Se ee ee Yaertations oF ENG-So| [Sh 2-2! - Wedd | 101 28° [eve [ee “Thavaaay fal eel (BS dey Le —- 1 aN Modern Poetry 331 Galaxy Notes rete a MCMXIv' Those long uneven lines Standing as patiently As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park?, 4 The crowns of hats, the sun On moustached archaic? faces Grinning as if it were all An August Bank Holiday lark; oe Gee . And the shut shops, the bleached Established names on the sunblinds, The farthings and sovereigns‘, And dark-clothed children at play 12 Called after kings and queens5, The tin advertisements For cocoaé and twist’, and the pubs*® Wide open all day; 16 1-The title is the year 1914 represented in roman numerals. This year saw the outbreak of World War One. Interesting to note is how the roman numcrals lend the Poem the appearance of a war monument. 2- The Oval-is the headquarters of English cricket and Villa Park is the home ground of thé well-known English football.team, Aston Villa. Here both these grounds act as metaphor for the class divisions in socicty. The upper class traditionally supports cricket, while the lower and middle classes follow soccer. 3- old- fashioned 4- types of coins 5- Old-fashioned names, such as Albert and Victoria 6- a chocolate-flavored drink 7- a twisted roll of pobacee 8- wine- shopsModern Poetry 332 Philip Larkin And the countryside not caring: The place-names all hazed over With flowering grasses, and fields Shadowing Domesday lines 20. Under wheat’s restless silence; The differently-dressed servants With tiny rooms in huge houses, The dust behind limousines?; 24 Never such innocence, Never before or since, As changed itself to past ~ Without a word - the men 28 Leaving the gardens tidy, The thousands of marriages, Lasting a little while longer: Never such innocence again. 32 1- In 1086, William the Conqueror ordered that all the territorial divisions of England be recorded. The book in which these boundaries were recorded was known as the Domesday Book. Domesday is also the name given in the Bible to Judgement Day. 2- Expensive automobilesModern Poetry 333 | Galaxy Notes - SHORT ANALYSIS OF THE POEM ‘MCMXIV’ captures a moment in time before the onset of one of the most horrendous episodes in human history - World War One. In the opening lines, wé are presented with the sight of long queues of men: Standing as patiently . As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park, The disturbing reality, however, is that these men are not queuing for a football match or a game of cricket: They are, in fact, standing in line to enlist in a war from which most of them will not return. Their innocence is captured in the image of their ‘archaic faces | Grinning as if it were all | An August Bank Holiday lark’. In the second stanza, the holiday atmosphere continues to prevail. The shops are closed for the long weekend, and the children are at play. Throughout this stanza, a number of images highlight the extent to which this world has vanished. The currency (‘farthings and sovereigns’) has passed into history. The clothes that the children.wear are no longer fashionable and their names no longer popular. What is not stated, however, is the fact that World War One will accelerate’ the pace of this change. In the third stanza, there is a shift in location. There is shift from the city to the ‘countryside’. There is a lazy, hazy feel to the poct’s depiction of these final days of summer in 1914: ~* And the countryside not caring: The place-names all hazed over \ With flowering grasses, and fields : In the fourth line of this stanza, the first indication is received that all is not well, The mention of Domesday lines’ casts ‘a shadow over the poet's beautiful description of the countryside. The absence of human voices is replaced: by the sound of wheat’s restless silence’. In the closing lines of the third stanza, readers _ are reminded once again of the class differences that existed in England before the war. Houses with ‘differently-dressed servants’ are a thing of the past. The final stanza expresses in clear terms what was previously implied. ‘The speaker reminds. that there was: ean Never such innocence, . Never before or since, ‘As changed itself to pastModern Poetry 334 Philip Larkin | Most critics agree that MCMXIV is a nostalgic poem that laments the passing of a way of life. The first two stanzas rely on a number of images and quietly stated allusions to achieve their effect. In. particular, the mention of ‘Villa Park’ and The Oval’ highlights the extent to which Britain was divided along class lines before the war. World War One changed all that. The upper classes suffered as much as the working * class. In fact, the life expectancy of a middle-ranked officer was less than that of an enlisted soldier. Furthermore, the drain on manpower