Philip Larkin (1922-1985)
The Mower
The mower stalled, twice; kneeling, I found
A hedgehog jammed up against the blades,
Killed. It had been in the long grass.
I had seen it before, and even fed it, once.
Now I had mauled its unobtrusive world
Unmendably. Burial was no help:
Next morning I got up and it did not.
The first day after a death, the new absence
Is always the same; we should be careful
Of each other, we should be kind
While there is still time.
-Philips Larkin:Written in Summer of 1979:
Inspired by a real-life event , “The Mower” A 12 Lines , Short Poem about ‘Death’ is his late elegiac masterpiece. The elegant rise from a tragical splitting of “hedgehog” a nocturnal garden-creature, with a mechanical mower pushed by a poet : to his sincere saintly conclusion is humanising emotions that surpasses superior standard of excellence. The 3 clear-cut 3 line stanzas ; A reflective turn (‘The first day after a death’) and lastly , A couplet like conclusion : is the emotion clicked hurriedly. “The Mower” unifies poetic sensibilities , self-pity and depression with the distant grief of others. and in Humanity. The poem crowns the others as a final hint urging kindness not just to one’s fellow man, but to all creatures, all life, in a humanly manners. Also, “The Mower”elucidates what is best about Larkin from being easily defined influenced poet as Little Englander or as a racist or sexist or gloomy ; Hardyesque, Yeatsian, Audenesque, Eliotic, Lawrentian ; plain-speaking or symbolist, formal or conversational, or as everyday poet. He is a writer whose major themes include musical sonatas ( compositions ) with rising and falling 3/4 movements. A strange poem that can bring the reader to tears is a given in a way of modern life and literature that reveals the inhumane savagery of men by using a symbolic mower. sharp like wedges in his ironic observation. The poet wants to hint the readers about the consequences of everyday acts happening unexpectedly , suddenly , accidentally and the unintended suffering thereon. : : : :
The poetic persona in the poem is cutting grass on his lawn with a mower. Suddenly, it halts and the poet finds a hedgehog jammed into its blades. He recognizes it to be the same hedgehog he fed once a few days back. the poet somehow feels a “new absence” in his world. The little creature was not a significant but after its death, it has captured a place in the poet’s heart. In the end, the poet warns the readers to be careful about one’s actions “While there is still time.” A mechanical mower represents the weapons meant for destruction. . The blades of the mower not only clear the garden but can kill the grasses taking alongside away an innocent life like the one creature, “hedgehog” in the poem. The theme of the poem is destruction, the mower as a weapon of destruction that can take away several lives unknowingly. It has no soul, no feelings at all. The operator sitting at the driving seat, simply gets his job done. The poet alerts the readers to how it affects humanity and creates a sense of absurdity. Another important theme is “Humanity” over the brural activities of humans. The poet feels the absence of the little “hedgehog” on which he caused an unmendable wound. But after the tragedy of its death he feels it is also rightfully significant in this world. In the end, the poet advises readers to be humane in their deeds. : : : :
“The Mower” By Philips Larkin: A short Death Poem : : Information Appreciation and poem Analysis Presented by V Jayaraj Pune India September 15 , 2022 : : ભાદરવા વદ પાંચમ : : : : : : : :
MADHU MALTI 