1. Afternoons
by Philip Larkin

2. Philip Larkin (1922-1985) English poet Worked as a librarian in Hull
Poetry about everyday life and relationships
Some say poetry is negative and miserable
Never married
Didn’t ever travel abroad

3. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 5.

4. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”

5. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered, Our Wedding”

6. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered, Our Wedding”
“something is pushing them”

7. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered, Our Wedding”
“something is pushing them”
“setting free their children”

8. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered, Our Wedding”
“something is pushing them”
“setting free their children”
“summer is fading”

9. Pick out a quote from the poem to match each picture
“husbands in skilled trades”
“the album, lettered, Our Wedding”
“something is pushing them”
“setting free their children”
“summer is fading”
“an estateful of washing”

10. Pairs:
Zoom forward about 10 years, when you’ll be in your mid-twenties. What do you imagine you’ll be doing with your life? How would you like your life to be then?

11. Pairs:
Zoom forward about 10 years, when you’ll be in your mid-twenties. What do you imagine you’ll be doing with your life? How would you like your life to be then?
Now, look back at the poem.
Are there any words or short phrases which make growing up seem unappealing?
Why might Larkin have this viewpoint? What do you think he might have experienced in this life?

12. What else does the change of season represent?
Summer 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.
What does this suggests about both the mothers and their children?
Change of season – summer to autumn (child-adult

13. How do these ideas contrast? Which is reality?
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
How does your life change when you grow up? Is it always better?

14. 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.
Ageing highlights memories and youthfulness of children;
Time passing is so gradual we barely notice the changes and then wonder how we got there and possibly why we’ve not done certain things.

15. Check Understanding
What is the effect of the poem being set at a specific time of the year? Is Larkin suggesting something about ‘time’? How could this be linked to the title?
‘the hollows in the afternoons’ is an interesting phrase. Why?
There are some patterns in phrases used by Larkin: ‘Behind them’ and ‘Before them’. What is this suggesting about the lives of the young women?
Why does Larkin describe the wedding albums as ‘lying/Near the television’? Could there be more than one interpretation here?
Who or what are the ‘unripe acorns’ and why are the mentioned in the final stanza? Is Larkin suggesting something about life?
What is the tone of the speaker in the poem, who appears to be some sort of observer? Suggest 3 adjectives to describe the tone and find relevant quotations to support your ideas.
Needs differentiating