The Full Text of “Afternoons”
The Full Text of “Afternoons”
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“Afternoons” Introduction
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“Afternoons” Summary
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“Afternoons” Themes
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Motherhood, Maturity, and Sacrifice
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-24
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Afternoons”
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Lines 1-4
Summer is fading: ...
... new recreation ground. -
Lines 5-8
In the hollows ...
... free their children. -
Lines 9-14
Behind them, at ...
... Near the television: -
Lines 15-18
Before them, the ...
... all in school), -
Lines 19-24
And their children, ...
... their own lives.
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“Afternoons” Symbols
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Daily and Seasonal Cycles
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-5: “Summer is fading: / The leaves fall in ones and twos / From trees bordering / The new recreation ground. / In the hollows of afternoons”
- Lines 15-16: “Before them, the wind / Is ruining their courting-places”
- Lines 19-20: “And their children, so intent on / Finding more unripe acorns,”
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“Afternoons” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Summer is fading:”
- Line 5: “In the hollows of afternoons”
- Lines 23-24: “Something is pushing them / To the side of their own lives.”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 8: “their children”
- Line 16: “courting-places”
- Line 17: “courting-places”
- Line 19: “their children”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “fading”
- Line 2: “fall”
- Line 3: “From,” “bordering”
- Line 6: “assemble”
- Line 7: “swing,” “sandpit”
- Line 8: “Setting”
- Line 10: “Stand husbands,” “skilled trades”
- Line 11: “washing”
- Line 12: “lettered”
- Line 13: “Wedding,” “lying”
- Line 16: “ruining,” “courting-places”
- Line 17: “courting-places”
- Line 18: “lovers,” “all,” “school”
- Line 21: “Expect to,” “taken”
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Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “twos / From”
- Lines 3-4: “bordering / The”
- Lines 5-6: “afternoons / Young”
- Lines 6-7: “assemble / At”
- Lines 7-8: “sandpit / Setting”
- Lines 12-13: “lettered / Our”
- Lines 13-14: “lying / Near”
- Lines 15-16: “wind / Is”
- Lines 16-17: “courting-places / That”
- Lines 19-20: “on / Finding”
- Lines 23-24: “them / To”
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“Afternoons” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Recreation ground
- Hollows
- Sandpit
- Intervals
- Skilled trades
- Estateful
- Albums
- Courting-places
- Unripe acorns
- Thickened
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(Location in poem: Line 4: “The new recreation ground.”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Afternoons”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Afternoons” Speaker
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“Afternoons” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Afternoons”
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More “Afternoons” Resources
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External Resources
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Council Housing Estates — Learn more about postwar Britain's council housing estates, the kind of complexes referred to in this poem.
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More on Council Housing Estates — Check out some more background on postwar British council housing, with pictures and examples.
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to Philip Larkin reading "Afternoons."
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The Poet's Life — Read a short biography of Larkin at the Poetry Foundation.
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Larkin on TV — Watch a 1981 TV documentary about Larkin's work.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Philip Larkin
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