Philip Larkin's 'The Whitsun Weddings' - first impression and reaction. Having briefly heard of Philip Larkin before, I wasn't sure what to expect from his poetry. From the outset of the poem, I know that Larkin is describing a journey that is he going on as his "three-quarters-empty train pull out" and as the train begins to move, the mood of the poem becomes relaxed and this notion of time and worries seem to disappear as "all sense of being in a hurry" is gone - this particular line in the stanza made me feel relaxed as I read through and it gave me the impression that Larkin was too and he wanted to make the reader feel the same way. 

I also find it interesting and significant how Larkin calls this poem the 'Whitsun Weddings' as the word 'Whitsun' is the name for a christian festival for pentecost, the seventh Sunday Easter. So, because christianity believes that this was when Jesus was brought back to life, it could symbolize a new beginning and life for new married couple.

I then get a sense of what the atmosphere is like and it gives me the impression that the journey is becoming monotonous and tiring as Larkin describes the "slow stopping curve" and the "tall heat that slept". I also found it fascinating how Larkin can make the reader feel as if they are or have experienced the same journey as the persona that he is writing in. However, one thing that I dislike about Larkin's poetry in general is how pessimistic he is about living life and the things in life as well as  the negative connotations that he uses to emphasize this, although, these negative connotations are creative, clever and effective on the reader's mood. For example, Larkin  describes the girls at the wedding being dressed in "paradies of fashion...posed irresolutely" and  the use of an oxymoron as he describes the women sharing a "secret like a happy funeral".