The second stanza the times of 1914, where "farthings and sovereigns" were still in use, along with the "shut shops" with the old "bleached established names on the sun-blinds" which show how the war have closed businesses and took effect on the average persons every day life. There were no children clothing at the time, so they wore adults clothing in smaller sizes but were the "dark-clothed", the darkness could suggest how no life or light will return until those on the front do and the war is over.
How the children called "after Kings and Queens", in which at this time Britain was still and empire, where George's, Edward's roamed the land.
The t"tin advertisements" are a form of hope, a form of life for the soldiers on the front, a source of energy ad food, in which the "pubs wide open all day" bringing a sense of community to all people at home, where they can gather and share hope together.
The third stanza shows how Larkin has personified the countryside for not caring about war. The dust lingering within this stanza, is the dust of the lives before the war, the houses to which the lords and ladies lived in, with luncheons and dinner parties,, where there was a stark contrast between the upper class ad the urban working, but war finds a way to bring it all together. However, in this stanza the contrast yet still remains, "the differently dressed servants" who still work in the manor houses. In a way could show how the war has yet to reach the country side. Personally, I thought the reference to the "shadowing Domesday lines" was a reference to the front lines of the war, that the war had been brought home and this manor house with servants, where the house had been turned into a convalescence home for the soldiers.
The final stanza emphasizes the innocence/ignorance to the upcoming war. With the repetition of the word "never" to suggest how the soldiers, the people at home have not yet witnessed such modern advanced warfare. "As changed itself to past without a word" shows how the change in the world occurred without even a mention to such, it merely happen on its own account. The juxtaposition of "the men" who leave their "gardens tidy" and their marriages "lasting a little while longer", showing how war prolongs the good at home, the problems that may have been faced before war, are now swept under the carpet as faith and hope keep everyone strong.
The final line of the poem, "never such innocence again", suggests the generalization upon the whole nation, the generation of the time. The advancements that this new warfare brought, showed the men on the front the disastrous events, e.g The Battle of the Somme July 1916, saw nearly 60,000 British men wounded and dead, the people on the home front the families having to read such horrors that occurred in this war, tore away any protection of innocence the Victorian/Edwardian eara's had set in place, society had it's turning point to the modern everyday life that we now live in.
How the children called "after Kings and Queens", in which at this time Britain was still and empire, where George's, Edward's roamed the land.
The t"tin advertisements" are a form of hope, a form of life for the soldiers on the front, a source of energy ad food, in which the "pubs wide open all day" bringing a sense of community to all people at home, where they can gather and share hope together.
The third stanza shows how Larkin has personified the countryside for not caring about war. The dust lingering within this stanza, is the dust of the lives before the war, the houses to which the lords and ladies lived in, with luncheons and dinner parties,, where there was a stark contrast between the upper class ad the urban working, but war finds a way to bring it all together. However, in this stanza the contrast yet still remains, "the differently dressed servants" who still work in the manor houses. In a way could show how the war has yet to reach the country side. Personally, I thought the reference to the "shadowing Domesday lines" was a reference to the front lines of the war, that the war had been brought home and this manor house with servants, where the house had been turned into a convalescence home for the soldiers.
The final stanza emphasizes the innocence/ignorance to the upcoming war. With the repetition of the word "never" to suggest how the soldiers, the people at home have not yet witnessed such modern advanced warfare. "As changed itself to past without a word" shows how the change in the world occurred without even a mention to such, it merely happen on its own account. The juxtaposition of "the men" who leave their "gardens tidy" and their marriages "lasting a little while longer", showing how war prolongs the good at home, the problems that may have been faced before war, are now swept under the carpet as faith and hope keep everyone strong.
The final line of the poem, "never such innocence again", suggests the generalization upon the whole nation, the generation of the time. The advancements that this new warfare brought, showed the men on the front the disastrous events, e.g The Battle of the Somme July 1916, saw nearly 60,000 British men wounded and dead, the people on the home front the families having to read such horrors that occurred in this war, tore away any protection of innocence the Victorian/Edwardian eara's had set in place, society had it's turning point to the modern everyday life that we now live in.
