A-Level Literature: Revision Guide for Here
AO1: BIG IDEA(s) of the poem?
● Larkin is on a train journey from London to Hull, and is watching and switching views of modernity and nature. He builds
up momentum of the train journey listing everything he sees, whilst watching people get caught up in materialism
illusions but he ends up becoming lonely by searching for something beyond his reach.
AO2: Top 5 form/structure/language methods used to communicate meaning to the reader?
1. Semantic field of consumerism and materialism
“piled gold clouds”- a soothing and beautiful image, with the verb “piled” conveying a sense of entrapment, as it creates an
image of compactness in the city, showing that there is a mass of people that have been sucked into the materialism illusion.
The colour “gold” represents pure wealth, which is a big attraction for people in terms of materialism.
“”rich industrial shadows”- representative of wealth and rich in contribution to British history, but the noun “shadows” depicts a
darkness to this city, showing that although there is wealth in Hull, the true nature of the city is not what it seems- ILLUSION
2. Semantic field of isolation
“swerving to solitude”- explicitly demonstrates that Larkin is heading towards isolation, with the present participle “swerving”
displaying an uncertainty to his actions, and that he is trying to dodge isolation. Larkin’s reason for isolation could be due to the
fact that he doesn’t buy into this illusion that the rest of the city do, and perhaps he is contemplating whether to join the people to
avoid isolation
“removed lives. Loneliness clarifies”- the verb “clarifies” creates a certainty that loneliness is overpowering Larkin, but the syntax
inversion makes it sound happier than it is, suggesting perhaps a sense of optimism that he won’t be isolated
3. The Title and The Tone
“Here”- it is quite an ambiguous title of the poem, suggesting that at the start of the collection, Larkin is quite undecided on what
he believes in life, and what he wants out of it.
The whole poem has a despondent (low spirits from loss of hope or courage) tenor to it, which instantly instigates a musing
(period of reflection) attitude that Larkin has, as the choice of a train journey could be a metaphor for his thought process
4. Dissatisfaction
“too thin and thistle”- quite harsh sounds that sound like he is spitting his words out at his dissatisfaction of Hull, with the
alliteration of the “t” constant emphasizing that he is strained from having to fight modern expansion, which he isn’t happy about.
“out of reach”- quite a blunt ending to the poem, which is separated through the use of a caesura previously, highlighting his
depravation of happiness and freedom.
AO3: RELEVANT contextual considerations?
● Larkin grew up in the grim suburbs of Hull
● He does find a sense of stability in the library that he worked in for 30 years in Shropshire
● Larkin didn’t really like to travel much- emphasizes that to write a poem on a train journey, he must really be in a musing
mind-set
● In the 1960’s, there was a real increase in media which can be seen as a reason that people were buying into the
materialism illusion
AO5: Possible interpretations and/or useful critical quotations?
● Christopher Ricks- “study in self pity” suggesting that the poem ‘Here’ is rooted in Larkin’s fear of isolation, and his
desperation to escape this possible trap
● Bryan Appleyard- “hopeless and inflexible pessimist” suggesting that Larkin doesn’t have any hope in life and just
assumes the worst outcome; however by “swerving from solitude” shows that Larkin isn’t inflexible as he is attempting to
avoid isolation
Possible THEMES? Poems to link to:
● Isolation ● The Large Cool Store- both poems share the theme of materialism and the illusion
● Uncertainty that comes with it, as Larkin is in disdain at the people who choose to buy into the
● Illusion illusions of everyday life in both ‘Here’ and ‘The Large Cool Store’.
● Materialism and ● Prayer- both poems have quite pessimistic endings to them, with Duffy ending
Consumerism ‘Prayer’ with the latin term ‘Finisterre’ translating to ‘end of the world’ and Larkin
ending ‘Here’ with ‘out of reach’. Also, both Larkin and Duffy are in search of their
