ENGLISH - Days

ENGLISH - Days - by Philip Larkin

What are days for?

Days are where we live.   

They come, they wake us   

Time and time over.

They are to be happy in:   

Where can we live but days?

Ah, solving that question

Brings the priest and the doctor   

In their long coats

Running over the fields.

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ENGLISH - Days - by Philip Larkin

Content

'Days' is a philosophical poem about time and the meaning of life which concludes that the only answer to life is death.

Analysis

People's lives are governed and restricted by days of the year. Days are eternal, mundane and over-looked but at the same time, they offer us the chance for creating memories and happiness. They are a way of passing the time until death, as is a response to the opening question of the poem.

As Larkin states, days are "where we live". "Time and time over" the days are repeated and we are stuck in a constant cycle without any control. Days are personified as real living things which act as kidnappers of life and structure the way we go through daily routines.  However, at the end of the first stanza, the question arises of "Where can we live but days?". This is paradoxical as it would seem that the answer is nowhere- if days are life, we cannot "live" anywhere else. The only other alternative would seem to be death. This then is perhaps why the "priest and the doctor" come running as a person would be suicidal if they were trying to challenge beliefs and live outside of normal time or they would be considered insane. However, these two people also represent contrasting views-science and religion. Whilst the priest believes in afterlife and could offer prayers for a blessed life outside of days, the doctor would try to prolong the number of days you stay on earth. It is the thought behind the question and not the answer to the question itself that Larkin is emphasising.

The fact that the two men come "running over the fields" implies freedom and the natural cycle.

The poem is deliberately simple with no rhyme, simple language, simple answers and short sentences in order to have a sharp impact on the reader. It is almost childish in some ways, thus exploring a complex matter in a way that makes it seem less important. Larkin wishes to make us question even the simple things we know (or that we think we know). He tests all that we believe as routine and leaves us think this over.

Within the poem, there may be one or two voices. One interpretation could be that there is a questioner and the speaker who are having a conversation- this may even be a psychological review to test a person's sanity. Alternately, there may be just one voice who is questioning what they know about life. Days are a form of time and the way through which we organise our lives- without them, we would be lost.

The poem itself is particularly puzzling in that no clear answers are offered- it could be suggesting that we should live to the full while we have it or that death is the only solution to the endless days we have to endure.

Academic links: http://poetry-fromthehart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/days-philip-larkin.html

Links

Days, Nothing To Be Said- occupy our time to distract us, all drawing closer to death

Days, Toads Revisited- better to do something with your time

Ignorance, First Sight- lack of knowledge about what is to come, contrast- can be a positive, hopeful future

Ignorance, Water- overcomplicating life, wanting something to believe in

Overall

Larkin understood that people wanted security in their beliefs yet he forces them to question this. He himself was uncertain about what he believed in and was searching for answers just like so many others, hoping for a positive future like that in 'First Sight'. He knew that beliefs could be comforting but he did not want to believe in something fake, overcomplicated or untrue.

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Links with other poems in the collection:-

-Dockery and Son - everyones lives are heading the same way no matter what we do

-Ignorance - we push death to the back of our minds

-First Sight - from the beginning we are doomed

- Toads Revisited - we need work to procratinate until we die

-Days - what's the point in life?