A stanza-by-stanza analysis of 'Dockery and Son' by Philip Larkin
A stanza-by-stanza analysis of 'Dockery and Son' by Philip Larkin
Firstly, it is important to note the themes within 'Dockery and Son'. Included in this list are: what it means to 'achieve', the juxtaposition between life and death, youth and time, war, and idealism.
Larkin has also incorporated some tropes of his into 'Dockery', such as journeys, nature, social critique and bachelorhood.
The title: Dockery and Son
The title 'Dockery and 'Son' is reminiscent of the name of a family business, thus immediately presenting the reader with the notion of family. The generic structure of this name, including 'and Son' would imply that tradition and family values may be themes that crop up within the poem; though this is underpinned by a sense of detachment that inevitably is presented when the name of an individual is neglected. Interestingly, the title could alternatively suggest that the speaker of the poem may be someone other than 'Dockery' or 'Son', as to reference someone by their last name is uniquely formal and may allude to the speaker of the poem being slightly older, perhaps middle-aged, musing on what it means to have, or be, a 'Son'. Interestingly, Larkin gives the impression that having offspring is not something that he wishes to discuss in detail. The poem almost serves as a stand-alone statement on the topic. Interestingly, Swarbrick states that 'his writing is driven by a sense of failure', thus paralleling the theme of achievement within 'Dockery'.
Stanza One- Death
Stanza one alludes the Dean of the speaker's university asking about 'Dockery', an individual who's son now attends the same university that he did. Alongside this, it depicts the speaker as returning to the place that is implied to be where life really begins; thus immediately presenting the reader with a comparison between 'Dockery' and the speaker. Larkin opts to describe the Dean in this stanza as 'Death-suited', presenting an ironic juxtaposition between this notion of being in a place where life supposedly begins, as the Dean is dressed in something that would presumably be worn at a funeral. It may be that Larkin intended to present the reader with this imagery coupled with the semantics of death early on, in order to give the reader the sense that the speaker's life has not mirrored 'Dockery's' typical path, for example, producing offspring, as it appears that 'Dockery' has experience with life, but the speaker instead opts to death with 'death'. This may be symbolic of the speaker mourning the loss of their youth, having graduated from university. Therefore, 'suited' may be representative of a detachment, disguise or armour that the speaker utilises to protect themselves from this comparison to 'Dockery'- who, by this point, the reader is aware, may serve as a metaphor for achievements typical of the 20th Century; having children to prolong the memory of the individual. The notion of deception is also addressed in the initial stanza, as 'Our version' would allude to a warped memory of what the speaker's youth was like, thus Larkin may be suggesting that 'Dockery's' path may not be as ideal as is suggested by the title, and perhaps through the act of giving life to another individual, 'Dockery' may have metaphorically died himself.
Stanza one alludes the Dean of the speaker's university asking about 'Dockery', an individual who's son now attends the same university that he did. Alongside this, it depicts the speaker as returning to the place that is implied to be where life really begins; thus immediately presenting the reader with a comparison between 'Dockery' and the speaker. Larkin opts to describe the Dean in this stanza as 'Death-suited', presenting an ironic juxtaposition between this notion of being in a place where life supposedly begins, as the Dean is dressed in something that would presumably be worn at a funeral. It may be that Larkin intended to present the reader with this imagery coupled with the semantics of death early on, in order to give the reader the sense that the speaker's life has not mirrored 'Dockery's' typical path, for example, producing offspring, as it appears that 'Dockery' has experience with life, but the speaker instead opts to death with 'death'. This may be symbolic of the speaker mourning the loss of their youth, having graduated from university. Therefore, 'suited' may be representative of a detachment, disguise or armour that the speaker utilises to protect themselves from this comparison to 'Dockery'- who, by this point, the reader is aware, may serve as a metaphor for achievements typical of the 20th Century; having children to prolong the memory of the individual. The notion of deception is also addressed in the initial stanza, as 'Our version' would allude to a warped memory of what the speaker's youth was like, thus Larkin may be suggesting that 'Dockery's' path may not be as ideal as is suggested by the title, and perhaps through the act of giving life to another individual, 'Dockery' may have metaphorically died himself.
Stanza Two- Society
The second stanza of 'Dockery' opens with a short cause- 'Locked'. Larkin may have opted to allude to a locked door, through enjambment with the initial stanza as to present the speaker's life as stunted in some way, presumably through having no family of his own. This links neatly to Larkin's own life, as he too never chose to have a wife, or a family. Therefore, it can be interpreted that this stanza is symbolic of how that path in life is merely a commodity, not an essential or given. Larkin then alludes to the notion of having a 'son' again, thus critiquing the social norm of creating a nuclear family structure in post-war Britain, as this 'son's' name is neglected repeatedly, highlighting the insignificance of the individual; thus suggesting that having children is merely a narcissistic, strategic move to elevate one's status in a rigid conservative society. Also, throughout 'Dockery', the rhyme scheme is irregular. This may mirror this element of non-conformity.
