In this poem the speaker starts living at the flat which a man named Mr Bleaney used to live at. The speaker compares his own life to what he'd imagine Mr Bleaney's life was like.
Firstly, the name 'Bleaney' could have the connotations of bleak, dreary and mean. This could suggest that this is what Mr Bleaney was like as a person, but I reckon more likely the speaker is suggesting that Mr Bleaney's and maybe his own life is bleak, dreary and mean.
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker describes Mr Bleaney to be very separate from himself, using words such as "him" and "he" as opposed to 'us'. It being Mr Bleaney's "room" suggests from the beginning of the poem that the flat is very small and basic. Mr Bleaney "stayed the whole time he was the Bodies", him just "staying" could suggest that he didn't really make the flat a home, the word stayed makes it sound more like he was a guest, instead of saying he lived there. The speaker could be suggesting that although physically Mr Bleaney was alive, he didn't really have a life. Mr Bleaney working at the "Bodies" instantly made me think of dead bodies. The speaker may be again suggesting how little of a life Mr Bleaney had. The speaker said that "they moved" Mr Bleaney from the flat, this suggests that if they hadn't done, he would have lived there forever, suggesting that he's not changing or developing as a person, he's simply existing.
In the flat, there were "flowered curtains, thin and frayed", suggesting they're cheap, old and damaged, this could perhaps be metaphorical for Mr Bleaney's life. The curtains "fall to within five inches of the sill", showing they don't fit the window properly, this could be symbolic for how nothing in Mr Bleaney's life is right. The window only "shows a strip of building land", suggesting that the room has little natural light and that Mr Bleaney may be isolated from the outside world. The neighbour says that 'Mr Bleaney too my bit of garden properly in hand' however, it was still "tussocky, littered", suggesting that Mr Bleaney may have been caring, but it also makes the reader question the state of the garden prior to Mr Bleaney looking after it, if his neighbour says he looked after it well. It could suggest that the surrounding area in which Mr Bleaney lived was fairly neglected. In Mr Bleaney's room there was a "bed, upright chair, sixty watt bulb, no hook behind the door, no room for books or bags", this reinforces how basic and dull the room is, this could also be symbolic for Mr Bleaney's life and personality. The only possessions Mr Bleaney has are the bare minimum. The room has the description of what I can imagine a prison cell would be like, this could reinforce the idea of how the narrator and maybe Mr Bleaney felt isolated and lonely when living there.
Despite having imagined how Mr Bleaney lived in the room, the narrator agrees to live there afterwards, saying "I'll take it". I can imagine the narrator would have this in a disappointed tone, he's disappointed that that's his only option. The narrator laid where "Mr Bleaney lay", suggesting that his life is becoming like Mr Bleaney's. When laying there on the bed, the narrator is probably questioning life and wondering if that is all there is to his life. Perhaps he feels isolated. The narrator says that he "knows (Mr Bleaney's) habits", "what time he came down, his preference for sauce to gravy, why he kept on plugging at the four aways", but how can he know Mr Bleaney's habits when he'd never met him? Perhaps he knew because they shared the same flat but at different times and maybe since living there, the narrator has the same habits. Mr Bleaney spent "Christmas at his sister's house in Stoke", suggesting that he was lonely as he did the same thing every year, probably not having any other offers.
After the narrator describing what he thinks Mr Bleaney's life was like, he begins to wonder how Mr Bleaney felt about his life, was he happy? This question suggests that the narrator is unhappy living where he is, and wonders how anyone could possibly enjoy living like that. The narrator "stood and watched the frigid wind tousling the clouds", suggesting that inside his flat he felt very isolated from the world. When looking at the sky, people often reflect on life and this may be what the narrator was doing. The bed which the narrator had was "fusty", this could also be metaphorical for how the narrator feels very isolated and claustrophobic in his flat, it's like he needs an escape. The narrator was "telling himself that this was home, and grinned, and shivered", this suggests that he really doesn't feel at home, the grinning creates an image of him feeling uncomfortable but pretending to be happy.