and the social chaos created by the war put an end to the servant- master relationship that had dominated British life up to 1914. The image of ‘archaic faces’ with moustaches seems, at first, to refer to specific photographs but, on closer inspection, it proves to be a representation of our collective image of the time. The silent newsreels of the era and the images in the first two stanzas are representative of how the men of that period lodked:in imagination. This nostalgic recollection of a world that no longer exists extends into the third stanza. The depiction of the English countryside in this stanza is, in Andrew Motion’s opinion, ‘part of a vanished ideal, a better world than ours, marooned on the wrong side of a colossal war’. The poem moves slowly but inevitably, towards the final stanza. The extensive use of the present participle ~ ‘Standing’, ‘Grinning’, ‘caring’, ‘flowering’ and ‘Leaving’ - suggests an easy, flowing sense of permanence and stability. The poem does not contain a main verb; this fact, coupled with the lack of intrusive punctuation, reinforces this smooth, flowing sense of continuity. However, all the while, the specter of war hangs over the poem. The lives that those men took for granted are going to be much shorter than the grammar of the poem would suggest. The men'who stand in the queues in the first stanza would later form what became known as the ‘pals’ battalions’. Most of these men were to die in the insanity of the British advances on the German lines in 1916. The Great War was a horrific fault line in European history. ‘MCMXIV’ is more than a nostalgic trip down memory lane. "It is a poem that memorializes a generation that was virtually wiped out. The roman numerals, along with the shape of the poem, evoke images of a Cenotaph or commemorative monument. Much of the imagery in the poem is + bright and cheerful. However, on closer examination, one should notice that dark colors, shades and shadows are present in nearly every stanza. There is also an eerie and foreboding lack of human voices throughout the poem.| j Modern Poetry 335, Galaxy Notes STANZA-WISE EXPLANATION OF THE POEM Stanza-I > The Poet takes the readers into pre-war circumstances, The people did not see the war with their eyes yet they are well aware of the consequences of this gréat human tragedy. The poet creates some realistic images of town life. First image is of soldiers, who are standing in an “uneven” line. This symbolizes the alienation and isolation within the town. Second is of Villa Park. The Oval is the headquarters of English cricket and Villa Park is the home ground of the well-known English football team,-Aston Villa. Here both these grounds act as metaphor for the class divisions in society.’ The upper class traditionally supports cricket, while the lower and middle classes follow soccer. Poet further describes whole scenery in clear words. Sun is shining. People have worn hats. They are going for war but still there is sense of delight printed on their faces. They are enthusiastic and excited to serve their country. They are in holiday mood. They are not fearful to face their enemies. Mustached faces is also a symbol of courage and dignity with which they want to go into the combat showing grace and unshaken determination. They are excited to wipe out their | enemies. They know that they may die in war yet they are ready to fight for their children. They are ready to sacrifice everything for their country. their country is their first priority. | Stanza-II \ : Common people on the other hand are showing signs of fear. No market activity is going on. There is no hustle and bustle. This symbolize the stoppage of commercial activities. Shops are closed. Names of shops written on the boards have been faded. So far as children are concerned, they are wearing | dark clothes. Their clothes symbolize mournirig and pathos whereas their | names suggest the glory of England as the children are named on the names | kings and queens. Advertising boards of tobacco and chocolate-flavored | drinks reveal gloomy atmosphere. These refer to the consumer's favorite goods | before the times of war. In short, this stanza is realistic imagery of every, | °bject of urban life. Children are playing but shops are closed. No hustle and stle can be seen on the roads. Children being oblivion to the impending | disaster and being in line with their innocent nature are busy in playing and 1. |Modern Poetry 336 Philip Larkin Eee making a noise. Except children everything is still. It can be compared with the ease and comfort before the arrival of the storm. Stillness symbolizes fear. Children on the opposite indicate that life never stops. 