The Full Text of “Money”
The Full Text of “Money”
-
“Money” Introduction
-
-
“Money” Summary
-
-
“Money” Themes
-
Money, Consumerism, and Unhappiness
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-16
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Money”
-
Lines 1-4
Quarterly, is it, ...
... a few cheques.' -
Lines 5-8
So I look ...
... do with life -
Lines 9-12
—In fact, they've ...
... than a shave. -
Line 13
I listen to money singing.
-
Lines 13-16
It's like looking ...
... is intensely sad.
-
-
“Money” Symbols
-
Money
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “Quarterly, is it, money reproaches me: / 'Why do you let me lie here wastefully? / I am all you never had of goods and sex. / You could get them still by writing a few cheques.'”
- Lines 7-8: “By now they've a second house and car and wife: / Clearly money has something to do with life”
- Line 13: “I listen to money singing.”
-
-
“Money” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Analogy
Where analogy appears in the poem:- Lines 9-12: “—In fact, they've a lot in common, if you enquire: / You can't put off being young until you retire, / And however you bank your screw, the money you save / Won't in the end buy you more than a shave.”
-
Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Lines 1-4: “Quarterly, is it, money reproaches me: / 'Why do you let me lie here wastefully? / I am all you never had of goods and sex. / You could get them still by writing a few cheques.'”
- Line 13: “I listen to money singing.”
-
Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 13-16: “It's like looking down / From long french windows at a provincial town, / The slums, the canal, the churches ornate and mad / In the evening sun.”
-
Understatement
Where understatement appears in the poem:- Line 8: “Clearly money has something to do with life”
-
-
“Money” 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.
- Reproaches
- Quarterly
- Goods
- However you bank your screw
- Shave
- Provincial town
- French windows
-
(Location in poem: Line 1: “Quarterly, is it, money reproaches me:”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Money”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Money” Speaker
-
-
“Money” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Money”
-
-
More “Money” Resources
-
External Resources
-
The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading of "Money."
-
Larkin on the South Bank Show — Watch a 1981 TV program about the poet.
-
Larkin at the British Library — Browse the resources of the Philip Larkin Collection at the British Library.
-
An Interview with the Poet — Watch poet John Betjeman interview Philip Larkin in 1964.
-
A Biography of the Poet — Learn more about Larkin's life and work, courtesy of the Poetry Foundation.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by Philip Larkin
-
