Afternoons
Afternoons, by Philip LarkinSummer is fading:
The leaves fall in ones and twos
From trees bordering
The new recreation ground.
In the hollows of afternoons
Young mothers assemble
At swing and sandpit
Setting free their children.
Behind them, at intervals,
Stand husbands in skilled trades,
An estateful of washing,
And the albums, lettered
Our Wedding, lying
Near the television:
Before them, the wind
Is ruining their courting-places
That are still courting-places
(But the lovers are all in school),
And their children, so intent on
Finding more unripe acorns,
Expect to be taken home.
Their beauty has thickened.
Something is pushing them
To the side of their own lives.
The leaves fall in ones and twos
From trees bordering
The new recreation ground.
In the hollows of afternoons
Young mothers assemble
At swing and sandpit
Setting free their children.
Behind them, at intervals,
Stand husbands in skilled trades,
An estateful of washing,
And the albums, lettered
Our Wedding, lying
Near the television:
Before them, the wind
Is ruining their courting-places
That are still courting-places
(But the lovers are all in school),
And their children, so intent on
Finding more unripe acorns,
Expect to be taken home.
Their beauty has thickened.
Something is pushing them
To the side of their own lives.
Context:
The poem 'Afternoons' mocks the 1960s societal norms of young families and the lifestyles they had in the 60s. The 1960s were a time when it was expected for the male to work, 'husbands in skilled trades' and for women to stay at home and take care of household chores and the children, ''An estateful of washing''
Quotes Explained:
''Afternoons'' The title of the Poem suggests that this is a continuous thing, that this kind of stuff happens all the time which shows routine and order.
''Summer is fading''- Larkin is showing the reader that time is passing, and the youthfulness of the mothers are gradually coming to an end.
''Young mothers assemble'' This suggests that its the mothers' duty to take care of her children and be a household goddess. The plural mothers reinforce the fact that all mothers in the 1960s had a moral obligation to take care of the children and the home.
''Behind them, at intervals''- Larkin is showing that at the time husbands were busy with work and didn't get to see their family much because they had, and were expected to provide for their families- it was a societal norm.
''An estateful of washing''- Larkin is showing the reader what the mothers did- what was expected of them at the time which was to take care of the household chores while the husbands did the work.
''Our Wedding, lying
Near the television''- During this time, many families enjoyed being entertained at home, many people had televisions and it began to become the number one thing in the household, and televisions were a lot cheaper than they were in previous times- they became more affordable thus more people bought them. Larkin's is showing the reader that with the rise of the television the traditional values people once held is now becoming less mainstream with tv becoming more important and more centralised than marriage.
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