The Whitsun Weddings - Larkin

The Whitsun Weddings is the explaination of a long train journey from Hull to London, whilst passing by the farewell to a newly wed couple. From each stanza we see a different description unfold each time the audience continues to read on. Larkin presents to the audience a wide range of negative and positive points whilst reading "The Whitsun Weddings" and is shown through the many different methods of language he uses throughout. Within the first stanza, Larkin explains the agony of the hot weather and describes the scenery from the train window. As this continues on to stanza two we see that he is being negative with the use of words such as, "industrial froth" and "hedges dipped". There is also the sense of a positive attitude within this with many words that have a lulling sound towards them and tells the audience that this journey is peaceful towards the speaker for he is almost falling asleep within the blazing heat. From the next two stanzas we see a sudden change in our speaker from being sleepy and not having any care to what is occuring to a sudden curiousity with the outside world and is eager to take on further interest. At first he positions it to be nothing more then horrid sounds with the words "whoops" and "noise" but he soon takes further interests and describes many different characters that have been brought in by the leaving of a newly wed couple. As we continue through the stanza we see that one of the key themes is being loss. This is first shown with the word "irresolutely" which tells the audience that the people upon the platform are no longer needed and are uncertain on what to do now that the main reason has left the station. The next description being of the people on the platform is placed as being very negative and shows to the readers that he is placing them as mere working class people. He is looking down upon them whilst this is to be an enjoyable day. We continue further through the stanzas and we see another key theme of religion pop up into the text. From this we are able to see that there is a negative and a positive side to marriage. From Larkins speakers perspective we see that marriage is really a "religious wounding" which informs the audience that after you have been married you can never be whole again. Once you are married that is the end of being single and free and having a wider range of youth and independence in your life. On the positive side it seems that they are able to grow and adapt and have there on amount of potential to continue through life but has that side that you will never be as you were before. As the audience continue through the final stanzas we see that another key theme of this poem is of the actual journey himself. Larkin uses a wide amount of language techniques such as rule of three, similies, metaphors, personification and enjambment to describe this whole journey and with this allows the audience to get the full picture within there head. Within the end the audience also sees an example of an epiphany occuring as we are shown that really once a couple is married they are then heading on the crossroads to the future.