Concetti Chiave
- Larkin's poetry reflects themes of loneliness and loss, influenced by England's declining power and his personal experiences.
- His work, inspired by Thomas Hardy, often portrays defeated and unhappy characters, using symbols like photographs and rooms.
- Hughes' poetry is shaped by his interest in archaeology and anthropology, with themes tied to the pre-human world and historical events.
- His marriage to Sylvia Plath and her subsequent death deeply affected his writing, leading to a hiatus before publishing "Birthday Letters".
- Hughes views violence as a natural aspect of human experience, using animals as symbols to explore innate instincts and imagination.
Larkin's early life and influences
Larkin was born in 1922 in Coventry and was educated at Oxford University. His life is characterised by loneliness and sense of loss, which represent the “Movement” poets, who were suffering from England’s progressive loss of power.
Larkin’s view of poetry and life are similar, he stated that thanks to Thomas Hardy he managed to understand how daily life fits into poetry. His characters and poems are always defeated and unhappy. His most used symbols are the photograph, which freezes the action, and the room, that reflects the character’s personality.
Hughes' background and influences
Hughes was born in 1930 in Yorkshire. He studied at Cambridge where he became deeply interested in archaeology and anthropology. This will influence his poetry, which will be connected to the concept of the pre-human animal world, and will be highly influenced by WWI and Modern History. He married Sylvia Plath and moved with her to the USA, where they were both professors. They then came back to England, and after his wife’s death, Hughes stopped writing for three tears until when he published “Birthday Letters”, a collection dedicated to his wife.
Hughes' perspective on violence and symbolism
Hughes’ view of violence isn’t as a refuge from the modern, civilised world, but it is seen as natural. Men have only developed their rational part, and the poet’s task is to reveal their inner instincts and imagination, without repressing them. Animals are thus symbols of human experiences.
Domande da interrogazione
- How did Philip Larkin's early life and education influence his poetry?
- What were the key influences on Ted Hughes' poetry, and how did they manifest in his work?
- How does Ted Hughes perceive violence and symbolism in his poetry?
Larkin's early life in Coventry and education at Oxford University shaped his poetry, characterized by themes of loneliness and loss, reflecting the "Movement" poets' response to England's declining power. His work often features defeated and unhappy characters, using symbols like photographs and rooms to convey deeper meanings.
Ted Hughes' poetry was influenced by his studies in archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge, as well as by WWI and Modern History. These interests led him to explore the pre-human animal world in his work. His marriage to Sylvia Plath and her subsequent death also deeply impacted his writing, culminating in the publication of "Birthday Letters."
Hughes views violence as a natural aspect of life, not as an escape from modern civilization. He believes that poetry should reveal human instincts and imagination, using animals as symbols to express human experiences, rather than repressing these primal elements.
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