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Title: Philip Larkin, Deceptions (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")
Post by: spiros on 30 Dec, 2008, 20:22:02
Deceptions
Philip Larkin (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")


Of course I was drugged, and so heavily I did not regain
consciousness until the next morning.  I was horrified to
discover that I had been ruined, and for some days I was inconsolable,
and cried like a child to be killed or sent back to my aunt.
—Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor

Even so distant, I can taste the grief,
Bitter and sharp with stalks, he made you gulp.
The sun's occasional print, the brisk brief
Worry of wheels along the street outside
Where bridal London bows the other way,
And light, unanswerable and tall and wide,
Forbids the scar to heal, and drives
Shame out of hiding.  All the unhurried day,
Your mind lay open like a drawer of knives.

Slums, years, have buried you.  I would not dare
Console you if I could.  What can be said,
Except that suffering is exact, but where
Desire takes charge, readings will grow erratic?
For you would hardly care
That you were less deceived, out on that bed,
Than he was, stumbling up the breathless stair
To burst into fulfillment's desolate attic.


But the conclusion hits you like a blow: for all her grief, the girl was 'less deceived' than the man who drugged and raped her, believing that this 'fulfilment' of his desires would make him happy. I think it's vital to remember that Larkin says that the victim was 'the less deceived,' not the less harmed or wronged. There is no lack of compassion here in this beautifully crafted poem which deals movingly with the grief of the girl but then surprises us with it's comments on the dreadful nature of uncontrolled desire.

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:S6Mg3wNdDfkJ:www.poetryconnection.net/poets/Philip_Larkin/4767+%22less+deceived%22+victim+larkin&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=gr&client=firefox-a
Title: Re: Philip Larkin, Deceptions (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")
Post by: wings on 30 Dec, 2008, 20:25:50
Αν νομίζεις ότι με ένα ποίημα θα γλιτώσεις, πλανάσαι πλάνην οικτράν και οδυνηράν.
Title: Re: Philip Larkin, Deceptions (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")
Post by: vbd. on 30 Dec, 2008, 21:24:18
"For you would hardly care": είναι προσεχτικά τοποθετημένος αυτός ο στίχος, γιατί χωρίς αυτόν το ποίημα θα ήταν παράλογο. Τα συναισθήματα δεν υπάγονται σε κάποια λογική. Και αν ακόμη τελικά αποδειχτεί και συμφωνήσουμε ότι το θύμα της πλάνης είναι ο θύτης, αυτό δεν βοηθάει καθόλου το θύμα -ούτε τον θύτη.
Title: Re: Philip Larkin, Deceptions (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")
Post by: spiros on 30 Dec, 2008, 22:11:51

I think it's vital to remember that Larkin says that the victim was 'the less deceived,' not the less harmed or wronged. There is no lack of compassion here in this beautifully crafted poem which deals movingly with the grief of the girl but then surprises us with it's comments on the dreadful nature of uncontrolled desire.
Title: Re: Philip Larkin, Deceptions (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")
Post by: vbd. on 30 Dec, 2008, 22:23:09
Δεν διαφωνούμε.
Title: Re: Philip Larkin, Deceptions (from the collection: "The Less Deceived")
Post by: spiros on 30 Dec, 2008, 22:25:40
Indeed -:)