Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
Philip Larkin
This disturbing poem tells the story of a woman who was raped. It is based on a true case that Larkin read in the Victorian publication by Henry Mahew, entitled London Labour and the London Poor. (See below).
The opening line with the statement “I can taste the grief” prepares the reader for the se...
Even so distant, I can taste the grief,
Bitter and sharp with stalks, he made you gulp.
The sun's occasional print, the brisk brief
Worry of wheels along the street outside
Where bridal London bows the other way,
And light, unanswerable and tall and wide,
Forbids the scar to heal, and drives
Shame out of hiding. All the unhurried day,
Your mind lay open like a drawer of knives.
Slums, years, have buried you. I would not dare
Console you if I could. What can be said,
Except that suffering is exact, but where
Desire takes charge, readings will grow erratic?
For you would hardly care
That you were less deceived, out on that bed,
Than he was, stumbling up the breathless stair
To burst into fulfillment's desolate attic.
Deceptions was written by Philip Larkin.
Deceptions was produced by Philip Larkin.