Nothing To Be Said-Philip Larkin
The poem expresses the idea that we are all born to die and each day we get closer to our day of death. The theme of the poem is death and the passing of time, essentially creating a pessimistic tone. The poem begins with Larkin describing 'nations vague as weed' which establishes people by their nationality. The word 'weed' also indicates how countries are spreading out in an undesirable fashion out of no-where.The word also implies how the countries and the people in it are hideous and unappealing. Larkin mentions the 'nomads among stones' who are travellers with no fixed home, he also mentions the 'cross-faced tribes.' The poet uses different cultures to show how people live differently and how they build their own traditions. The last line of the stanza is used as an pessimistic device because 'Life is slowly dying' which states how everyone will die eventually no matter your religion or culture.
In the second stanza 'love and money' is compared which places them on the same line equally. The poet could be suggesting that love is worthless and based on materialistic perceptions, essentially it's never genuine. Furthermore, Larkin then talks about 'The day spent hunting pig Or holding a garden party' which depicts two different classes and cultures. However, they both 'advance On death slowly' which presents the overall idea that no matter how much money you have or your class status, we all have the same fate where death is concerned.
The final lines of the poem exhibits the division between optimists and pessimists. 'Saying so to some Means nothing; others it leaves Nothing to be said' presents the message that some people do not care that we are slowly dying, whereas for others death sums up everything, evidently dividing the two contrasting groups.
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