Larkin critical quotations

Andrew Swarbrick

Larkin does not explore the real possibilities of life, but instead carefully nurtures a sense of defeat which refuses to acknowledge anything worth celebrating

Alan Bennett

Beneath the sense of quiet despair that pervades Larkin’s poetry, there is a poignant yearning for spiritual meaning that lies beyond the grim realities of material existence

Brian Appleyard

Larkin views time as a constant daily trudge towards his own destruction

George Hartley

The Whitsun Weddings dwells on the futility of existence

Brian Appleyard (2)

Larkin’s poems are driven by a sense of failure

Martin Amis

Larkin exposes what he views as the essential dishonesty of art and culture which peddle tantalising illusions

Alan Bennett (2)

One characteristic movement of Larkin’s poems is to begin in the disappointed world of material reality and to end somewhere far removed - somewhere lit by symbolist lights

Clive James

Larkin’s poetry reveals a world illuminated by unexpected light

Anthony Thwaite

Many of Larkin’s poems express a precarious optimism

Paula Lunn

Whilst he professes a boredom with modern life, most of his poems suggest a fascination with it

Martin Amis (2)

There is, in Larkin’s poetry, a vein of spiritual poverty

Andrew Motion

Larkin was a poet who had profound and unforgettable things to say about common experience