7 Stanza-IIl Poet diverts his attention towards countryside. It is different from urban area. As compared to urban area, countryside has less.fear of war. “Line” and © “And the countryside not caring” are highly ironic. In 1086, William the Conqueror ordered that all the territorial divisions of England be-recorded. The book in which these boundaries were recorded was known as the Domesday Book. Domesday is also the name given in the Bible to Judgement Day. The impact of war in countryside can be seen'too. “Domesday” represents many years old strong England's history. Poet first describes wheat crops and green fields in countryside and then makes the reader feel that war is going to destroy everything. Theme of destruction can be-witnessed in this stanza. War impacts more on rural areas and less on countryside, therefore, there is more restlessness in urban areas as compared countryside. Stanza-IV Last stanza of the poem clears the difference between war and peace. It refers to change brought upon the countryside of England. A race for safety and survival began amongst the people because of the impending dangers of the war. The pre-war scene is characterized by the search for places and shelters by those who were concerned about their stifety. This urgency gave birth to insanity and forced people to make hasty decisions without proper planning and homework. The urban population raced towards the villages and disturbed the calmness and serenity there. The town people being threatened by the hunger and impending crisis sold off their lands. This mass influx of the migrators brought misbalance in the social order as well. The new dwellers from posh and clean areas were exposed to dusty and unclean environment of the countryside. People lost their near and dear ones. Male members of thousands of families gave their lives and their families had to suffer a lot. This was not by chance but ng other choice was available but to lead this sort of life.r Modern Poetry 337 Galaxy Notes CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF THE POEM Philip Larkin is widely regarded as being one of the greatest poets writing in English in the late 20th century. He seemed to be a man for his time, jn.that he expressed in his poems many of the thought s and feelings that were typical of welfare-state post-imperial Britain. This included uncertainty, self- doubt and a mixture of pessimism and hope as the public mood swung from one to the other and back again. Larkin's outlook was essentially conservative, which is possibly one reason why he was suggested as a suitable successor to Sir John Betjeman on the latter's death in 1984 (Larkin turned down the offer, for various reasons). Larkin admired Betjeman's work, much of which was very nostalgic and looked back with longing to an England that was more ordered and secure than that of the 1960s and 1970s. Larkin's 1960 poem "MCMXIV' (published in "The Whitsun Weddings", 1964) seems to be in this tradition, and could almost have’ been written by Betjeman himself. The title (1914 in Roman numerals) is itself a throwback, given that such numerals are rarely seen today apart from on the credits for TV programs. In introducing his own recorded reading of "The Whitsun Weddings", Larkin commented that "the emotional impact of nineteen-fourteen in Arabic numerals was too great for anything I could write myself". This device therefore sets the poem in a remote period to which the poet wished to pay respect. The poem comprises four 8-line stanzas of which only the fourth and eighth lines rhyme, thus creating, as it were, two "long uneven lines" in each stanza. Given that this is also the text of his opening line, one wonders if this was an intended pun by Larkin. Seeing that he was a master of his art who crafted his poems with extreme care and knew exactly what he was doing, it is quite possible. The important thing to note in the first stanza is the repeated “as if’. The image of people queuing for a.cricket or football match must be related to the actual purpose of the queues, which are of men volunteering to join the Army in 1914 after the declaration of war against Germany. ‘The old photographs and newsreel films that Larkin would have seen must have struck him, as they have many other people, as being poignant-and tragic given what was to happen to many of the volunteers. The impression that this was all a great adventure, which would not last long or even be particularly hazardous,Modern Poetry 338 Philip Larkin was one that was current among large numbers of people in 1914. It was truly an "age of innocence", which is the theme of Larkin's poem. These images in the second stanza are of an idyllic world in which everything is in the right place and stability is the order of the’ day, the implication being that all this changed after 1914. However, there are actually very few items on this list that did not still apply after