Talking in bed - Philip Larkin

“easiest… honesty”

Half rhyme - potentially emulates the imperfections the speaker indentifies with their own relationship.

“Talking in bed”

Universal image to suggest that this could be anyone’s relationship and that it isn’t subject to just one couple.

“An emblem of two people being honest”

The speaker states that such talk is an “emblem” so it’s a cultural symbol that is synonymous with a couple’s bond.

“more and more”

Repetition - shows that the distance between the two is worsening.

Juxtaposition of the bedroom scene with the scene outside the bedroom window.

The active wind juxtaposes the isolation and ennui inside.

Nature imagery e.g. “the wind’s incomplete unrest”

Exacerbates human stagnation.

“on the horizon”

Foreshadows the approaching disaster for the relationship.

“Lying”

Potential pun: denotes lying in bed but connotes lying about true feelings.

The line break between “find Words”

Replicates the struggle to communicate.

“Not”

Repeated negation suggests they are refraining from saying honest things for fear of jeopardising the relationship.

“Find… kind… unkind”

Almost a rhyming triplet to show that the relationship doesn’t quite work. It is clumsy and awkward which augments the hesitancy.

Unusual interlocking rhyme scheme

aba cac dcd eee but some are half rhymes. The tension between the strict and loose rhyme scheme could reflect the tension between the couple.