**Philip Larkin (1922–1985)** was an English poet born in Coventry who became a leading figure of the **'Movement'** in English Poetry during the 1950s. The Movement was a literary movement that rejected romantic excess and emphasized clarity, wit, and controlled emotion in poetry.
**Key Works:**
**Recurring Themes in Larkin's Poetry:**
**Significance:** Larkin's work establishes a strong **kinship with the environment**, finding profound meaning in ordinary natural phenomena and everyday moments. His poetry is universally appreciated for its accessibility combined with philosophical depth.
**Title: "Coming"**
The poem contains 24 lines organized in free verse (no strict rhyme scheme or meter). The title "Coming" refers to the arrival of spring and, metaphorically, the emergence of hope and happiness in the speaker's consciousness.
**Stanza Breakdown:**
**Stanza 1 (Lines 1-9): The Physical Description of Spring's Arrival**
**Stanza 2 (Lines 10-24): The Emotional Response**
**Metaphor:**
**Imagery:**
**Personification:**
**Alliteration:**
**Repetition:**
**Irony:**
**Symbolism:**
**Primary Theme: The Arrival of Hope and Emotional Renewal**
The poem celebrates the psychological and emotional impact of spring's arrival. Spring is not merely a seasonal change but a catalyst for emotional awakening. The speaker, whose childhood was devoid of memorable joy ("forgotten boredom"), discovers that happiness is becoming possible through observing natural renewal and reconciliation in human relationships.
**Secondary Themes:**
**"A thrush sings, / Laurel-surrounded / In the deep bare garden"**
The bird singing in the bare garden represents life and hope emerging in seemingly empty or desolate spaces. The "laurel" (an evergreen plant) suggests continuity and lasting beauty even in seasons of apparent death. This announces spring's arrival, which is the literal subject of the poem.
**"Its fresh-peeled voice / Astonishing the brickwork"**
The "fresh-peeled voice" suggests rawness and newness—the voice has been stripped of covering to reveal something pure underneath. The verb "astonishing" indicates the startling, unexpected nature of this beauty. Even inanimate "brickwork" (representing human construction and civilization) is amazed by this natural occurrence.
**"I, whose childhood / Is a forgotten boredom"**
This confession reveals the speaker's past emotional aridity. "Forgotten" suggests the speaker cannot even recall specific boring moments—the entire childhood is a blank space of monotony. This makes the present moment of awakening more significant by contrast.
**"And can understand nothing / But the unusual laughter"**
The child doesn't comprehend the complexities of adult reconciliation, only the emotional result (laughter). This parallels the speaker's position: they don't need to understand spring's scientific causes to feel its emotional impact. Direct emotional experience matters more than intellectual understanding.
**"And starts to be happy"**
The simple, powerful final line uses "starts to be" rather than "is" or "becomes," suggesting a process beginning, a tentative awakening of joy. This matches the earlier repeated affirmation "It will be spring soon"—both show movement toward emotional transformation rather than instantaneous change.
**1. What does the bird in the poem announce? How is this related to the title, 'Coming'?**
The thrush announces the arrival of spring through its song. In the poem, the bird's singing is the first tangible sign that warmer seasons are approaching ("It will be spring soon"). This is related to the title "Coming" because spring is literally coming—arriving. Metaphorically, the title also refers to the "coming" of hope and happiness to the speaker's emotional life, which parallels spring's arrival in nature.
**2. Why is the speaker's childhood described as 'a forgotten boredom'?**
The speaker's childhood held no memorable moments of joy or excitement; it was a period of monotonous, unexciting experience. "Forgotten" emphasizes that the speaker cannot even recall specific incidents—the entire period is a blank of tedium. This description serves as a contrast to the present moment where the speaker is beginning to experience genuine happiness through natural renewal and emotional awakening. The childhood boredom makes the current emotional transformation more poignant and meaningful.
**3. What causes the element of surprise when the child comes on the scene of 'adult reconciling'?**
The child is surprised by the "unusual laughter" of adults who have reconciled after conflict. The child cannot comprehend the complexity of adult emotions or the reasons for the conflict and resolution, yet experiences the emotional intensity of the moment. Similarly, the speaker, observing spring's arrival, doesn't need intellectual understanding to experience emotional joy. The surprise comes from encountering emotions that transcend rational explanation.