the war had ended. Sunday and “early closing day" shop closures continued well into the 20th century, as did the issue of farthings (worth a quarter of a penny) which only ceased to be legal tender in 1960, the year in which this poem was written. Granted, gold sovereigns (worth one pound sterling) ceased to be issued after 1917, but the use of "royal" names for children, such as William, Edward, George and Victoria, did not end then; indeed, these names are still popular in Britain today. The one big change, and one that would have struck Larkin in particular given’ his partiality for beer and. whisky, was the wartime introduction of pub licensing hours. It is only since Larkin's death (hastened by his alcoholism) that these have been relaxed to allow all day opening once more. It is interesting to note in the thifd stanza that Larkin refers to the English countryside as something that is passive and, apparently, unpeopled unless they live as servants "in huge houses". . His vision of innocent rural England is one of a place that seems to have gone to sleep, "hazed over" like the overgrown nameplates of villages that are dotted between fields that have the same boundaries as when surveyed in the reign of William the Conqueror. He is also nostalgic for the social hierarchy of master and servant. The countryside is. "not caring" about the forthcoming conflict, but of course it could not escape the consequences. Just as the war would put an end to gold sovereigns and all-day pub opening, so would it have a massive impact on the countryside, because food production had to be intensified, and on the aristocracy whose sons and servants would soon find themselves fighting on the- Western Front. Many of the great mansions fell into disrepair or were demolished after the war. Stanza four refers back to the men of the opening stanza who, in their innocence of what was to happen, left their neat, ordered lives (typified by the tidy English gardens) and went off to fight. Larkin refers to their "thousands of marriages" which, again referring to Edwardian stability, would have lasted a lifetime but were destined to be cut short when the men failed to return orModern Poetry 339 Galaxy Notes were so damaged by the experience that their marriages were put under severe strain. Larkin comments ("never before") that this age of innocence is not to be understood as being everything before 1914. It is generally held that the Edwardian era (from 1901 to the First World War although Edward VII died in 1910) was the pinnacle of British prestige and power and consequently a golden age of peace and prosperity on the home front. However, all ages "change themselves to past without a word", and the war was only hastening what would happen with time anyway. This constant change is Larkin's point; the picturé he paints is, fundamentally, that of a myth. It is unreal to expect things to stay the same, and so innocence will always be lost as each coming generation experiences the new. Permanence is a myth, and so are beauty and innocence. However, that is not to say that human longings for the past are not natural and inevitable. In this poem Larkin expresses his sympathy for such longings, but they are still regarded as myths all the same. : A critic is of the view that the poem is written in reverse order. Men, ready to fight.are shown at start of the poem, At the end marriage, wives and their departure have been illustrated. People, who are standing in uneven lines, are ready to forfeit their marriages. They want to sacrifice themselves for their country. Their courage has been presented in the poem. Philip Larkin has not seen the prewar era of First World War but he knows consequences of Second World War. He, keeping in view the prewar era of Second World War has composed this poem. There is similarity between both these eras. He knows condition of people, therefore, he shows it from every angle. He presents life of children, women, servants and men. He mourns that innocence would never be seen-again. War would destroy everything. Only memories would remain intact. ‘The poem sketches pre-war picture of people. Every nation has suffered dite to world wars. Peoples, properties, rural areas, countryside areas, forests, fields in fact everything was destroyed. Philip Larkin'wants to freshen memories of people/readers. He wants that people should feel the difference between war and peace. A critic summarizes the whole poem in following words: - “the men leaving the gardens tidy’ is an insight into what’s to come, the men are going off to fight in the war, and whilst they're gone there is no- one to take care of the gardens. The ‘long unéven lines standing patently’ shows the soldiers in the calm before the storm, they are waiting to die, and itModern Poetry 340 Philip Larkin