Born Yesterday

Born Yesterday

Larkin wrote poem for particular event- day after the birth of Sally Amis(daughter of a friend)
he takes fairy tale idea of giving out wishes of good things to new born but adds twist
1. he wishes her more practical, useful talents instead of great beauty
Form
1. lack of rhyme makes poem seem like normal spoken language
  1. puts emphasis on rhyming couplet at end
2. free verse
Structure
1. 1st stanza starts off conversational and ironic tone
  1. talking about so-called gifts and virtues that most people would wish for a new born
    1. people are naive
2. 2nd stanza- more direct and empathetic towards the end when dealing with real virtues required to be happy
Cynical language
1. poet uses sceptical & dismissive language to describe what extraordinary gifts and virtues are worth
2. 'usual stuff'
  1. down-to-earth, un romantic phrase shows his contempt for the supposedly special hopes for a child which are typically expressed
3. 'spring'-source of unpolluted water
4. 'unworkable' 'working'
  1. repetition in unworkable and working increase sense that this one extreme thing spreads to disrupt everything else
Language about Ordinariness
1. poet gives unexciting description of his hopes
  1. then says how important and how special that kind of ordinariness is
2. 'ordinary' 'average'
  1. at first his unexciting wishes seem unkind
3. 'not ugly, not good looking, nothing uncustomary'
  1. repetition of negatives -emphasises absence of distinguishing figures
4. 'may you be dull'
  1. explains this is actually a virtue- more valuable than those in first stanza
5. 'skilled,vigilant, flexible, unemphasised, enthralled'
  1. 5 adjectives in quick succession- show how complicated catching happiness is
'tightly folded bud'
1. like beginning of flower-suggests affection
  1. which contrasts with the hope that she isn't beautiful
2. metaphor-protected in womb blossoms into flower
'none of the others would'
1. his wish is going to be different from others
'and should it prove possible'
1. he's cynical and doubts whether these wishes likely to come true
Feelings & Attitudes
1. Tenderness
  1. expresses genuine good feelings for the new born
2. Scorn
  1. he's quite cutting about the traditional kind of wishes people make for babies
3. Realism
  1. gives down-to-earth views on way people can achieve happiness
idealism vs. realistic

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