Like many other Larkin poems, the ending of this poem is much more philosophical and less concrete than the rest of the poem. The narrator is scared of that "how we live measure our own nature", suggesting that what we do in our lives defines us as a person, therefore the narrator and Mr Bleaney who seem to have done very little in their lives, it could be said that they themselves are nothing. The narrator seems to be disappointed with how "at his age having no more to show than one hired box", the "hired box" is referring to his flat, but also could refer to a coffin, all that will happen in his life is that he'll die. Life and character being defined by possessions links to Larkin's poem 'Home Is So Sad' and Abse's poem 'Last Vist to 198 Cathedral Road'. The idea of not really having anything to show for in life is also seen in Larkin's poems, 'Dockery and Son', 'Self's the Man' and 'Send No Money'. The room made the narrator feel as though "he warranted no better", suggesting that the nothingness of the room has made him realise the nothingness of his life, he feels disappointed with how little he has accomplished and feels like he hasn't tried hard enough in life so how could he expect more from life? This made me think of the phrase about how you reap what you sow in life.
This poem is about the speaker being "at home" "playing record after record", whilst a person who I'm presuming is the speaker's mum, is in another room listening to the same music.
The poem starts by the speaker's mum saying that the record previously played was a "pretty one". The word "pretty" seems a significantly less powerful adjective to use to describe music compared to the way the speaker has done in this poem and has done in other musical Larkin poems. The comment by the speaker's mum could suggest that she is less interested in the music than him, but still enjoys listening to it because it's a way of spending time with her son and she wants to please him.
The speaker was in "the unsatisfactory room" and his mum was in "the unsatisfactory hall". The repetition of "unsatisfactory" in both places could suggest that the speaker feels isolated and unhappy at home wherever he is in the house, perhaps the house he was brought up in no longer feels like home to him anymore. This could link to another Larkin poem, 'Home Is So Sad' but also Abse's poem 'Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road'.
The speaker was "wasting" time, playing the records "idly", however this is the time that his mum "looked so much forward to". The contrast here is that it seems the speaker isn't enjoying the time spent listening to music with his mum, as if he was enjoying it, he wouldn't see it as wasted time? Maybe he feels like he should be doing something purposeful, but his mum actually looks forward to this time. However, there is also a similarity in these comments by the speaker because both people are wasting time, like the speaker says he is and the speaker's mum is essentially wishing away the present so she can spend time with her son. This emphasises how as people grow up, they have less time for their parents because their lives are busy with other things, yet a lot of elderly people's lives revolve around their family and seeing them, leaving the elderly feeling lonely.
At the end of the second stanza, "unsatisfactory is repeated again, the speaker's mum's "unsatisfactory age" and the speaker's "unsatisfactory prime". Both times in the people's lives being unsatisfactory could suggest that at whatever age no one is 100% happy. Perhaps the speaker feels guilty for his mum's old age, when he is at him prime age where he is starting to live, and she's nearing the end of her life. In this stanza it's made clear that "Oliver's Riverside Blues" reminds the speaker of the time with his mum when he perhaps wasn't appreciating time spent with her as much as he wishes he had done.
Like many other Larkin poems, the final stanza of this poem is a lot more philosophical than the rest of the poem. The speaker says that although "our element is time, we're not suited to the long perspectives", this suggests that we should live in the present more, instead of constantly reflecting on the past or focusing on the future. It can prevent us from appreciating something which is happening at the moment in our lives. The speaker says that reflecting over life shows us "what we have as it once was, blindingly undiminished", this expresses quite a depressing view, suggesting that as time goes by everything in our life decays and everything is better in youth. The speaker realises that "by acting differently we could have kept it so", suggesting that our life choices define our lives and emphasises the importance of appreciating time and the precious moments we experience.
