ENGLISH - Nothing To Be Said

ENGLISH - Nothing To Be Said by Philip Larkin

For nations vague as weed,

For nomads among stones,

Small-statured cross-faced tribes

And cobble-close families

In mill-towns on dark mornings

Life is slow dying.

So are their separate ways

Of building, benediction,

Measuring love and money

Ways of slow dying.

The day spent hunting pig

Or holding a garden-party,

Hours giving evidence

Or birth, advance

On death equally slowly.

And saying so to some

Means nothing; others it leaves

Nothing to be said.

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ENGLISH - Nothing To Be Said by Philip Larkin

Content/Theme

A pessimistic poem about how death draws ever closer with every passing day, despite that which we do to deter it.

Analysis

Larkin starts the poem by describing different groups of people or places: "nations vague as weed" (an unflattering description of those developing countries), "nomads among stones" ( unattached and without a home), "small-statured... tribes" ( isolated with stunted growth) and "cobble-close families" (those people tied down in family life). No matter how different each of these groups are, they are all slowly dying. This paradox highlights that anything we do with our lives simply brings us one step closer to death. Alliteration could also appear to suggest the whispers of time and death that always surround us.

There are various different "ways of slow dying" that people use to pass the time, whether this be surrounding themselves with "benediction" or "measuring love and money". This juxtaposition of ideas presents both at materialistic and commercial. "The days spent hunting pig" are typical of the upper-class of the time and their differing ways of passing the days.

The "Hours giving...birth" imply that even those bringing new life into the world are just slowly dying and that though people may try to convince themselves that this new life signals hope, there is no way out of death. The phrase could alternatively be related to the superior profession of a doctor to emphasise that everyone, from every place, class and profession on Earth will die.

However, when people are told this, they are divided up into two groups. To "some" it "means nothing"- they do not care about death and want to simply take life as it is. To others, "it leaves nothing to be said"- this sums up everything that can be said and its traumatic nature robs the people of any words. There is no escape and they take this to heart.

The point Larkin is trying to make is that we spend our whole lives viewing other people differently and trying to prove that we are alive when actually we are just drawing closer to death, step by side. The fact that the poem title refers to the second type of people implies that Larkin himself belonged to that group and in many ways, feared death. 

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ENGLISH - Nothing To Be Said by Philip Larkin

CONTENT

 Nothing To Be Said is a reflective poem that shows how we as humans, go through life trying to push the onset of our inevitiable deaths to the back of our minds. For me, this poem related directly to Ignorance as it says that most people just don't think about death, pretending that it doesn't exist. The poem also shows how no matter what path you take in life you are all heading in the same direction- this is also shown in Dockery and Son with 'Joining and parting lines'. The themes in this poem are consistent with the rest of the collection; death, the point of life, ignorance, and the fact that we are all the same as a human race in the end. There are some very poignant juxtapositions and oxymorons in Nothing To Be Said such as; 'The day spent hunting pig' and 'garden-party'. Another key part of the text is 'slow dying' which is repeated throughout the poem, and summarises Larkin's view on life in two short words.

ANALYSIS

The first stanza of the poem starts with 'For nations vague as weed' by this Larkin is referring to the idea of countries that noone really knows anything about. This could also be interpreted as the side effects of marajuana, and the vagueness that it causes; this vagueness could also refer to the way that our knowledge of death is so limited. He then goes on to talk about the 'nomads among stones' the 'Small-statured cross-faced tribes' and 'cobble-clos families' indicating the working class. This list of people and nations that come from completely different worlds, indicates that no matter who you are and what you do, 'Life is slow dying.' The way that the stanza ends with this short, punchy statement, gives a dramatic end to the list, and clearly shows the point of the poem. This is strange for a Larkin poem as usually they begin with a narrow, specific subject and then widen out into a philosophical overview at the end however, this one has a much more linear structure. The alliteration of 'Small-statured' and 'cobble-close' give the poem a cheerful, unthreatening feel that is shown throughout, this could show that death isn't threatening, it's just inevitable. In the second stanza Larkin further portrays how although everyone leads their lives in 'seperate ways', for example, 'building, benediction, Measuring love and money'. This could be explained in two different ways, either that; these things are used by people to procrastinate their thoughts from their impending deaths, or, that these things such a love, currency and architecture are slowly dying out. Futhermore, the way that love and money are used together, brings them both down to a shallow, materialistic level. In the middle of this stanza Larkin repeats the words 'slow dying' for the second time, drilling it into the reader that that is what's happening to them. He then followa this with the juxtaposition of 'The day spent hunting pig Or holding a graden-party' this sarcastic, slightly humourous comparison of social class, continues the tone of the poem. I think that Larkin used this humourous, weirdly cheery tone, to take a dig at the people who can't accept that they are dying, and are some day going to die. At the beginning of the third - and final stanza - Larkin continues this tone with a zeugma 'Hours giving evidence Or birth' this is suggesting that they are one and the same thing and again carries humourous connotations. The way that Larkin has mentioned birth (usually referred to as the beginning of a fresh new life) next to the reference to death is oxymoron and shows Larkin's extremely pessimistic view on life. The penultimate lines refer to the way in which people take the news that they are slowly dying, it either; 'Means nothing' or just leaves 'Nothing to be said.' meaning that mentioning death to some people doesn't have an effect, they'll just push it to the back of their minds again. However, for some it just sums up everything and they are just in shock of the realisation that this is what their lives essentially are. This could be seen as optimists and pessimists, the optimists being able to carry on with their lives, and others not being able to think of anything else. The title being the 'Nothing To Be Said' option shows that Larkin is in this pessimistic group.

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YOUTUBE VIDEO

Philip Larkin NOTHING TO BE SAID poem analysis—literary devices & poetry—20th century literature

Dr Octavia Cox

Sep 17, 2021 CLOSE READING CLASSIC LITERATURE | Dr Octavia Cox

20th CENTURY POETRY ANALYSIS | Reading & literary analysis of Philip Larkin’s stark & brutal –but beautiful– poem ‘Nothing to be Said’, published in his poetry collection The Whitsun Weddings (1964). How does Philip Larkin use literary devices & figures of speech e.g. anaphora, epistrophe, zeugma, aural echoes, enjambement, alliteration, assonance, sibilance, antimetabole & chiasmus in the poem ‘Nothing to be Said’? 20th Century English Literature Analysis Close reading of Philip Larkin’s ‘Nothing to be Said’ poem OUTLINE OF LECTURE - reading & literary analysis of one of Philip Larkin’s poems, ‘Nothing to be Said’ (published in The Whitsun Weddings) - video focusses on Philip Larkin’s technical mastery, his deployment of literary devices & figures of speech - including Philip Larkin’s use of anaphora, epistrophe, zeugma, aural echoes, enjambement, alliteration, assonance, sibilance, & antimetabole (a kind of chiasmus) – with definitions & explanations

duration 31:59 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbyRTVO9Zgc&ab_channel=DrOctaviaCox

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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?