Stanza Three- Suffocation
Larkin's focus shifts in the third stanza, from concentrating on self-comparison, to presenting the notion of a metaphoric suffocation; thus continuing the theme of death, though depicting a noticeably harsher critique of society than is implied in the first two stanzas. Through the anaphora in 'High-collared public-schoolboy' in the opening line, Larkin cleverly manipulates punctuation, in hyphenating the two phrases, to present the ironically unexpected allusion to suffocation. This is reinforced through the imagery of the 'High-collar' to enable the reader to empathise with the desperation the speaker inevitably feels, as constricted by the uniform of social conformity. Also, by juxtaposing the imagery of a 'High-collar' and the stereotype of a 'public-schoolboy', Larkin manipulates the sense of disorientation in the reader, as a 'high-collar' would typically allude to an upper-class child, perhaps a choir boy, of a private school. Therefore, Larkin may be subtly critiquing the class system in this stanza, opting for a more holistic approach to social critique than just the nuclear family structure. Perhaps this 'public-schoolboy' is 'Dockery's' 'son'. If so, it may be interpreted that Larkin intended to highlight the flaws within domestic life, and alongside it, the pressures faced by the children in a society with such rigid traditional family values- as is alluded to in the notion of suffocation that dominates this particular stanza.
Stanza Four- Nature
Stanza four's anaphora in 'Unhindered moon' appears to allude to the beauty in nature. However, it could be interpreted as representing Larkin himself, as he may have felt 'unhindered' in not having children himself. As the poem largely concerns having children, it may be interpreted that the speaker feels like an outsider in the society Larkin depicts, due to not having children in the baby boomer generation. Alternatively, this reference to the moon may signify the impermanence of life and its insignificance in relation to nature. Larkin implicitly presents his speaker as an observer, which mimics his own style- this may be alluded to in the reference to the moon, as the moon is often referred to in Roman mythology as watching over Earth, thus creating the sense that the speaker is semi-omniscient which would parallel an individual nearing the end of their life. This notion is poignantly reflected in the speaker's visiting their old university, as this is a place where superior knowledge is typically acquired.
Stanza Five- Time
In this particular stanza, Larkin seemingly directly addresses a regular trope of his- time. Through the metaphor of a door that is 'warp[ed] tight-shut', Larkin may be subtly commenting on the juxtaposition between the notion of all doors being open after education and the reality that is revealed over the passage of time. Also, this notion of things being 'warp[ed]' by time is conveyed through the pre-programmed idealism of believing that the individual needs to be 'added to' in the form of children. Larkin may have intended this 'warp[ing]' of idealism to mirror how the Second World War affected how society viewed its collective identity, as 'add[ing]' to the population would invariably not solve the problems of the individual, or indeed, the world. Also by utilising enjambment at the end of each stanza, though more noticeably in this one, as the continuation of 'all we've got' into stanza six's 'and how we got it' Larkin typically reminds the reader that time is precious despite day-to-day life appearing mundane.
Stanza Six- Youth
Finally, in the last stanza, Larkin ironically switches his focus to youth and childhood. Through the philosophically-toned statement 'Life is first boredom', Larkin conveys his personal opinion that his own childhood was boring; thus continuing his trope in the tone of pessimism. Interestingly, by selecting 'youth' as his end focus, Larkin ultimately reminds us that life inevitably ends with death; despite children, marriage or an Oxford education.
Stanza Four- Nature
Stanza four's anaphora in 'Unhindered moon' appears to allude to the beauty in nature. However, it could be interpreted as representing Larkin himself, as he may have felt 'unhindered' in not having children himself. As the poem largely concerns having children, it may be interpreted that the speaker feels like an outsider in the society Larkin depicts, due to not having children in the baby boomer generation. Alternatively, this reference to the moon may signify the impermanence of life and its insignificance in relation to nature. Larkin implicitly presents his speaker as an observer, which mimics his own style- this may be alluded to in the reference to the moon, as the moon is often referred to in Roman mythology as watching over Earth, thus creating the sense that the speaker is semi-omniscient which would parallel an individual nearing the end of their life. This notion is poignantly reflected in the speaker's visiting their old university, as this is a place where superior knowledge is typically acquired.
Stanza Five- Time
In this particular stanza, Larkin seemingly directly addresses a regular trope of his- time. Through the metaphor of a door that is 'warp[ed] tight-shut', Larkin may be subtly commenting on the juxtaposition between the notion of all doors being open after education and the reality that is revealed over the passage of time. Also, this notion of things being 'warp[ed]' by time is conveyed through the pre-programmed idealism of believing that the individual needs to be 'added to' in the form of children. Larkin may have intended this 'warp[ing]' of idealism to mirror how the Second World War affected how society viewed its collective identity, as 'add[ing]' to the population would invariably not solve the problems of the individual, or indeed, the world. Also by utilising enjambment at the end of each stanza, though more noticeably in this one, as the continuation of 'all we've got' into stanza six's 'and how we got it' Larkin typically reminds the reader that time is precious despite day-to-day life appearing mundane.
Stanza Six- Youth
Finally, in the last stanza, Larkin ironically switches his focus to youth and childhood. Through the philosophically-toned statement 'Life is first boredom', Larkin conveys his personal opinion that his own childhood was boring; thus continuing his trope in the tone of pessimism. Interestingly, by selecting 'youth' as his end focus, Larkin ultimately reminds us that life inevitably ends with death; despite children, marriage or an Oxford education.
Critically, J.D McClatchy sums up Larkin's poetry, especially 'Dockery and Son' in such a successful way, that no other critic has: 'Larkin wrote in clipped, lucid stanzas, about the failures and remorse of age, about stunted lives and spoiled desires'.
Possible Links-
-Never Go Back (Duffy)
-Here (Larkin)
-Nostalgia (Duffy)
-Caul (Duffy)
-Mr Bleaney (Larkin)
-The Whitsun Weddings (Larkin)
-Afternoons (Larkin)
Comments
Post a Comment