The Importance of Elsewhere - Larkin

From the first stanza of this poem we are able to see that Larkin is talking about how uncomfortable it is to be in somewhere you do not know very well. From looking at the phrase, "strangeness made sense" we are able to see that not being able to fit in makes sense and that the rejection you get from the people you live there makes the persona feel more welcome. This here is a paradox within the first stanza telling us that the feeling of being different in Ireland is able to make him feel normal. Although the persona feels uncertain, lost and cut off from it all he is able to feel normal. From the phrase, "made me welcome" we also see that the difference made him feel welcome and he liked being abroad. He was not classed as being anti-social due to the fact that he is from abroad. This stanza is positive for he his connected but also isolated in his on way.
As we continue to the next stanza we see that it is a description of Ireland itself. This however shows us a negative image but it is stated that this is positive to him. It is unwelcoming due to the "draughty streets" and has the thought of being old and forgotten with the phrase, "Archaic smell of dockland". Alliteration is also used within this stanza and it ends with the sense of isolation being brought into the poem due to the word, "dwindling".
From within the final stanza we then see that this is from his description with how he has used "me" in the poem. From this we are able to learn that he is not able to be his true self for people have expectations of him in his usual surroundings. However when he is abroad all that is gone and he has escaped all of that. He is unable to be anti-social back at home due to the fact that people know him whilst being abroad allows him to have this excuse of being seperate to everyone else.
This poem is able to link to various other poems by Larkin all due to the theme of isolation. Some examples of these poems would be, Here, Dockery and Son, Self's the Man and Mr Bleaney. There is also the link towards one of Abse poems which is Leaving Cardiff.