is in this time that their marriages are lasting longer, until death do them part, this poem is almost written in reverse, starting with the men in the trenches and going back in time to when they left to go to war.” The title itself is perhaps used for a number of reasons- not only does it inform that the poem details the past but it also makes the reader work to figure out the meaning. Therefore, though the numbers are largely forgotten, Larkin makes the readers put more thought into the issue and reminds them - of the war memorials of the time that were inscribed with these numerals. The first stanza portrays the "long uneven lines" of men as waiting "patiently" and ironically, “grinning"- a feat perhaps only the British of the time could carry out. These masses of men are happily willing and eager and are expectant about that which is to come, It is as though they are simply queuing for a game at "Villa Park" as they are civilized and in no rush- the age of innocence. Larkin uses words such as "archaic" and "crowns" to describe the men, depicting them almost as ancient nobles and regal- Larkin understands the sacrifice they will make and: is showing that he admires them as a type of royalty for their bravery-non-judgmental for. once.’ However, the men themselves only see their actions -as a game and do not'understand the conseqtiences. They act as though it is "an August Bank Holiday lark", with "lark" being a play on Larkin's name and. showing them to be blissfully unaware that they will soon no longer be "grinning"- they see enlisting as a carefree adventure. The second stanza moves on to highlight the world that the men are leaving behind. It is a world of peaceful games and everyday items such as "tin advertisements", Clearly, there is a touch of nostalgia as the old methods of payment like "farthings" are remembered, showing the passage of time since the event and many of the items are symbols of nationality; highlighting the patriotism at the time and perhaps that of Larkin himself. The shops themselves are likely shut because it is a public holiday, however, the pubs remain "wide open all day", welcoming men and offering support in the form of liquid courage with no licensing laws. ‘The line “dark-clothed children at play" is perhaps a metaphor for war in that these innocents are wearing clothes typically associated with mourning and showing that innocence is forever lost by violence. Many men and even young boys who-had lied about their age ended up dying in war areas and leaving their families behind. The third stanza begins with the comment that the “countryside” does not care, thus perhaps being a use of anthropomorphism in that nature willModern Poetry 341 Galaxy Notes —aoCO——— not help in a battle.of men or showing that those living in the countryside are so far removed that they do not care. Alternately, it could be taken to mean that the countryside has been abandoned by men leaving to fight and the place names forgotten as they are "hazed over" by overgrown "grasses"-unkempt, misleading. "Domesday" refers to the Domesday book which was a survey of all land owned in England. Larkin is perhaps criticizing. the wealthy who’ resided in the countryside i in "huge houses" with "differently-dressed servants" for not fighting as it is the soldiers that deserve respect, The alliteration in these lines perhaps emphasizes the mocking and judgmental tone Larkin adapts to refer to class and to point. out that wealth pales in comparison to moral standards. The "restless silence "of the wheat (anthropomorphism) presents the anticipation and charged atmosphere that even nature displays, as though everything is waiting for this massive event to occur. The final stanza clearly shows the lasting effect of war on Britain as the phrase "never such innocence" is repeated in order to highlight that war leaves scars and changes everything. There is a sense of finality yet the men at the time are still puresl hearted and ‘unaware of the horrors to come. Caesura appears to show the peace before the true violence erupts, with men "leaving their gardens tidy", expecting to return and "the thousands of marriages, lasting a little while longer". This euphemism shows that the marriages still alive at that time were soon to be destroyed by death. Men expecting adventure were met with disappointment and Larkin critiques war for destroying this sense of innocence. The Great War destroyed social boundaries and changed everything Britain believed. The poem . itself is solemn and highly critical of war for its horrendous consequences, however, Larkin is not judgmental of the men signing ‘up for what they believe will be a fun game. He respects these men and shows them as pure-hearted and brave, doing what they believe is right, even though others do not. :