Larkin poem analysis

Larkin’s poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariat ‘are deluding themselves’ rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where ‘they (go) beyond the limits which society sets for them’ to what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to four Larkin poems.

It is possible to agree that Larkin presents the proletariat as ‘deluding themselves’ in a number of his poems such as ‘Mr Bleaney’, ‘Here’, ‘The large cool store’ and ‘This be the verse’. Larkin deconstructs the socio-economic issues of the 1960s by demonstrating class division between the proletariat and the bourgeois. Larkin depicts the ‘false consciousness’ of the working class in his collection ‘the Whitsun weddings’ which highlights further that the proletariat are not trying to overcome the limits their society has set.

Larkin demonstrates how the working class are ‘deluding themselves’ in the poem ‘the large cool store’ when he presents how the proletariat believe that  buying what appears to be an expensive commodity will increase their social status. The poem epitomizes the alienation of the proletariat when he writes ‘To suppose they share that world, to think their sort is matched by something in it, show separate and unearthly love is’. This description highlights how the working class have a false consciousness by believing they’re equal; however they are seen as inferior to those of the bourgeois. Commodities such as clothing are the ‘fundamental units of capitalism’ which therefore may imply that the proletariat are deluding themselves by buying into an ideology that contributes to their poverty.  A Marxist idea is that the bourgeois control the proletariat through alienation in a number of aspects of society; this in return, provides the bourgeois with workers who are willing to work for just enough to buy commodities in order to follow the status quo with the ‘coolest’ items of clothing. According to H. Bertens Capitalism ‘refies’ people as the bourgeois see them in terms of production however they are alienated into believing that a small wage increase will change that, however it may not.   


Similarly, in Larkin's poem 'here' the proletariats desire to feel equal to the bourgeois is most apparent. Furthermore, 'Here' shares similar themes to the 'large cool store' as Larkin presents the proletariat as trying to fit the status quo by wanting to buy commodities. This indicates that Larkin was aware of the materialistic and superficial views of society hence his literature highlighting these themes. Larkin describes the proletariat as they 'push through plate-glass swing doors to their desires - cheap suits, red kitchen-ware, share shoes, iced lollies..'. This indicates that the working class want to buy items that appear ‘cool’ to them. This corresponds with the poem 'the large cool store' to emphasize how a capitalist society is obsessed with material items as one may say from a Marxist view.  This may be interpreted as the proletariat class deluding themselves due to the fact that a Marxist would believe they will never be equal due to the class they were born into. A Marxist, Han Bertens supports this idea as he believed 'your social determines much, if not all of your life' this therefore suggests that the proletariat are 'deluding themselves' as they are presented as believing that buying expensive things will make them equal yet they cannot change what class they were born into. The proletariat are presented as encoding values from the bourgeois which are irrelevant to their lifestyle. In the poem 'Here' larkin describes the long hours the proletariat work by describing 'work men at dawn'. This demonstrates that the proletariat work long hours which suggests they work in manual/factory jobs. However later in the poem their desire for commodities is presented. This supports how the proletariat are deluding themselves as it implies that they work long hours for the bourgeoisie only to buy what they in fact made for an inflated price which makes a surplus profit for the bourgeois.


Larkin does not only explore themes of reification and consumerism throughout his series of poems. In the poem 'This be the verse' Larkin depicts Marxist ideas from the Marxist literacy theory that 'the way we think and the world around us are either wholly, or largely conditioned by the way the economy is organised' and that the class in to which you are born determines your future. The most prominent theme throughout this poem is the 'curse' of the proletariat class. Larkin states 'they fuck you up your mum and dad, they may not mean to, but they do' this may suggest that Larkin believes that your parents are at fault for what social/economically position you're in. From a Marxist point of view being born into a working class family would be unfortunate because they believe that a capitalist society can only run through the exploitation of the working class. Larkin demonstrates his own views on being born into a working class family and tells the reader to ‘get out while you can, and don’t have kids yourself’ which suggests that Larkin agrees with a Marxist idea that being born into a working class family would lead to your downfall. It could be interpreted that by Larkin warning the reader to ‘get out while you can’, he is illustrating the false consciousness of the proletariat. This suggests that Larkin believes that everyone should give up because there is no other way out and that the capitalist society that they live in is entrapping people through alienation.


 The poem ‘Mr Bleaney’ also presents Marxist themes. Larkin describes the man – Mr Bleaney – as ‘he stayed the whole time he was at the bodies, till they moved him’. ‘The bodies’ was the name of a factory that made car shells in the 1950s therefore, by describing how Mr Bleaney was at the ‘Bodies’ Larkin is placing him in the category of proletariat. However, this may also be interpreted as Mr Bleaney being deceased, ‘till they moved him’ may suggest that he was moved to another work placement, or a morgue, this creates the image that Mr Bleaney is alienated and alone. The only name we are presented with in the poem is ‘Mr Bleaney’ which indicates that he was alone. Larkin’s purpose here may have been to use Mr Bleaney as a metaphor for all of the proletariat and create the image that they are all ultimately isolated and alone due to the social constraints they face. Larkin uses colloquial language to emphasize the social class of the man - ‘stub my fag’ which suggests he in a working class man as this use of language would generally be used by the proletariat. Larkin embodies the alienation of a capitalist society in the poem; however it may be argued that this poem suggests that the proletariat are not ‘deluding them’. On the last line of the poem the narrator realises ‘He warranted no better, I don’t know’, this creates a sense of uncertainty for the narrator however also suggests that the narrator realises he’ll most likely end up in a similar situation to Mr Bleaney as they are both working class.  This supports the Marxist theory that it is impossible to escape the class you were born in, however it demonstrates that some members of society realise their fate.


 To conclude, Larkin deconstructs a number of Marxist ideas throughout his series of poems. He presents the working class as deluding themselves in the majority of poems however it is possible to argue that Larkin realises that they know deep down. Larkin  suggests that the proletariat do not try to go beyond the limits society has set for them because they have a false consciousness that they’re life is okay as it is.