**4. What two things are compared in the poem?**
The poem compares the arrival of spring (with the bird's song as its herald) to the arrival of happiness and hope in the speaker's emotional life. Additionally, it compares the speaker's current emotional state to a child witnessing adult reconciliation—both involve experiencing profound emotional moments without full rational comprehension. The analogy suggests that emotional transformation, like spring's arrival, happens naturally and can bring unexpected joy.
**5. How do you respond to these lines? "Light, chill and yellow, / Bathes the serene / Foreheads of houses"**
These lines create a striking visual and sensory image. The adjectives "chill and yellow" seem contradictory yet perfectly capture early spring light—pale, cool, and lacking summer's warmth. The verb "bathes" suggests gentle, nurturing care, while "serene" foreheads of houses create a peaceful, almost human quality to the urban landscape. The personification elevates ordinary architecture to something worthy of poetic attention. The image conveys both the physical reality of spring light and the emotional calm and hope it brings. Students should note how Larkin finds beauty and significance in everyday, ordinary scenes.
**6. Comment on the use of the phrase 'fresh-peeled voice'.**
"Fresh-peeled" is an unconventional, striking metaphor for the bird's song. Just as peeling removes outer layers to reveal something fresh underneath, the bird's voice seems newly stripped of any covering, raw and pure. The phrase suggests newness, authenticity, and vitality. "Peeled" also implies something delicate and vulnerable. In the context of spring's arrival, this fresh, peeling voice represents the breaking of winter's silence and the emergence of renewed life. The unusual nature of the metaphor itself captures the "astonishing" quality of the bird's song—it arrests attention through its freshness and unexpectedness.
**Definition and Characteristics:**
Haiku is a traditional Japanese poetic form consisting of **three lines with 17 syllables** (typically arranged as 5-7-5 syllables per line). Each haiku expresses a **single thought or moment of insight**, often focusing on nature, seasons, or a fleeting observation. English imitations of haiku have become popular, though they may not always maintain strict syllable count.
**Key Features:**
**Three Haiku Examples Provided:**
**COBRA**
His jewelled crown / and hypnotic sway enthral; / beware the lethal fangs.
**NIGHT**
Clouds appear / and bring to men a chance to rest / looking at the moon.
**ALONE**
Won't you come and see / loneliness? Just one leaf / from the Kiri tree.
**Reported Speech / Indirect Speech (relevant to understanding poetic voice):**
The speaker in "Coming" makes observations and expresses feelings indirectly through description and imagery rather than direct statement, creating reflective distance.
**Modal Verbs:**
**Conditional Structures:**
The poem implies conditional relationships: IF spring arrives, THEN hope follows; IF one observes reconciliation, THEN happiness emerges.
**Multiple Choice Questions:**
1. Which literary device is most prominently used in "On longer evenings, / Light, chill and yellow, / Bathes the serene / Foreheads of houses"?
2. What does the repeated line "It will be spring soon, / It will be spring soon—" primarily convey?
3. The "fresh-peeled voice" refers to:
**Short Answer Questions (2-3 marks):**
**Long Answer Questions (5-6 marks):**
**Phrase Meaning:**
Q1. What does the thrush announce in 'Coming'?
Answer: A — The thrush's song signals spring's arrival, which triggers the speaker's emotional transformation from childhood numbness to joy and wonder.
Q2. Which phrase best captures why the speaker's childhood is 'a forgotten boredom'?
Answer: B — The speaker has lost touch with or buried childhood feelings until spring reawakens them, showing how adulthood can numb earlier wonder.
Q3. What is the primary effect of Larkin's repetition 'It will be spring soon—It will be spring soon'?
Answer: B — The repetition reinforces the certainty and emotional weight of spring's approach while intensifying the speaker's growing anticipation and transformation.
Q4. In the line 'Light, chill and yellow, / Bathes the serene / Foreheads of houses,' which literary device is primarily used?
Answer: B — The passage personifies light as something that 'bathes' and houses as having 'foreheads,' attributing human features to inanimate objects to convey gentle transformation.
Q5. How does the speaker's emotional state in 'Coming' differ from a typical romantic poet's celebration of spring?
