Home is so Sad

Philip Larkin 1922 (Coventry) – 1985 (Hull)



Home is so sad. It stays as it was left,
Shaped to the comfort of the last to go
As if to win them back. Instead, bereft
Of anyone to please, it withers so,
Having no heart to put aside the theft

And turn again to what it started as,
A joyous shot at how things ought to be,
Long fallen wide. You can see how it was:
Look at the pictures and the cutlery.
The music in the piano stool. That vase.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on August 05, 2020

Modified on April 16, 2023

24 sec read
171

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABA XCXCX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 386
Words 83
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 5, 5

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin was born in 1922 and grew up in Coventry, England. He earned his BA from St John's College, Oxford, and finished with First Class Honours in English. In 1955 he became Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, a post he held until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation, and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. more…

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