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SoSe 13: S-Culture-Gender-Media II: Philip Larkin and the Post-War Era in Britain

Peter Krahé

Comments

When Philip Larkin died in 1985, he was generally considered as a most significant, indeed as the representative English poet of the second post-war era. Although Larkin's poetical oeuvre is comparatively slim, with only four collections of poems to his credit during his lifetime, his range of tones and topics is considerable. Seamus Heaney finds an impressive variety of personae and styles embodied in his work: Among others, there is "Cavalier Larkin", "late Augustan Larkin", "seaside-postcard Larkin" with a "streak of vulgarity". "He is urban modern man, the insular Englishman [...], ill at ease when out of his environment." Accordingly, this seminar will approach Larkin's poetical works in the context of British Cultural Studies.

Participants will have to meet the usual requirements. Regular attendance and a presentation in class are obligatory. Since all preliminary work will have to be sorted in the first week of the semester, prospective participants are expected to be present at the first session. In compliance with BA regulations, classes will be conducted in English. Assessment will be on the basis of regular attendance and the submission of a 4000-word essay.

Please feel free to have a look at the following standard books:

Philip Larkin, The Complete Poems, ed. by Archie Burnett, London 2012.

- , Collected Poems, ed. & intr. by Anthony Thwaite, London 1988.
- , Required Writing. Miscellaneous Pieces 1955-1982, London 1983.
- , Further Requirements. Interviews, Broadcasts, Statements and Book Reviews, ed. by A. Thwaite, London 2002.
- , Selected Letters of Philip Larkin, 1940-1985, ed. by A. Thwaite, London 1992.

Andrew Motion, Philip Larkin. A Writer's Life, London 1993.