Concetti Chiave
- Philip Larkin, born in Coventry in 1922, is known for his themes of loneliness and loss, reflecting the "Movement" poets' response to England's diminishing power.
- Larkin's poetry often features defeated and unhappy characters, using symbols like photographs and rooms to convey deeper meanings.
- Ted Hughes, born in Yorkshire in 1930, was influenced by archaeology and anthropology, integrating themes of the pre-human animal world into his work.
- Hughes' poetry views violence as a natural aspect of existence, aiming to reveal human instincts and imagination beyond rationality.
- Hughes’ work is deeply personal, with "Birthday Letters" dedicated to his late wife Sylvia Plath, marking a return to writing after her death.
Philip Larkin (1922-1985)
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.
Themes
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.
Ted Hughes (1930-1998)
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.
Themes
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.
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