Here

         The poem “Here” by Philip Larkin, in the first stanza itself, the word ‘swerving’ is used several times to amplify the movement. The things the poet sees are described vividly in the first until the last stanza. The poem is the poet’s physically journey to a place of ‘solitude’, where loneliness clarifies. Larking by using the right words and images concisely and incisively conveyed his thoughts and feeling in his poem.

        Larkin, expresses his experiences to these places and journey’s using a poetic language. He uses end rhyme often to provide lyrical tone as in the first stanza “Swerving east, from rich industrial shadows..” The rhyming scheme gives neat effect in the structure of the poem. Such as thus, ‘shadows’ is rhymed with ‘meadows’, ‘fields’ and ‘shields’ and so on. Larking in this instance retains the convention or romantic poets where the aspects of rhyme is given emphasis. His way of writing the poem is very real and one is attracted to read the poem further to discover what else the poet sees are described vividly. Larking makes his poem more visual and interesting so that the reader keeps reading the poem. Understanding every detail that he, as a poet, is trying to show him/her using such techniques that helps his poem portrait what he is looking for.

           As the poem continues, the poet keeps giving details about these places, the things in it, an the people. The things mentioned in the poem are mostly concrete. ‘Fields’, ‘meadows’, ‘skies’, ‘scarecrows’, ‘rivers’, and so on can all be mentally visualized as one read those words. The poet had swerved ‘from rich industrial shadows’ and ‘traffic all night’ when he came across the countryside. If lonely scarecrows and haystacks are symbols of a countryside, buildings, people and streets signify a large town, which the poet meets with surprise. The poet highlights the different atmosphere between the two landscapes using phrases like ’spires and cranes cluster’ and ’barge-crowded water’. The reader analyzes how the poet tries to be as detailed and specific as he can be so that the poem can be filled of imagination and delightful descriptions of such places that make the reader easily portrait itself as one was to be experiencing such moment.

          Although the poet mentions that ’loneliness clarifies’ in line 25 the poem itself is not about loneliness. It is more about being alone and finding solace in solitude other than being lonely. Larkin, feels highly liberated. The whole of the poet’s existence in concentrated at the place he has arrived at, which simply calls “here”. The juxtaposition of light and shadows brings out a contrasting effect which suggests a distinction between positive and negative. Somewhat at the end of the poem the sun seems to provide the positive element that the poet needs. He apparently has found solace at the end of his journey. He now enjoys feeling ‘untalkative’  and ‘out of reach’. Larking uses the word ‘unfenced’ to show liberty. In other words the poet suggest and or states how nature can provide freedom and comfort for those who want to escape the traffic and busy city life.

       Philip Larkin uses his thoughts that come from his images as he once presence these places to give the audience in this case the reader a more visual image of every place he describes. He does marvelous expressing in the poem his feels and thoughts.