Water Summary & Analysis
by Philip Larkin

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  • “Water” Introduction

    • The speaker of "Water," by the English poet Philip Larkin, imagines being "called in" to create a new religion. This religion would involve multiple rituals centered around water: wading through water, images of getting soaking wet, and raising a glass of water "in the east." By alluding to traditional Christian practices (such as baptism and communion), the speaker may be critiquing religion and its traditions, suggesting that these have become hollow and perhaps even a little silly. At the same time, "Water" also seems to express a genuine appreciation for ritual's ability to give life meaning, even in the absence of actual faith.

  • “Water” Summary

    • The speaker considers the possibility of being summoned to create a religion. If this were to happen, the speaker would make water an important part of that religion.

      In this new religion, attending church services would involve wading through a shallow body of water and then changing into a new set of dry clothes.

      The speaker's program of worship would include images of getting soaking wet and an intense, devoted downpour.

      The speaker would hold up a glass filled with water in the east, and, in that glass, beams of light coming from any direction would join together, seemingly without end.

  • “Water” Themes

    • Theme The Mystery and Power of Ritual

      The Mystery and Power of Ritual

      The speaker of “Water” proposes a new religion centered on water: people would have to wade through water to get to church, for example, and the “liturgy” would feature “images of sousing” (that is, getting soaking wet). In imagining this hypothetical religion, the speaker reflects on the allure of ritual itself (as opposed to actual religious belief). It’s possible that the speaker sincerely finds rituals powerful and transformative, even in the absence of religious faith. At the same time, the poem’s focus on “construct[ing]"—or making up—"a religion” and its subversion of actual traditions (like baptism and communion) suggest that the speaker finds religious rituals a bit silly and artificial. Regardless, the speaker does seem to acknowledge the deeply human longing for rituals and their power to bring people together. In this way, “Water” suggests that rituals can grant life a sense of meaning and purpose—even if some people might also find them hollow.

      When “called in” to make up a religion, the speaker jumps right to the various rituals that religion would “entail” rather than what this religion would actually preach. Church would include “a furious devout drench,” for example, and a glass of water raised “in the east.”

      These practices are intense and a little strange. They might nod toward real religious practices and stories (baptism and communion, for example, or to the Biblical flood), but the speaker never connects them to any set of beliefs about God. For this speaker, it seems, the ritual aspects of religion seem more alluring and potentially transformative than religion itself.

      The speaker’s description of these rituals thus seems both serious and tongue-in-cheek—at once an earnest testament to ritual’s transformative power and a sarcastic critique of rituals like the ones the speaker describes. By basing these constructed rituals on water (instead of wine, oil, incense, or other precious substances), the speaker may be mocking actual religious rituals as shallow (in the sense that they hold no more weight than water). The final image of raising a “glass of water” could seem purposefully anti-climactic, for instance, especially when compared to the elegant formality and complicated symbolism of Christian communion.

      On the other hand, the speaker could actually be attempting to purify the rituals by stripping away their religious associations and basing them on water—one of the purest and most abundant substances on earth, and something that all people both need and are made of. In turning to water, then, the speaker could also be expressing sincere belief in the universal, transformative power of ritual.

      This is especially true in the final stanza, where anyone (regardless of belief) could find meaning in the clear water, and “any-angled light” congregating “endlessly” might reflect ritual’s universal appeal and redeeming power. Perhaps, then, the speaker is drawn to ritual itself but repelled by the doctrine and complicated backstories that often go along with such rituals. By emphasizing simplicity and reducing ritual to its basic, almost primitive components, the speaker might indicate respect for ritual’s capacity to give life order, meaning, and purpose.

      Even though the rituals in “Water” are made up by the speaker—who seems to knowingly revise or even subvert actual religious traditions—the poem seems open to the widespread human longing for ritual as a way to make sense of life. After all, the speaker constructs a new religion, rather than doing away with the concept entirely. While the speaker may well believe, at least partially, that many religious rituals are hollow things made up by normal people that can never truly hold meaning, “Water” also leaves room for ritual’s alluring and potentially transformative power.

      Where this theme appears in the poem:
      • Lines 1-13
  • Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Water”

    • Lines 1-3

      If I were ...
      ... use of water.

      "Water" begins with a hypothetical situation: "If I were called in," the speaker says, indicating that the poem takes place in the world of the imagination. "Water" is a poem about (you guessed it!) water and religious ritual, but it's also about possibility and, perhaps, hope.

