'Unnoticed in the Casual Light of Day': Philip Larkin and the Plain Style (Studies in Major Literary Authors)

larkin's Poems Are Often Regarded As Falling Somewhere Between The Traditional 'plain' And The More Contemporary 'postmodern' Categories. This Study Undertakes A Comprehensive Linguistic And Historical Study Of The Plain Style Tradition In Poetry, Its Relationship With So-called 'difficult' Poetry, And Its Particular Realization In The Cultural And Historical Context Of 20th-century Britain. The Author Examines The Nature Of Poetry As A Type Of Discourse, The Elements Of, And Factors In, The Development Of Literary Styles, A Close Rhetorical Examination Of Larkin's Poems Within The Described Poetic Frameworks, And His Position In The British Twentieth-century Poetic Canon. Larkin's poems are often regarded as falling somewhere between the traditional "plain" and the more contemporary "postmodern" categories. This study undertakes a comprehensive linguistic and historical study of the plain style tradition in poetry, its relationship with so-called "difficult" poetry, and its particular realization in the cultural and historical context of 20th-century Britain. The author examines the nature of poetry as a type of discourse, the elements of, and factors in, the development of literary styles, a close rhetorical examination of Larkin's poems within the described poetic frameworks, and his position in the British 20th-century poetic canon Front cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Raising the Questions 12 Chapter One. Literature, Language, Plainness, and the Plain Style Traditions 22 Chapter Two. Larkin in Context 50 Chapter Three. Rhetorical Strategies I 88 Chapter Four. Rhetorical Strategies II 130 Chapter Five. Themes 174 Conclusion: Larkin's Own Blend 218 Notes 228 Bibliography 240 Index 244 Back cover 248