The Large Cool Store

The poem is about an M&S in the 1960s which at the time was a cheaper store where the proletariat were about to afford 'fashionable' clothes. Karl Marx believed that capitalist valued commodities and materialism which is supported by the poem which presents the proletariat societies feeling they need commodities to feel accepted in society. Phillip Larkin presents themes of class in the poem 'The large cool store'. He demonstrates how the proletariat have a false consciousness by believing that buying cheaper versions of bourgeoisie fashion, will make them equal.

The title of the poem 'The Large Cool Store' connotes two different meanings. Firstly the word 'cool' may suggest that the poem is referring to the store having the most fashionable pieces of clothing. However alternatively the word 'cool' may indicate the store is cold or unwelcoming. This may suggest to the reader that although the store offers what appears to be in fashion for the proletariat, it is uninviting for the bourgeoisie due to the ideology of commodification and that items should be expensive in order to be good.

Larkin describes how the clothes are set out in 'simple sizes plainly'. The use of the words 'simple' and 'plainly' may be interpreted to be describing the proletariat who shop at the store which indicates that Larkin believes that the lower class are unintelligent. This suggests that at the time of the poem, the bourgeoisie would have believed they were better than the proletariat and indicates that they believed they were more intelligent. Larkin highlights the dull lives of the proletariat further when he describes the colours of the clothes as 'Browns and grey, maroons and navy'. The dull and dark colours Larkin has used to describe the clothes could be interpreted as a metaphor for the lives of the working class. This indicates that the proletariat's lives were monotonous and boring which may be due to their need to work. These colours connote colours of factory workers, therefore Larkin is demonstrating how the people who shop here will be at the same professional level as a factory worker.

Larkin demonstrates how the customers of the shop 'leave at dawn low terraced houses'. By describing how they leave at 'dawn' it indicates that they are leaving early in the morning to go to work. This presents how the proletariat have to work very long hours in factories. This creates a sense of irony in the poem as it suggests that the proletariat will spend many hours in factories producing the clothes that are sold in places such as the 'large cool store' just to buy them back off the bourgeoisie for a higher price. This also indicates that the workers have a false consciousness because they are presented as following the status quo and the daily routine of working for the bourgeoisie and then giving the money they're paid back to them at the shops and showing no signs of resistance. Larkin describes their houses as 'Low terraced houses' the word 'low' suggests that the proletariat live in small houses and the word 'terraced' indicates that the proletariat class all live very close to each other as their houses are attached.

The false consciousness of the proletariat class is highlighted when Larkin says 'to suppose they share that world, to think their sort is, matched by something in it' here the reader is exposed to how at the time, the proletariat would have believed that by buying something that appears more expensive and more fashionable that they are the same as the bourgeoisie. This demonstrates how both the working class and the bourgeoisie were materialistic and wanted commodities. This suggests that people believed that something was better because it was more expensive. This suggests that the society at the time had a cultural mindset that people should have 'cool' things or they won't be accepted. However, Larkin expresses how he doesn't agree that the proletariat are equal to the bourgeoisie when he describes them as 'they and their' this suggests that he believes that they think they share his world but they don't.

The poem highlights the zeitgeist of the 1960's, otherwise known as the 'swinging sixties' because during this decade there were many developments in fashion. This is presented by the shop selling 'cool' clothes. This suggest that during this time people wanted to look like they had expensive clothes. A marxist may believe that this was wrong because they believe in people all being equal and fashion means that people can advertise their wealth and in return their poverty. This contributes to a marxist belief of a capitalist society being a 'split society' and a marxist may not like fashion due to it emphasizing the social class of a person.

The 'large cool store' has an ABABA rhyming pattern throughout the poem such as 'clothes', 'hose', and 'those' rhyming on line 1,3,5 and 'plainly' and 'navy' rhyming on line 2 and 4. This may have been used to create a monotonous and repetitive atmosphere to emphasize the boring life of the proletariat class. However, in contrast caesura and enjambment are used in the poem which breaks up the rhythm, this may have been used to build up tension and create a more dramatic effect to the poem.

To conclude the poem demonstrates how the proletariat are desperate to be considered equal to the bourgeoisie yet they are not expected in society by the upper class as they are viewed as unintelligent and inferior.