Short Poems 3; As Bad As A Mile and First Sight - Larkin

From another of Larkin's short stories we see the imagery of an apple portrayed from the poem As Bad As A Mile. We see this use of imagery from the word "core" which implies to us of not only being an apple but also the religious view of being temptation like the apple within the Garden of Eden. From this we get the impression of Larkin showing his religious views into the context once more and is portrayed with the first line mentioning this apple. As we continue onto the next line we then see the notion of a mistake occuring with the phrase, "Striking the basket, skidding across the floor". From this we get the interpretation of this showing that life is a game of chance and that within our lives failure is a common thing to happen. However due to this phrase we see that failure occurs much more then expected and from the final line in the first stanza we see that really the persona's luck is deteriorating fast from the short and simple stanza. The audience is also able to see that the rhyme within this poem is linked to each seperate poem such as all final words rhyming in the first stanza and all final words rhyming in the second stanza.
As we move onto the final stanza of this short poem we begin to see an enjambment occuring in the first line and we get the interpretation of religious views being shown once more with the word "unbitten" in the final line of the stanza. From this we get the thought of the fruit within the Garden of Eden to be forbidden and shows us that Adam and Eve were not the only ones to be restricted, but really we are all restricted in life due to various rules that we must follow every day. Temptation is a key theme within our lives that we cannot always overcome and has the clear image of that within Larkin linking this theme into the story of Adam and Eve within the Garden of Eden.

 

The final short poem that we are provided with from Larkin is known as First Sight. From this poem we can easily see it to be pleasant and cheerful unlike many of his other poems. Throughout this poem we see the continuous flow of rhymes and the image of a new born lamb opening its eyes for the first time portraying the title of First Sight.

From the first stanza we are provided with a range of positive imagery but also has negative aspects occuring from certain words that Larkin has used. The word "unwelcome" and "Nothing" implies to us readers that there is a notion to the theme of death and we see that although birth can be a joyful and wonderful experience we also see the point that it can also come across as being like death for they are both unpredictable. We also get this view on death occuring in the poem with the word "cold" for it states to us that coming into a new world will be a shock and surprise to these lambs showing us that they will always have a constant battle or struggle as they live through their lives. From within the second and final stanza we see the positive aspects shown once more with the notion of the lambs mother being close by. From this we see that they are being guided and watched over by someone that cares for them and also gives us the sense of God due to how he is known to be watching over all of us. We then see the notion  of life being unpredictable and unknown to us with the words, "immeasureable surprise" showing that life has the contrast of excitement but also worry. Larkin then ends with the final line of "Utterly unlike the snow" which implies to us that all things change except for the nature of weather. This is a hopeful phrase given towards the audience and informs to us that life continues to develop and grow making us see a different side to Larkin compared to his poems ending in the similar consequence of death.