Larkin's poetry cynically portrays a society in which the proletariat "are deluding themselves" rather than presenting a hopeful picture of a society where "they [go] beyond the limits which society sets for them" To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make close reference to FOUR Larkin poems.

Phillip Larkin was an English novelist, poet and librarian. He usually portrays the lives of the proletariat in his poems as miserable and hopeless. He also presents a society in which the proletariat are in a false consciousness and are manipulated by the upper class. In his different poems the working class are described as victims of consumerism and a capitalist society.

In his poem the large cool store the proletariat are driven by consumerism. The poem is about a clothing store that make affordable clothing for the working class. He represents the proletariat as deluding themselves by buying in to trends at a useless attempt at social mobility. The title the large cool store has a dual meaning 'cool' could mean in fashion but it also sounds heartless and harsh. Popular culture is used to delude and distract the proletariat from the way they are being exploited by the bourgeoisie. Materialism is used by the bourgeoisie to pacify the proletariat.  The proletariat 'leave at dawn' and do hard work in institutions to benefit the bourgeoisie 'factory, yard and site'. The proletariat would have done factory work probably producing the clothing they buy back from the store this makes the proletariat appear to be deluding themselves as by doing this they are continuing a cycle of inequality to which they are the victims. In the weekdays the proletariat wear more dull colours 'Browns, greys, maroons' its likely the working class would have worked in the week and used these clothes to assume that identity to fulfil their dull work. Whereas on the weekend they buy more vibrant clothes to allude themselves into thinking that they can look like the bourgeoisie 'lemon, sapphire'. The proletariat are deluding themselves in this poem as they believe that by purchasing these clothes its giving them a chance at social mobility and that through contributing to a capitalist system they can become more in control of their identity when really they are doing the opposite - providing the upper classes with control over their identity. The lower classes want to look like the upper classes who set the trends that the lower classes follow obediently. By believing that buying these clothes gives them control and improves their social status further identifies that the proletariat are in fact deluding themselves as they are really being exploited further through capitalism.

One of Larkins other poems 'Mr Bleaney' also describes a man who conforms to the limits society has set him, His poems reflect his own life and experiences as a working class man. The poem narrates a working class man's life in which he lives in a bleak room containing on the basics 'bed, upright chair,sixty watt bulb..'  The room is very basic and only adequate but he accepts to live there anyway showing his is desperate and probably threatened by poverty and limited by his social position. Mr Bleaney is also spoken about as if he is property of the bourgeoisie 'they moved him' because they had to the power to move him and control him as if he were an object. But because he accepts his situation it could show the proletariat are happy to conform just like they do in the cool store by buying clothing they seem willing to accept their position. Mr Bleaney remains in the room living a life or routine like the proletariat in the cool store did ,working in the week and shopping at the weekend. Mr Bleaney encourages consumerism ' egged her on to buy' and lives a repetitive life 'I know his habits - what time he came down' most members of the proletariat lived repetitive lives working and contributing in lower culture or consumer culture in their spare time. Mr Bleaney doesn't live a very happy life and wouldn't have much to lose if he rebelled against society but he is obedient anyway because its easier as stated in the communist manifesto 'the proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains'. Mr Bleaneys life is lonely and social interactions sound like he only does them out of obligation and desperation not out of enjoyment 'who put him up for summer holidays, and Christmas at his sisters house in stoke.' When Mr Bleaney dies he leaves nothing but 'one hindered box' this creates the idea the working and lower classes leave nothing useful or important behind - they live the whole lives for the bourgeoisie leaving behind nothing of any significance. It can also be said that the working class don't have many important material possessions and dont leave any kind of legacy and even if Mr Bleaney had children they would have just lived unhappy lives as they were born proletariat  and they would have had no chance at social mobility and would have also suffered a life of poverty. At the end of the poem it says ' He warranted no better' Phillip Larkin suggests the proletariat deserve the quality of life they have and are deluding themselves if they think they deserve more or attempt to gain more.  

