'Broadcast' by Philip Larkin - First impression.

'Broadcast' is one of my favourite poems by Larkin because of the way he uses metaphorical techniques and abstract words to describe the music perfectly to make it seem as if we (as readers) are there ourselves with Larkin experiencing the same "cascades of monumental slithering" and the "snivelling of the violins". I found this poem to have a great and positive impact in the way I see Larkin now compared to what I thought of him at the beginning - at the beginning I saw him as an old, miserable and lonely man but through this poem, I have begun seeing Larkin from a different perspective although I still get the impression that Larkin is lonely here as well as he stayed home and listened to it on the radio by himself.

Having read this poem, I get the impression that the eloquence and beauty of the music being played had Larkin mesmerized as he consciously and beautifully describes the sounds that each instruments creates. One of my favourite lines of 'Broadcast' is when he describes the "cascades of monumental slithering" and strangely, this particular metaphor sends shivers down my back just thinking about what this overwhelming, yet smooth sound would actually sound like in real life as it fluently flows around the room. The way in which Larkin also describes contrasting textures and movements of the music is fascinating and this somehow makes the poem fluent to read just like the music would have been played. I admire how Larkin plays around with the volume of the musical performance to create different moods and atmospheres to symbolize different emotions. "Snivelling of the violins" symbolizes misery, sadness and to soothe someone or something, "it goes quickly dark" shows a state or feeling of being excited or anxious about something that may happen next and the "rabid storms" of the chording which is explosive, loud and sudden.

Love, Marriage, Relationships, Music.

I found 'Talking in Bed' an interesting poem and it is also one of my favourite poems by Larkin along with 'Broadcast', 'Love Songs in Age' and 'For Sydney Bechet'. I have always preferred reading poems about such topics as I feel like everyone can easily relate to poem just like these and also because it is something in life that we all experience at some point.

However, the first impression I get just by the title of 'Talking in Bed' is that it is a love poem but in fact it isn't a poem that is just about enduring love, but it is a poem that explores if a loving relationship really is true. It can be said that this poem speaks about the complexities involved in relationships, specifically in reference to true love's failure to withstand the test of time. In the last line of the poem, the persona is questioning whether true love is even the foundation of relationships at all and the persona's ambiguity is reinforced when he uses nouns such as "unrest", "none", "nothing" and "silently". This gives me the impression that the persona is bored of the relationship and although he enjoys the fact that he can fall back on his relationship for stability, he feels his love has gone stagnant.

On the other hand, this reminds me of how we open up so freely and deeply when we feel at ease and so in tunes with the other person thoughts are shared fears are calmed emotions flow easily and become even closer and more intimate. 'Talking in Bed' is a poem that represents unity between two people and a symbol of honesty for me and I found it clever and very typical of Larkin to bring a sense of movement which mirrors the talker's view of the world in relation to themselves. 

AS English Literature, Poetry. 'In Llandough Hospital' by Dannie Abse.

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