MCMXIV by Philip Larkin

MCMXIV by Philip Larkin
 Larkin entitled this poem MCMXIV, which are Roman numerals for the number 1914, the year of WW1. The poet adopts a tone which is not full of sarcasm, instead he sounds genuine which is unusual for Larkin.


                                       
                                                   'The Oval or Villa Park'
This phrase describes how the men are unaware of what they are letting themselves in for and they do not full understand the whole consequence of war. They were queuing for something leisurely like sport, reinforcing the idea of unawareness.
The first stanza also mentions how they are standing 'patiently' which indicates how people didn't feel the level of stress of standing in a queue like they do now. The men are then described to be 'grinning' as if it was 'An August Bank Holiday' which implies that they do not fear the war, propaganda gives false reality.
                                               'And the shut shops'
The second stanza begins with describing how the shops are 'shut' suggesting that the shop owners have also gone to war, leaving behind their livelihood. The poet also describes the 'Dark-clothed children at play' which is a foreboding technique because 'dark' connotes death and misery. 'Tin advertisements' is also described in this stanza, showing propaganda and the governments tatics in making people join the way, placing them on food cans, essentially persuading them to be part of it.
                                    'And the countryside not caring'
The third stanza mentions how the 'countryside' is not 'caring' and how the 'flowering grasses' now cover the 'place-names' which implies that the many men who once had the job of maintaining the countryside are now far away fighting at war. This stanza also describes how the rich live here with 'servants' and have 'limousines' which suggests how war doesn't affect this place.
                                     'Never such innocence again'
The final stanza reveals the truth about war, it has damaging and life-lasting affects. 'Never such innocence, Never before or since' indicates how the many innocent men will never be the same again, they will never be 'innocent' because they have killed, therefore their innocence has been lost through the actions of war. The poet then describes how 'The thousands of marriages [Last] a little while longer' which implies how many women will soon be a widower because they will have lost their husbands to war. The repetition of 'never such innocence again' on the final line of the final stanza implies how the war dramatically changes people, both physically and mentally. People are unable to come to terms with the reality of war and what they have seen and done. The horrors will never fade away.