The Less Deceived
Encyclopedia
The Less Deceived, first published in 1955, was Philip Larkin
's first mature collection of poetry
, having been preceded by the derivative North Ship (1945) from The Fortune Press and a privately printed collection. Put out by The Marvell Press, a small, upstart operation run by the enterprising and persistent George Hartley in Hessle
, East Yorkshire
, the book through the depth of its appeal, the formal skill of its verse, and its consistent striking of Larkin's distinctive tone gained wide readership. By the end of 1955 The Less Deceived was recognized as one of the outstanding collections of the year.
The first poem in it, chronologically, to be written was "Going," of February 1946. Its concluding lines, "What is under my hands, / That I cannot feel? / What loads my hands down?", presage the helplessness, the dread of the atrophying of emotion, the despair, and the magnetic terror of death in the poems that follow. These are Larkin's most persistent themes. Throughout the collection, the feeling of diminishment and loss is pervasive, whether in the visit of a cyclist to a church in the volume's best known poem, "Church Going," or in the alienation of the speaker looking at a photograph of a young lady, or in the man in "Toads" beaten by work into an imprisonment he then wills, or even in the "I" who "starts to be happy" when light strikes on the "foreheads" of houses. "Beneath it all," ends the poem "Wants," "desire of oblivion runs." This desire for death simultaneously horrifies and allures.
The poems in The Less Deceived are formalist. Like his admired Thomas Hardy, Larkin invents stanza forms of intricate patterns that become one with the content of the poems. His rigorous adherence to these patterns brings the sadness into sharp relief and gives the emotions their authority. The poet's refusal to publish any but the most perfectly realized poems marked him, from this book onward, as a literary artist of high accomplishment.
With this book Larkin became, albeit unwittingly, as well, a spokesman for his times. Written in a post World War II
England that only half acknowledged its lessening position as a global and economic power, The Less Deceived resonated because it brought forth with disarming candor England
's buried sense of itself.
Philip Larkin
Philip Arthur Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL is widely regarded as one of the great English poets of the latter half of the twentieth century...
's first mature collection of poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, having been preceded by the derivative North Ship (1945) from The Fortune Press and a privately printed collection. Put out by The Marvell Press, a small, upstart operation run by the enterprising and persistent George Hartley in Hessle
Hessle
Hessle is a town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, situated west of Kingston upon Hull city centre. Geographically it is part of a larger urban area which consists of the city of Kingston upon Hull, the town of Hessle and a number of other villages but is not part of the...
, East Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, the book through the depth of its appeal, the formal skill of its verse, and its consistent striking of Larkin's distinctive tone gained wide readership. By the end of 1955 The Less Deceived was recognized as one of the outstanding collections of the year.
The first poem in it, chronologically, to be written was "Going," of February 1946. Its concluding lines, "What is under my hands, / That I cannot feel? / What loads my hands down?", presage the helplessness, the dread of the atrophying of emotion, the despair, and the magnetic terror of death in the poems that follow. These are Larkin's most persistent themes. Throughout the collection, the feeling of diminishment and loss is pervasive, whether in the visit of a cyclist to a church in the volume's best known poem, "Church Going," or in the alienation of the speaker looking at a photograph of a young lady, or in the man in "Toads" beaten by work into an imprisonment he then wills, or even in the "I" who "starts to be happy" when light strikes on the "foreheads" of houses. "Beneath it all," ends the poem "Wants," "desire of oblivion runs." This desire for death simultaneously horrifies and allures.
The poems in The Less Deceived are formalist. Like his admired Thomas Hardy, Larkin invents stanza forms of intricate patterns that become one with the content of the poems. His rigorous adherence to these patterns brings the sadness into sharp relief and gives the emotions their authority. The poet's refusal to publish any but the most perfectly realized poems marked him, from this book onward, as a literary artist of high accomplishment.
With this book Larkin became, albeit unwittingly, as well, a spokesman for his times. Written in a post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
England that only half acknowledged its lessening position as a global and economic power, The Less Deceived resonated because it brought forth with disarming candor England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's buried sense of itself.