21. Philip Larkin

About this Lecture

Lecture

Philip Larkin was one of the greatest of Britain’s post-war writers and poets. In this module, we explore two of his poems; the first (‘Annus Mirabilis’) reflects of the increasingly liberal attitude of the early 1960s, while the second (‘An Arundel Tomb’) presents a deeply cynical view of love after death.

Course

This course explores the theme of love from the earliest English literature to the present day – from authors that you have likely heard of, such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, Byron and Keats, to authors that are perhaps less well-known. This is a course that celebrates love in all it forms and between all kinds of people.

Lecturer

John McRae is Special Professor of Language in Literature Studies and Teaching Associate in the School of English at Nottingham University, and holds Visiting Professorships in China, Malaysia, Spain and the USA. He is co-author of The Routledge History of Literature in English with Ron Carter, and also wrote The Language of Poetry, Literature with a Small 'l' and the first critical edition of Teleny by Oscar Wilde and others.