This is a 3 page document that acts as a thorough essay plan and revision resource, produced by a student who achieved all A* at A level. It is split into an analysis of the poem itself, context, form, structure, language and ideas. (Hence touching upon all A0s assessed in the A level poetry exam.)
Going refers to the fleeting nature of life
and how death is inevitably going to
consume us all.
‘Going’
‘Going’ is a poem that explores death without ever mentioning it by name- instead it is referred to
peripherally and depicted as a dark evening that consumes every living thing. The speaker explains
how there is no hope in death, even if it may be seen as a form of escape in youth. By the end of the
poem, the speaker becomes consumed with these fears as shown with the use of questions, and he
comes to the understanding that there is no way to understand, or fend off the arrival of death.
Different themes:
Death
Hopelessness
Natural world
Passage of time
Key poems to link to and why:
‘Coming’- this is a companion piece that discusses the emotions centred around the arrival
of spring.
‘Absences’- depiction of natural world to reflect the passage of time.
‘Age’- death and passage of time
Contextual links:
This poem was originally titled ‘dying day’- this makes it even clearer that the work is about
death.
Written in 1946- after WW2. Hence why the theme of death is so prevalent.
Larkin’s own crippling fear of death.
Key aspects of form and structure:
There is a simplicity in the fact that every tercet is made up of one complete phrase- this
slows the pace of the poem.
The three stanzas could potentially represent the stages of life- by the end of the poem and
the end of life, the speaker is isolated and alone.
Use of questions at the end of the poem to reflect the speakers growing uncertainty about
death.
Isolated final line to physically symbolise the isolation of the speaker and draw attention to
the final question which remains unanswered.
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