His poems all have a similar structure they are told in chronological order and are written like short stories. 'The Whitsun Weddings'  describes a long boring weekend. The description in the poem creates a boring dull atmosphere 'industrial froth' 'reek of buttoned carriage cloth' 'dismantled cars. ' Those sort of things would also be associated with the proletariat creating a negative image of them. The bourgeoisie in the poem are described 'wearing broad belts under their suits'. They would most likely have high status professions.The protagonist was also 'late getting away' showing they weren't looking forward to the event. Like in the cool store he describes the clothes brightly 'lemons,mauves' this contrast with the way he describes other aspects of the wedding 'children frowned at something dull' ' happy funeral'. Phillip Larkin never married in his own life. He describes marriage in the poem as a bad thing a means of distracting and controlling the proletariat and seems to be pessimistic towards marriage. The poem also uses enjambment to make the weekend seem like its dragging on and that It's boring him.Lower class people would marry lower class people and higher class people would marry higher class people. Marriage can be viewed as another institution used to delude the proletariat into excepting their social position.

Days by Phillip Larkin is another poem In 'Whitsun weddings' that doesn't create a hopeful picture of society.  Its simple repetitive and easy to understand. The tone in the poem sounds sarcastic. he says '
 'They come, they wake us Time and time over.' Which could refer to the lived of the proletariat they work long hours and live repetative lives doing the same work over and over again he contrasts this image with 'They are to be happy in'. The proletariat are meant to spend their days being happy in a society they are allowed to thrive in but they are limited by their class. This creates an image of and unfair society with little hope of improvement. But he provided the question 'where can we live but days?' The proletariat live that way because they cant see and alternative. 

Comparing Larkins poems it can be seen the proletariat don't go above the limits that society sets for them and rarely try too they accept their situation as they see no hope in changing it. They are deluded by the bourgeoisie into never challenging the way they are exploited and contribute in a culture designed to manipulate them. Larkin also creates the image of a society that is impossible to change.

How does Larkin explore ideas of inequality between social classes?

Larkin explores ideas of inequality between social classes by talking about a clothing store focusing on the way it effects and manipulates the proletariat.The poem ‘the large cool store’ is about a clothing store,specifically Marks and Spencers in the 1950s.They sold cheap clothes which were accessible and affordable for the working class. Clothing and fashion and are central themes in the poem. Marxists would view materialism and popular culture as a bad thing as it benefits the upper class. It does this by distracting the proletariat from what the really need to be doing: changing the political regime to a fairer system that benefits all as they believe communism is the only system that will fully benefit a society and its members. The title “the large cool store” could be interpreted in two different ways as it has a dual meaning. Cool could be seen as popular or in fashion or cold uncomfortable,and harsh. This could demonstrate what the reality of keeping up with popular culture and fashion really is,damaging to the proletariat but beneficial to the bourgeoisie having bad consequences on the lives of the proletariat. Cold could represent the way the bourgeoisie treat the proletariat they heartlessly exploit them to benefit themselves. The cool store is just an institution made to exploit the proletariat further. 

The poems rhyme scheme is ABABA. It is structured to be repetitive like the jobs of the working class ' factory, yard and site'  Many working class people would have jobs in factories or do manual labour these jobs would have been boring and consistent and the rhythm of the poem reflects the structured rhythm of the lives of the working class. They also leave at 'dawn' the proletariat have long working hours and therefore rarely have time to themselves and when they do they go to 'large cool stores' to spend the money they earn to make them feel better about their social class even though they know they cant change it.The poem uses mono syllabic language making it simple and making the store seem bland and predictable. When the working class go shopping for new clothes its usually viewed as a fun experience but this contrasts with the bland predictable image Larkin creates to show that buying these clothes isn’t actually a good thing it just reinforces class inequality by becoming materialistic and creating consumer culture. The proletariat also live in 'low terraced houses' this links to the class of the proletariat they are seen as 'lower' and therefore not good enough to live the high quality of lives the bourgeoisie indulge in.

He also creates the image we are all copies of each other leading similar lives ,doing similar work, wearing similar clothes ‘simple sizes plainly’. These factors are all controlled by the bourgeoisie and control even the smallest details of the proletariats lives, from what they eat to what they wear. Simple and plainly could also be how the bourgeoisie see the proletariat and dumb and easy to manipulate to meet their own ends. The jobs the proletariat did was repetitive and didn't require much thought or education and most of the proletariat didn't pass the 11+ to go to grammar schools or couldn't afford to designed to make sure they did repetitive and manual labour in the future while the bourgeois remained the ruling class .

