afternoons- context/content/structure

• context:

  • written in 1959
  • Larkin terrified of marriage
  • his mother portrayed a bleak view of marriage
  • Larkin views child raising negatively, while for many women motherhood is fulfilling
• content:

  • Larkin observing young mothers as they take their children to the playground that could be seen from his flat
  • filled with sadness about loss of youth and innocence
• structure:

  • 3, eight line stanzas conveying regular routine and repetitiveness