The idea of looking back on music and everything being better in youth reminds me of Larkin's poem 'Love Songs in Age'. Also, 'Dockery and Son' and 'Self's the Man' link to this poem because they all express the idea that our life choices determine the rest of our lives. As well as these poems, Larkin's poem 'Send No Money' links to this poem because the speaker watches time pass and didn't fully appreciate the present. And like I have already said, Larkin's 'Home is so Sad' and Abse's 'Last Visit to 198 Cathedral Road' links to this poem.
The main thought I am left with after reading this poem is that we can never get back time so we should try and appreciate every moment. This idea reminds me of Larkin's poem 'Ambulances' which suggests that life is so fragile that it's like it's hanging on a "thread", emphasising how precious life is and how really we are lucky to be alive.
This poem is addressed to the jazz artist Sidney Bechet by the speaker, vividly describing his experience whilst listening to the music.
The speaker goes straight into describing the music, the "note" Bechet plays which is "narrowing and rising" and it "shakes like New Orleans reflected on the water", suggesting there's something magnificent about what the speaker is hearing. Also, New Orleans is the place which Sidney Bechet was born and is where blues and jazz music emerged, reinforcing the theme of love for jazz music. However, in the final line of the first stanza the speaker says that "falsehood wakes", this could suggest that the joy and emotions felt by the audience are only temporary as they are only felt for the art/creation of music, not for the real things in their life. This may suggest that music for the speaker is like an escapism for the other things in life, as it is a creation which you can lose yourself in, possibly creating only a false/temporary sense of happiness?
The speaker goes on to describe the different ways in which Sidney Bechet's music affects different types of people:
For some, the music builds a "legendary Quarter of balconies, flower-baskets and quadrilles", they're "making love" and saying "Oh, play that thing!". This suggests that for these people, the jazz music is simply something they enjoy to listen to whilst socialising/ The sounds created by the music are exciting and fun for these people, it's suggested that they may not see or be looking for a deeper meaning behind the music, they appreciate the music on a superficial level whilst sharing excitement and happiness with those around them. This creates quite a romantic reaction to the music.
Other people are "grouping", "sporting-house girls" who are "like circus tigers", creating a more of a dark and dangerous image. Sporting house girls is referring to prostitutes and them being like "circus tigers" emphasises how they are there to entertain other people and their feelings maybe ignored or made to be irrelevant because what's important is their job. The girls being like "circus tigers" suggests to me that they're trapped and what they're going through may not be out of choice - sympathy is created for the prostitutes. Also, the simile of "circus tigers" suggests that the tigers that are naturally wild and obviously animalistic, are now tame and controlled. This being a simile for the prostitutes emphasises how what happens in sex should come naturally and stem from the people genuinely wanting to be having sex with one another and intimately expressing their feelings and desires. However, the prostitutes are like "circus tigers", suggesting that the sex they're having with their clients isn't how I just described, and instead is controlled, meaningless and like a chore to them, just something they have to do to get by and "pretend" they're happy to do it, to please their client.
Others are "scholars manques" that are "wrapped up in personnels like old plaids", this doesn't show any sign that these people are enjoying the music, and instead they are focused on their work.
In the fifth stanza the speaker describes his own feelings about Sidney Bechet's music. From this stanza we can tell that the speaker feels very passionate about the music, as Bechet's voice falls on him "as they say love should". To the speaker, the music is "like an enormous yes", suggesting that it is orgasmic to the speaker. Obviously the speaker isn't having an actual orgasm, the "enormous yes" doesn't mean the speaker is sexually thrilled in any way but it suggests that the music brings him ecstasy and intense feelings, the music is so amazing to him that it can't compare to anything else - a musical orgasm perhaps.