      The speaker specifically imagines being summoned to "construct," or create, a religion. Right away, readers might wonder: who or what would call on this speaker to make up a new religion, and why? Who is the speaker, and what makes them qualified to invent a religion (no small task!)?

      The poem never answers these questions, but in raising them it does imply that religion isn't exactly natural; instead, it's something constructed, something made up by people. Whether this makes religion less valid or not is something that the poem ultimately leaves open to interpretation.

      The first three lines also establish a few key stylistic aspects of the poem. "Water" is written in free verse, meaning it doesn't follow any set pattern of meter or rhyme. The first two lines in this stanza are also enjambed, flowing smoothly down the page. Along with the use of free verse, these enjambments grant the poem a casual, conversational, and flexible feel. Readers might get the sense that the speaker is simply musing, delivering thoughts off the cuff.

      At the same time, the use of tercets—three-line stanzas—lends the poem some structure, and might subtly nod to the deep importance of the number three in various religions and mythologies (think of the Holy Trinity, the Three Fates, etc.).

      The poem's seemingly matter-of-fact tone makes the speaker's true feelings a little hard to read. Is the speaker being sincere about "construct[ing] a religion" and basing it on water? Or is the speaker is being tongue-in-cheek, disingenuous, and sarcastic? The whole scenario does seem a little odd, and maybe even silly. And Larkin is famous for masking irony and emotion under a plain, even reserved linguistic surface. That skill is definitely on display in "Water," which asks readers to decide just how earnest or sly—or some combination of the two—the speaker's words about religion really are.

    • Lines 4-6

      Going to church ...
      ... dry, different clothes;

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    • Lines 7-9

      My liturgy would ...
      ... furious devout drench,

    • Lines 10-13

      And I should ...
      ... Would congregate endlessly.

  • “Water” Symbols

    • Symbol Water

      Water

      It's no surprise that water plays an important role in a poem called "Water"! While the speaker definitely seems to be talking about actual, good old H2O, water also takes on symbolic meaning in the poem: it suggests purification, cleansing, simplification, and renewal.

      This is, in fact, the role that water plays in Christianity: the water used in baptism is meant to symbolize a person's spiritual purification and regeneration upon entering the church. Perhaps the speaker means for water to work similarly in the poem: to represent people's purification and cleansing on their way to his new church.

      Instead of a gentle sprinkling of water or quick plunge, however, the speaker says that church-goers would have to actually wade through water and that the liturgy would involve a "furious devout drench." Perhaps the speaker's vigorous rituals reflect a desire to cleanse religion of its dogmatic teachings and beliefs, things that the poem implies distract from ritual's fundamental power.

      Water's symbolic power takes on another nuance in the third stanza, where the "furious devout drench" seems implicitly opposed to the "fire and brimstone" that has traditionally played a key role in some Christian liturgies. Again, water's power to cleanse, heal, and purify religious practice takes center stage here.

      Finally, the last stanza's glass of water has a complicated symbolism. On the one hand, it may reflect the hollowness of all religious rites—compared to the traditional wine of communion, water is colorless, tasteless, and perhaps laughably impotent as a symbol of humankind's hope for spiritual and emotional renewal. On the other hand, the crystal-clear water and the "any-angled light" that refracts through it may symbolize the openness, possibility, and hope the speaker thinks could result from freeing religion from distractions and needlessly complicated traditions.

      Where this symbol appears in the poem:
      • Lines 1-13
      • Lines 4-6
  • “Water” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

    • Alliteration

      There's a handful of alliteration in "Water," which lends this short poem some lyricism and intensity. In the first two lines, for example, the crisp alliteration of "called" and "construct" (bolstered by the consonance of "construct") draws readers' attention to the fact that the speaker here is acting as a creator (another alliterative word!): he's being "called in"—by whom, readers will likely wonder—to make up a religion, presumably out of thin air.

      The next two stanzas feature alliteration as well, both using the heavy /d/ sound. In line 6, the speaker declares that the church-goers will cross through water and then change into "dry, different clothes." The alliteration here sounds firm and emphatic, highlighting the (literally) transformative power of this ritual: people will come to church wearing street clothes that will get wet during the "fording" and then change into something new (now being cleaner and symbolically purified). The thudding /d/ alliteration adds a subtle sense of gravity to the poem's description of this ritual.

