Poetry in the Anthropocene: A Case Study of Philip Larkin's “To the Sea”

Foreign Literature Studies ›› 2018, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 69-82.

• British and American Poetry Studies • Previous Articles Next Articles

Poetry in the Anthropocene: A Case Study of Philip Larkin's “To the Sea”

Xiao Yunhua

Online:2018-08-25 Published:2022-05-23
About author:Xiao Yunhua is professor of contemporary British poetry with Southern Medical University (Guangzhou 510515,China). His research area is modern and contemporary English poerty. Email: 930514@163.com
Supported by:
“A Study on the Poetry of Geoffrey Hill” (17BWW061), supported by the National Social Science Fund of China

Abstract

Abstract: Aesceticism is essential for addressing the challenges caused by the Anthropocene. Poetry, as a literary genre, is an expression of the challenges posed in the Anthropocene. Specifically, it makes observation on significant human impact on the Earth's geology and ecosystems. In “To the Sea,” Larkin demonstrates his awareness of climate change and his anxiety over the menace to tradition and human existence. The poem, together with his other works, describes the natural environment of England in the late 1960s characterized with the haze, the record-breaking high temperature and the abnormally thriving plants. Larkin's description of the climate change creates the sense of alienation and hostility which is linked with his pessimism over humanity and existence, and has an far-fetched impact on his poetic ideology. Larkin's works like “To the Sea” are true and acute observations of realities in the Anthropocene, hence aesthetics grounded on truths.

Key words: Larkin, poems, climate, Anthropocene

Xiao Yunhua. Poetry in the Anthropocene: A Case Study of Philip Larkin's “To the Sea”[J]. Foreign Literature Studies, 2018, 40(4): 69-82.

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