Sidney Bechet's music is the "natural noise of good" for the speaker, suggesting again that music is one of the speaker's passions. "Scattering long-haired" could suggest that the speaker had goose bumps listening to the music. The "grief and scored pity" suggests that behind the cheerful sounds of the jazz music, the speaker can understand and feel a deeper meaning behind the music which sometimes expresses pain. This suggests that the music can make the speaker feel emotional from understanding the grief that Sidney Bechet has gone through and creates an image of the speaker being mesmerised by what he's hearing, showing how the speaker feels truly connected to the music.
The poem...
'Hometown'; well, most admit an affection for a city:
grey, tangled streets I cycled on to school, my first
cigarette
in the back lane, and, fool, my first botched love affair.
First everything. Faded torments; self-indulgent pity.
The journey to Cardiff seemed less a return than a raid
on mislaid identities. Of course the whole locus smaller:
the mile-wide Taff now a stream, the castle not as in
some black,
gothic dream, but a decent sprawl, a joker's toy façade.
Unfocused voices in the wind, associations, clues,
odds and ends, fringes caught, as when, after the doctor
quit,
a door opened and I glimpsed the white, enormous face
of my grandfather, suddenly aghast with certain news.
Unable to define anything I can hardly speak,
and still I love the place for what I wanted it to be
as much as for what unashamedly is
now for me, a city of strangers, alien and bleak.
Unable to communicate I'm easily betrayed,
uneasily diverted by mere sense reflections
like those anchored waterscapes that wander, alter, in
the Taff,
hour by hour, as light slants down a different shade.
Illusory, too, that lost dark playground after rain,
the noise of trams, gunshots in what they once called
Tiger Bay.
Only real this smell of ripe, damp earth when the sun
comes out,
a mixture of pungencies, half exquisite and half plain.
No sooner than I'd arrived the other Cardiff had gone,
smoke in the memory, these but tinned resemblances,
where the boy I was not and the man I am not
met, hesitated, left double footsteps, then walked on.
Commentary...
In this poem I think that the speaker's return to Cardiff, his 'Hometown' has made him realise that it's very different to what it was before, it was now "alien and bleak" to him. However, there's still and always will be a part of him that will love and think of Cardiff as home simply for the reason that it was his first home and the happy childhood and early adulthood memories created there, his "first (for)everything" happened there such as his "first cigarette" and "first botched love affair". It mattering to the speaker that his firsts happened in Cardiff suggests that to him, Cardiff is like the foundation to who he is, the place holds great sentimental value.
In this poem there is a sense of decay in the speaker's hometown of Cardiff, the "mile-wide Taff now a stream, the castle not as in some black, gothic dream, but a decent sprawl, a joker's toy facade", although this could suggest decay, it could also suggest ow the speaker has the ability to see things for what they really are, unlike when he was a child and may have exaggerated things a lot, perhaps because a child's perception of reality can be more exciting. The "mislaid identities" and Cardiff being "alien" to the speaker suggests that he feels out of place, being surrounded by "strangers". This could link to Larkin's poem 'Dockery and Son', because the speaker feels different to the people around him.
The change in Cardiff is emphasised by the speaker when he is "unable to define anything", he "can hardly speak" suggesting that the unfamiliarity of his hometown is overwhelming for the speaker. The speaker felt "betrayed" by the changes to begin with, where "Cardiff had gone", meaning that what Cardiff was to him was no longer there. At the end of the poem the speaker "walked on", suggesting that he has accepted that Cardiff isn't the same as his memories envisaged.
Another Larkin poem which this Abse poem reminds me of is 'Here' as in both, the speakers return to their hometown, which is important to them in some way.
The poem...
Here's a photograph of grandmother, Annabella.
How slim she appears, how vulnerable. Pretty.
And here's a photograph of grandmother, Doris.
How portly she looks, formidable. Handsome.
Annabella wears a demure black frock with an amber
brooch.
Doris, a lacy black gown with a string of pearls.
One photo's marked Ystalyfera 1880,
the other Bridgend 1890.
Both were told to say, 'Cheese'; one, defiant, said 'Chalk!'
