the reality of the advertisement and to show us that the society in which is presents are not presenting a hopeful picture for their class. This is a representation of the alienation of the lower classes and Larkins poems are interpretted as a representation of how corrupt the base and the superstructure are as they are under the control of the dominant class, this exposes the oppression and the consequential alienation that has been hidden by the bourgeois.

Likewise to the poem 'The Large cool store', Larkin also uses a phrase with a dual meaning in the poem 'this be the verse'. The opening line, 'they fuck you up, your mum and dad' can be interpreted in two ways. The first meaning is that your parents literally 'fuck you up', in this interpretation, the word 'fuck' is the action and is referring to a child being made. Larkin often uses shocking sentences to start his poems and therefore could have done this for impact.However, the other meaning is that our parents are in control of our lives and effect it negatively, leaving us in detriments, this could be due to their financial status and them not having the ability to fulfill the ideology set by society. This is an example of economic Determinism, Economic determinism is a theory that economic relationships (such as being an owner or capitalist, or being a worker or proletarian) are the foundation on which all other social and political arrangements are built.[1]. This idea is that children are born into their parents economic situation and therefore the lives of a child of a proletariat are inevitably messed up. It is shown further on in the poem that this is a continuous cycle as people born into a family with low economic status will pass on this status to future generations. This is presented in the line 'but they were fucked up in their turn by fools in old-style  hats and coats' which shows that this type of determinism has occurred throughout history and the description of the clothing shows the reader that Larkin is saying the proletariat's lives are messed up due to their social class. Marx believed that people's lives are determined by their economic circumstances[2] therefore showing that the proletariate are deluding themselves if they believe they can gain power, for example through the use of materialistic items such as in Larkins other poems 'essential beauty' and 'sunny prestatyn'. 

In each of these four poems, Larkin uses caesura and enjambment to change the pace of the poem, thus changing the mood and also to emphasise key parts of emotions. In 'the large cool store', caesura and enjambment are both use to slow down the pace in order to reflect the mundanity of  the proletariats lives in which they do the same thing each day. As these techniques are used throughout the poem and there is no change, it could represent that there is no change in their lives,'weekday world of those who leave at dawn...' showing that they are not proactive about making a change and are not going beyond the limits which society sets for them. In the poem 'sunny prestatyn' caesura and enjambment are used mainly in the second stanza. This stanza is where the mood and tone of the poem changes and Larkin used these techniques to emphasise the harsher statements, for example in the line 'a couple of weeks, and her face was snaggle-toothed' the uses of these techniques emphasises on the negatives and makes the readers opinion change. Similarly in 'this be the verse' the caesuras are used to emphasise the more shocking points Larkin in making. There is a caesura after the line 'they fuck you up' so that the reader stops to think about this point an interpret what the line is saying. Larkin used this so that the reader would be shocked. Again in 'essential beauty' a caesura is used for dramatic effect after the line 'of how life should be' to indicate to the reader that it isn't the reality and that the expectations of society are too high. A marxist critic would appreciate the use of this pause as they would infer this use of the technique as a way to highlight the delusion of the proletariats through the use of the advertisements. 

The last stanza of Larkins poetry often has a negative tone and in these stanzas, Larkin ends his poems with a cynical ending to present to the reader how he views the world. In the two poems, This be the verse,  and sunny prestatyn, he ends the poems by referring to the 'end or to death. In This be the verse he ends the poem saying 'Get out as early as you can,And don't have any kids yourself', this line can be interpreted in many ways, one interpretation is the idea that Larkin is telling people to end their lives and escape this corrupt societyHe wants people end the cycle of economic determinism and the inequality with the class system, however by stopping having kids, humanity would end, perhaps indicating that Larkin believes there is no end to the class system. The last line of 'Sunny prestatyn' also presents an image of death  however this time with the idea of fighting it. To ‘fight’ cancer is acknowledging that life contains pain and death, while refusing to accept that they cannot be opposed, this could represent that life contains problems but that the lower classes refuse to be oppressed, showing that perhaps larking is presenting a 'hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them'. However this line could also be presenting the idea that advertisements aren't perfect and is just a reinforcement of his argument that advertisements aren't a true representation of how life should be.The idea of fighting cancer fits in with the society as they can not let the idea of being perfect rest and continue to 'fight' until they gain power, which a marxist critic would believe could never happen. Showing that a picture of a hopeful society isn't actually being presented. The last few lines of 'essential beauty' discuss the idea that the advertisements created a false consciousness as the people who believed in the ideas, the lower class never gained power. Instead of present the image of literal death or the idea that death is the only way to end the in-equal treatment, the last line presents the idea of death of the proletariats hopefulness and the delusion they had created in order for them to have a reason to carry on. These lines,'No match lit up, nor drag ever brought near, Who now stands newly clear, Smiling, and recognising, and going dark', refer to the adverts for smoking in the 1950s, where smoking was advertised using alluring women, but this poem says that no “drag” “ever brought nearer” presenting the idea that that fantasy was unattainable and that  smoking didn't attract women. The word dark at the end indicates the idea that once the proletariats realise that they had been believing in a falsconsciousness, their world goes 'dark', perhaps showing that they chose to delude themselves as the reality was much worse. The ending to 'The large cool store' is different to that of the other three and instead focuses on women. The final line claims that women are 'synthetic, new, and natureless in ecstasies' saying that the ideologies about women that were created by men and fulfilled by women aren't completely fulfilled as they are fake and despite the look of them, they are merely an object that looks like they would want them to look but isn't actually what they want. A feminist critic would interpret this and say that men commodify women and use them for their power to impress but these women are just 'fake' but the male only cares about the image and not the feelings or inner person. This is similar to how a marxist would view the buying of materialistic things to impress and links back to the idea of commodification to gain power.  


Larkin is shown to be presenting the corruption of the social class and the delusion of the proletariats throughout his poetry. He uses ideas of commodification to highlight that the materialistic attitudes of the lower class that they believe will gain them power. Therefore, it can be seen throughout his work that 'Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariate "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them'. 

1 comment:

  1. Monica, in your opening paragraph you should use the words from the question, refer to the people as the proletariat as opposed to 'society'. You must also state/explain precisely what the false consciousness is from which the proletariat suffer.

    Proof read your second paragraph and correct grammatical errors. This section is interesting but your AO1 needs work.

    In P3 try and use words like ideology, hegemony and false consciousness; these terms will strengthen your argument. You do well to include criticism from other sources, as well as contextual detail, what you need to do is stop saying 'a marxist woud...' and instead understand that YOU are now the marxist. This entire paragraph is potentially excellent if you can become the marxist critic. If you could also link to cynicism that would also improve and enhance your response.

    Take care with the formality of your expression in your next paragraphs; some of your choices are too simplistic i.e.'mess up and ruin'

    Your section on caesura is excellent. You are insightful and specific in your analysis, you also make clear and considered links to marxism.

    You also present an overview and understanding of all his work by identifying patterns in his writing, well done.

    TARGETS

    Make the suggested improvements to your work.

    Try and include criticism from the anthology in your work.

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