The Spirit of (Anti)Modernism in the Poem Church Going by Philip Larkin
The Spirit of (Anti)Modernism in the Poem Church Going by Philip Larkin

Summary/Abstract: As a poet, Philip Larkin has often been seen as an anti-modernist and poet who consciously rejected many of the most influential poetic trends of the first half of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, in his essay, “The Wintry Drum: The Poetry of Philip Larkin” (1978), Philip Gardner claims that Larkin’s poetry encapsulates the emotional challenges modernity poses on the individual. Gardner states that, in his poems, Larkin unveils the character of modern man as agnostic, materialistic, and spiritually dead. Additionally, he suggests that Larkin successfully de-romanticizes the traditional subjects of poetry such as love, marriage, and religion in order to show how these values have lost their relevance in modern society. In this paper, I will examine whether Larkin’s poem “Church Going” (1954) incorporates the ever-questioning spirit of modernism and portrays the image of a disillusioned and skeptical modern man as suggested in Gardner’s essay.

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