Annabella spoke Welsh with a Patagonian accent.
Doris spoke English with a Welsh Valleys' lilt.
Annabella fasted - pious, passive, enjoyed small-talk.
Doris feasted - pacy, pushy, would never pray. Ate pork!
When Annabella told Doris she was damned
indecorous Doris devilishly laughed.
I liked Doris, I liked Annabella,
though Doris was bossy and Annabella daft.
I do not think they liked each other.
Last night I dreamed they stood back to back,
not for the commencement of a duel
but to see who was taller! Now, in these revived
waking hours, my Eau de Cologne grandmothers
with buns of grey hair, of withered rose,
seem illusory, fugitive, like my dream -
or like the dust that secretively flows
in a sudden sunbeam (sieved through leaky curtains)
and disappears when and where that sunbeam goes.
Of two old ladies once uxoriously loved,
what's survived? An amber brooch, a string of pearls,
two photographs. Happening on them, my children's
grandchildren will ask 'Who?' - hardly aware
that if this be not true, I never lived.
Commentary...
This poem is about the speaker looking at "two photographs" of his grandmothers. He compares them both as very different to one another, however he liked them equally.
Grandmother Annabella is described as quite delicate as she's "slim", "pretty" and "vulnerable". Whereas Doris is portrayed as the opposite, she was "formidable", "portly" and "handsome". The poem is quite comical and light-hearted, "both were told to say, 'Cheese', one, defiant, said 'Chalk!'".
Further differences are described between the two grandmothers, "Annabella fasted - pious, passive, enjoyed small-talk" suggesting that she was strictly religious and easy-going. Whereas "Doris feasted - pacy, pushy, would never pray. Ate pork!" suggesting that Doris didn't follow the Jewish religion and was more of a bold and perhaps controversial person to be around. Despite the differences, the speaker "liked" both grandmothers equally.
In the speaker's dream about his grandmothers, they're described to be more similar than previously in the poem. The grandmothers were like "withered rose", this could suggest that although old, and with flaws, they are both still two beautiful people to the speaker and mean a lot to him - parallelling with the phrase that 'every rose has its thorn'. The grandmothers are "like the dust that secretively flows in a sudden sunbeam...and disappears when and where that sunbeam goes". This suggests that they will never be completely be forgotten, as dust is always there, memories will come back of them in a "sudden" manner, however their significance has been reduced down to the significance of dust, suggesting that's all that's left of them.
The two grandmothers were "once uxoriously loved", however all that's left of them is "an amber brooch, a string of pearls, two photographs" - material objects. This suggests that the speaker may be feeling like there should be more physical things left behind to show the love that was felt for them. However, love is obviously not an object so cannot always be seen, maybe the few objects that are left will be very sentimental to the speaker because that's all he has to show for his grandmothers. The speaker seems to find it hard to believe that his "children's grandchildren will ask 'Who?'" about his grandmothers, showing how really we're only significant in our life time and a short while after, when the people who loved us die, so will the memory of us. This reminds me of Larkin's poem 'Ambulances' that death is the "solving emptiness", reinforcing that after all the love and all other emotions felt for a person, when they die they'll be empty and after a while all they'll be is a name on a grave stone. It also made me think of in Larkin's poem 'Here', at the end where the speaker is looking out to sea and appreciating being alone, it made me think of the significance of the rest of the world compared to one person, how one person's life has very little effect on the rest of humanity.
Another Larkin poem which this poem reminds me of is 'Wild Oats' as both poems compare memories of two women and were triggered by a photograph. Also, 'Home Is So Sad' by Larkin links to this poem in the sense that when we die, all that's left is people's feelings for us and our possessions.'Mr Bleaney' could to link to this poem in the same way, as the house described in that poem defined the person, just like the possessions the grandmothers have left partly define them.
The poem...
In Stockholm
I saw my first shy love hobble by
hand in hand with her small blond grandson.
