Analysis

• "Afternoons" - The title suggests that the young mothers are in the ‘afternoons’ of their lives where children have taken away their identities and their lives are not their own.
• "Summer is fading:" - ‘Summer’ could represent the happy times in

  life and the verb ‘fading’ implies that their life/happiness is coming to an end.
• "leaves fall in ones and twos" - Decline is gradual and almost unnoticeable.
• "From trees bordering" - The trees are ‘bordering’ which is almost stopping the mothers escaping.
• "The new recreation ground." - The adjective ‘new’ suggests that this is a new stage in the mothers’ lives or it could also suggest that there is a new generation.
• "In the hollows of afternoons" - The word ‘hollows’ suggests that the mothers’ lives are empty.
• "Young mothers assemble" - The word ‘assemble’ suggests that the mothers gather without choice and that it is routine.
• "Setting free their children." - The children are being set ‘free’. Freedom is something that these mothers crave.
• "Behind them, at intervals," - ‘Behind them’ suggests that the mothers do not feel like they are supported by their husbands.
• "Stand husbands in skilled trades," - ‘Skilled trades’ suggests that the women are not recognised for how they raise their children. They don’t earn any qualifications and are almost seen as being unskilled.
• "An estateful of washing," - The mothers do not have their own identities and Larkin is suggesting that all of the women do the same tasks.
• "Our Wedding, lying near the television:" - ‘Lying’ suggests that the

  wedding album is ignored just like their relationships with their partners. This is not the most important thing anymore in their lives.
• "But the lovers are all in school," - The ‘lovers’ are who the parents used to be before they had children. Or the ‘lovers’ could be the younger generation of people who are in new relationships.
• "Finding more unripe acorns," - The adjective ‘unripe’ suggests that the children are unaware of what life will be like when they are older. They are still naïve, not ready for adulthood.
• "Expect to be taken home." - ‘Expect’ suggests that the children make demands on their mothers and that their mothers have no choice.
• "Their beauty has thickened." - The word ‘thickened’ suggests that the mothers are growing older and they are not as beautiful as they used

  to be. They have no time to look after themselves.
• "Something is pushing them to the side of their own lives." - The word ‘something’ suggests that the mothers do not realise who or what is ‘pushing ‘them.

  The verb ‘pushing’ suggests that the mothers are being forced away from their own lives.

  The most important thing in their lives is their children. The mothers are almost at the side now looking in on a life that isn’t theirs; a life that they have no control over.