He also uses colours to create contrast in the first stanza he describes weekday clothes of ‘Browns and greys, maroons and navy’ but in the third stanza when describing weekend clothes they are brighter ‘ Lemon, sapphire’. Most people dress differently and brighter at the weekend as if they are living a double life and that when they have their weekend outfits they can escape the reality of being working class. A capitalist society is also illustrated he states the unskilled work of the proletariat ‘factory, yard and site’ the working class would work in factories or doing laborious work but then buy clothes that were mass produced ‘heaps of shirts and trousers’ therefore increasing the demand for factory and laborious work creating a cycle in which the bourgeois reap the benefits as managers, bosses and owners. Andrew motion also recognised this and said about the poem 'drab people during the week trying to change by night into something they are not.'

In the poem he writes 'to suppose they share that world' and 'how separate and unearthly love is'. The proletariat would think by buying these material items they are becoming more like the bourgeoisie and give them the false belief of social mobility. All the proletariat are really doing is contributing to the current capitalist system. As they are just conforming to to capitalist ideology.

The poem could be critiqued by feminists for the way in which it portrays women. Larkin describes women in a derogatory way 'their sort'. He also suggests a clear divide In the genders 'or women are or what they do'. He also describes feminine clothing in a sneering tone 'Nylon baby-dolls and shorties' he uses female sexuality to create a picture of consumerism and also makes women seem like objects themselves. 'thin as blouses' also creates the impression that women are thin and fragile and lack depth. Feminists would criticise Larkin for this and consider the way he writes about women to be misogynistic. But the way he describes the women could also be interpreted as sympathetic as the women in the poem are also being manipulated by the bourgeoisie.As they benefit from the women buying the clothing they are going to make them feel they need it and that they are not good enough and need to impress men reinforcing both the hierarchy and the patriarchy.
 

In conclusion the poem presents the proletariat as desperate to become equal to the bourgeoisie they become materialistic to do so. They believe if they look more like the bourgeoisie they will become more like them. When actually all that really happens is false conciousness. All the proletariat are doing when buying these clothes is contributing to a system of inequality. 

William Blake - Chimney Sweeper

In both of the chimney sweeper poems the proletariat have a poor quality of life as they are exploited by the bourgeoisie. The boys are children but have to do hard laborious work because of their low social position . Marxists would view religion as a means of control. Religious ideas could be seen to benefit the bourgeoisie by creating obedient workers who wont challenge authority as they are told its gods plan and they will be rewarded in the afterlife.

In the poems there lives are painted as bleak , lonely and exhausting .'Were all of them locked up in coffins of black.' Their mother died and there father sold them into work and now that's all their days consist of. As the proletariat they would do hard exhausting work for long hours and see little reward for it because the bourgeoisie would see all the profits which would allow them to lead expensive indulgent lives whilst the proletariat struggled to survive on what little they received for their work.  
The angel in songs of innocence creates vision of a better quality of life for the boys 'opened the coffins and set them all free'. In this vision the boys are laughing and don't have to work or worry, this contrasts to their usually life of hard labour and sadness.

Religion operates to control the proletariat. After the angels visit the boy works harder and doesn't question his social position. The angel creates an illusion of a better life in reward for hard work. If the child did his duty and behaved well he would be rewarded 'He'd have God for his father'.
The child accepts this idea, this is known as false consciousness and his social position is then preserved as he feels its justified. Because the proletariat feel their social position is justified it creates a class of obedient workers that are easily manipulated and used by the upper classes for the upper classes. The proletariat in the poem begin to see the work as their duty. ' so if all do their duty they need not fear harm'.

The other chimney sweeper poem also tells us the children's parents passed religion to their children who also remained working class until death this demonstrates the shared ideology that religion provides for the proletariat and how it reinforces class inequality. The children are tricked into thinking they can have a better life 'Who make up a heaven of our misery."


Blakes use of simple language and childlike rhythm mirrors the bible it's simple to understand even to children and provides comfort and serenity. But religion also can lead to never questioning inequalities in society as its gods plan and the hope of reward or happiness in the afterlife. It then becomes an 'opium of the people'. Reproducing and justifying class inequality .