Eva Jones, remember me?
My acne. Your dimples.
When you rode your important Raleigh bike
to school, your skirt high,
I held my breath.
With heroic intensity of a 15 year old,
dared by you, I climbed the glass-crowned wall
and stole Mrs Humphreys' summer apples.
Oh the forever of an August Sunday evening
when near the back door's delinquent scent
of honeysuckle, forhead to forehead
I searched your searching eyes.
All the next week similitudes of love,
the jailer of reason,
until plain as the prose of a synopsis,
you bluntly said (with impressive sighs)
'You have a beautiful classy mind
but I find you physically unattractive -
and I prefer, um, blond boys besides.'
Commentary...
In this poem, the speaker describes his "first shy love" with somebody called "Eva Jones" and her rejecting him. It being described by the speaker as a shy love suggests that the speaker kept his love for Eva a secret.
The speaker's memory is triggered by seeing Eva "hobble" in "Stockholm" "with her small blond grandson". This suggests that this happened many decades after they had anything to do with one another. Perhaps Eva's grandson being blonde is relevant because it could suggest that she fell in love and made a family with someone and then had a blonde grandchild, as she preferred "blond boys", however obviously it's possible to have a blonde grandchild and your partner not be blonde.
The speaking asking "remember me?" suggests that Eva meant a lot more to the speaker when he was younger than he did to her as he clearly remembers her. The speaker's "acne" is a typical sign of being a teenager, so it suggests that at the time he was in love with Eva he was a teenager. Eva' had dimples and "dimples" are typically considered as being child-like and represent innocence and suggest a fresh, young face. Some people think dimples are very adorable, and perhaps because the speaker remembered this specific facial feature of Eva, he thought so too. I think overall any kind of relationship the speaker and Eva had was loving yet innocent, fun and light-hearted.
When Eva rode her "important Raleigh bike to school" and her "skirt (was) high" the speaker held his "breath", suggesting that he found her intriguing, desirable and felt almost overwhelmed by her presence, you can imagine the speaker feeling butterflies in his stomach whenever he sees her. The love the speaker felt for Eva seems superficial as according to the poem he didn't actually know much about her. It's suggested that the speaker's love for Eva was an infatuation and wasn't reciprocal.
The speaker felt "heroic intensity" and was "dared" by Eva to climb a wall and steal "Mrs Humphreys' summer apples", suggesting he was trying to impress Eva. The "heroic intensity" describes the way I can imagine the speaker was feeling when infatuated with Eva quite well as it being heroic makes me think of child story books and reflects the innocence of the love as well as the speaker's feelings being very strong and important to him at the time.
The speaker and Eva shared a "week similitudes of love". However, "bluntly" like a "synopsis", (which reinforces that the relationship was childlike and fictional), Eva ended it with the speaker because she found him "physically unattractive" and prefers "blond boys". To not be with somebody because you prefer blonde boys reemphasises the lack of seriousness of the relationship and how childlike they both were, the shallowness doesn't seem out of place because of this. Also, to bluntly say you don't want to be with a person because you find them "physically unattractive" is almost comical because often people don't admit that it's for that reason, partly or completely they wouldn't like to be in a relationship with a person. Instead they sugar-coated it because they don't want to hurt the person's feelings or come across as shallow, but as a child you are a lot more honest. However, I do sympathise with the speaker as he was wearing his heart on his sleeve, feeling hopelessly in love with Eva, so for her to so bluntly leave him after giving him hope would have made him feel shattered.
A Larkin poem which I feel best links to this poem is 'Wild Oats' because of the theme of love and rejection.
The poem...
1935, I watched Glamorgan play
especially, Slogger Smart, free
from the disgrace of fame, unrenowned,
but the biggest hit with me.
A three-spring flash of willow
and suddenly, the sound of summer
as the thumped ball, alive, would leave
the applauding ground.