Answer: C — Larkin grounds the poem in realistic, psychological experience where spring triggers personal emotional recovery rather than philosophical or escapist celebration.
Q6. Which of the following is NOT correct about Larkin's use of imagery in 'Coming'?
Answer: C — Yellow light represents gentle spring warmth and brightness, not danger; it is associated with hope and awakening, not hardship or warning.
Q7. The speaker compares himself to a child because:
Answer: C — The speaker, like a child witnessing adults reconcile, cannot comprehend the full meaning but is moved by the unusual happiness and laughter present.
Q8. Read the haiku: 'Clouds appear / and bring to men a chance to rest / looking at the moon.' What is the central image expressing?
Answer: B — The haiku suggests clouds create an opportunity for rest and reflection, enabling people to pause and find tranquility through viewing the moon.
Q9. Which statement best explains the relationship between 'Coming' (the poem) and the concept of 'Movement' poetry?
Answer: A — Movement poetry, led by Larkin, rejected Romantic escapism; 'Coming' demonstrates this by grounding emotional revelation in ordinary, realistic observation.
Q10. Compare the tone and purpose of 'Coming' with a typical Romantic spring poem. How does Larkin's approach differ? Provide at least two specific textual details to support your analysis.
Answer: A — Larkin uses specific, ordinary details ('fresh-peeled voice,' 'light, chill and yellow') and psychological realism to show how spring recovers lost childhood wonder, contrasting Romantic idealization with personal transformation.
What does the thrush's song symbolize in 'Coming'?
The thrush announces spring's arrival and triggers the speaker's emotional awakening from childhood numbness.
Why is the speaker's childhood called 'a forgotten boredom'?
The speaker has suppressed or lost touch with childhood experiences, viewing them as tedious and meaningless until spring reawakens wonder.
What is the significance of 'fresh-peeled voice'?
This phrase uses personification and sensory imagery to suggest the bird's song is raw, newly exposed, and strikingly alive against the dead garden.
How does the speaker compare himself to a child?
The adult speaker resembles a child who observes adults reconciling but cannot understand their words, only feeling the unusual happiness.
What does 'adult reconciling' mean in the poem?
It represents spring's arrival bringing harmony, renewal, and resolution after winter, symbolizing broader human emotional and relational healing.
Analyze the effect of repeating 'It will be spring soon.'
Repetition emphasizes the inevitability and certainty of spring's arrival while building emotional intensity and anticipation in the speaker.
What does 'Light, chill and yellow' reveal about the season?
These sensory details depict early spring—cool but brightening—creating an atmosphere of gentle transformation and quiet beauty.
How is Larkin's 'Coming' different from traditional Romantic spring poems?
Larkin grounds the poem in ordinary scenes and psychological realism rather than idealized nature; spring triggers personal emotional recovery, not philosophical escape.
What is the role of the garden in the poem?
The garden represents barrenness and isolation that spring gradually transforms, mirroring the speaker's inner emotional landscape.
What is a haiku and how many syllables does it contain?
A haiku is a three-line Japanese poem with 17 syllables (5-7-5 pattern) that expresses a single, precise thought or moment.
According to the poem 'Coming,' what does the thrush's song symbolize, and how is this connected to the poem's title? [2 marks]
Consider what the thrush announces (spring's arrival) and how spring relates to the speaker's emotional 'coming' or awakening from childhood numbness.
Explain why the speaker describes his childhood as 'a forgotten boredom' and how spring's arrival changes his emotional state. Use two specific images from the poem to support your answer. [5 marks]
Show how the speaker has lost touch with childhood wonder due to adult disenchantment; then explain how sensory images ('fresh-peeled voice,' 'light, chill and yellow') trigger emotional recovery and happiness.
Analyze how Larkin's 'Coming' differs from traditional Romantic spring poetry. Explain how the poem's use of realistic imagery, personification, and the speaker's psychological detachment create a modern approach to depicting nature's transformative power. What is the significance of the speaker feeling 'like a child' while observing 'adult reconciling'? [6 marks]
Contrast Larkin's grounded, psychological realism with Romantic idealization; explain how personification ('foreheads of houses,' voice 'astonishes') serves personal awakening rather than philosophical escape; clarify the paradox that the speaker's incomprehension mirrors the actual power of emotional transformation beyond rational understanding.
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