Once, hell for leather, it curled
over the workman's crane
in Westgate Street
to crash, they said, through a discreet
Angel Hotel windowpane.
But I, a pre-war boy,
(or someone with my name)
wanted it, that Eden day,
to scoot around the turning world,
to mock physics and gravity,
to rainbow-arch the posh hotel
higher, deranged, on and on, allegro,
(the Taff a gleam of mercury below)
going, going, gone
towards the Caerphilly mountain range.
Vanishings! The years, too, gone like change.
But the travelling Taff seems the same.
It's late, I peer at the failing sky
over Westgate Street
and wait. I smell cut grass.
I shine an apple on my thigh.
Commentary...
This poem is based on the speaker's memory of going to a cricket match when he was younger in "1935". The player "Slogger Smart" was "free from the disgrace of fame" but he was still the speaker's "biggest hit". The fact that fame is described as a "disgrace" by the speaker suggests that maybe fame inevitably changes a person and not in a good way, or maybe it's a disgrace how famous people have very little privacy, as being "unrenowned" and "free" suggests that famous people are trapped. The speaker's favourite player being the one that was "unrenowned" suggests that he likes him for genuine reasons such as him being a good player, rather than following the crowd like some people would when claiming to like famous players.
The speaker describes a positive and lively atmosphere at the cricket match, using words such as "three-spring flash of willow", "suddenly", "alive" and "applauding ground". Throughout the poem I get the impression that the speaker has a great passion for cricket. Although not cricket, this is similar with the passion for music expressed in some of Larkin's poems. These include 'Broadcast', 'Love Songs in Age' and 'For Sidney Bechet'.
The speaker then goes onto explain the movement of the cricket ball once it was hit. The ball left the "ground", "curled over the workman's crane" and then crashed through a "windowpane". This could metaphorically suggest that sometimes people get ahead of themselves and instead of achieving what they want, they end up crashing and failing, perhaps because they get caught in the moment and don't realise what they've done until they've got to suffer the consequences.
The day being called "Eden day" indicates a reference to the Garden of Eden in the bible where Adam and Eve first lived. This could suggest that the day was maybe so perfect to the boy that it was like paradise. It could also represent the potential the mid-air cricket ball has because of Eve's choice between right and wrong in the Garden of Eden. This idea reminds me of Larkin's poem 'As Bad as a Mile'. I think the day being "Eden day" could also reflect the speaker's passion for cricket as it made him feel that anything was possible. Such as the ball "scoot(ing) around the world".
The speaker saying he wanted the ball to go "higher", to "scoot around the world" shows potential, and how when in mid-air, the ball has the potential to go anywhere. This could be metaphorical for how cricket makes the speaker feel. It could also be a metaphor for life choices and how at the beginning, life is a blank canvas and could go anywhere, just like the ball. A particular poem of Larkin's which this idea reminds me of is 'Whitsun Weddings' with the "arrow shower".
The speaker felt it was relevant to mention that he was a "pre-war boy" when showing the potential the cricket ball could have/where he wanted it to go. This could suggest that the speaker may feel he was naive prior to the war, or maybe more optimistic.
The final stanza confused me a bit. However, I think it has become more philosophical compared to the rest of the poem. This structure is also often seen in Larkin's poems. I think the speaker means that although the years have "gone" and there's been "change", the "travelling Taff seems the same". I the Taff is referring to the speaker as it's slang for a Welshman. This could suggest that despite the changes that surround the speaker, at heart he is still the same person no matter where he goes. I think being Welsh and cricket are two of the speaker's passions which he feels will never change. The "years" and the speaker "peer(ing) at the failing sky" could suggest that he is waiting for some dream to happen that he's had for a long time and is maybe beginning to lose hope. I think maybe he dreams to be a cricket player because he smelled the "cut grass" at the cricket ground ready to be played on and "shine(d) an apple on (his thigh" like a cricket player would shine a cricket ball.