      Similarly, in line 9, the repeated /d/ sounds of "devout drench" seem to evoke the almost violent intensity of the "[i]mages of sousing" the speaker's liturgy would employ. And in the poem's final stanza, the quick alliteration of "water / Where" and "any-angled" close the poem on a musical note.

      This alliteration might be a way of heightening the poem's language to reflect the speaker's earnest belief in the power of ritual. On the other hand, the exaggerated sounds may also subtly communicate the speaker's ironic attitude toward these rituals. That is, the speaker might be being purposefully dramatic, heightening the poem's language to reflect the idea that these practices are merely "construct[ed]," silly, and unmoving.

      Where alliteration appears in the poem:
      • Line 1: “called”
      • Line 2: “construct”
      • Line 6: “dry, different”
      • Line 9: “devout drench”
      • Line 11: “water”
      • Line 12: “Where,” “any-angled”
    • Sibilance

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      Where sibilance appears in the poem:
      • Line 8: “Images,” “sousing”
      • Line 9: “furious”
      • Line 10: “east”
      • Line 11: “glass”
      • Line 13: “endlessly”
    • Enjambment

      Where enjambment appears in the poem:
      • Lines 1-2: “in / To”
      • Lines 2-3: “religion / I”
      • Lines 4-5: “ church / Would”
      • Lines 5-6: “fording / To”
      • Lines 7-8: “employ / Images”
      • Lines 10-11: “east / A”
      • Lines 11-12: “water / Where”
      • Lines 12-13: “light / Would”
    • Imagery

      Where imagery appears in the poem:
      • Lines 8-9: “Images of sousing, / A furious devout drench,”
      • Line 10: “And I should raise in the east”
      • Lines 11-13: “A glass of water / Where any-angled light / Would congregate endlessly.”
    • Allusion

      Where allusion appears in the poem:
      • Lines 5-6: “a fording / To dry, different clothes;”
      • Lines 8-9: “Images of sousing, / A furious devout drench,”
      • Lines 10-11: “And I should raise in the east / A glass of water”
    • Personification

      Where personification appears in the poem:
      • Lines 12-13: “Where any-angled light / Would congregate endlessly.”
  • “Water” 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.

    • Entail
    • Fording
    • Liturgy
    • Employ
    • Sousing
    • Devout
    • Any-angled
    • Congregate
    Entail
    • (Location in poem: Lines 4-5: “Going to church / Would entail a fording”)

      Involve or require.

  • Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Water”

    • Form

      "Water" is divided into four stanzas: three tercets and a final quatrain. The number three is important in many religious traditions (think of the Holy Trinity of Christianity) and has mythological significance as well (the Three Fates of ancient Greece, for example, who were in charge of people's fates). Having three stanzas of three lines apiece might subtly nod to the "ritual" power of this number.

      The poems tercet/quatrain form also helps give the poem a sense of shape, movement, and closure:

      • The first tercet sets the scene and establishes the hypothetical scenario that prompts the poem: the speaker being "called in" to create a new religion, which would be based on water.
      • The second tercet describes the first ritual of this new religion, in which church-goers would wade through water and then put on "dry, different clothes."
      • The third tercet amps up this new religion's use of water to a "furious devout drench."
      • Finally, the fourth stanza, a quatrain, closes the poem with a climactic (or, perhaps, anti-climactic) image of the speaker raising a glass of water "in the east," and the "any-angled light" that would refract in the water.

      The three tercets prime readers to experience this lone, final quatrain as particularly important and weighty, as if the whole poem up to this point has been a preparation for these last lines.

    • Meter

      "Water" is written in free verse, meaning it doesn't use any specific meter. This allows the speaker's words to feel a little more flexible and casual than they would in a strictly metered poem. It could also be considered a more "modern" poetic choice (especially for a poet like Larkin, who often did write using meter).

      The speaker's emphasis on water and simple rituals seems to reflect a desire to purify and simplify religion, breaking it down to its most elemental, basic parts. It makes sense, then, that the speaker's poetic language itself is simplified! The speaker's revision of traditional religious practices, such as baptism and communion, also seems particularly modern; it feels like part of a desire to reshape long-standing, ancient traditions (that, in the speaker's mind, have perhaps become hollow and even silly) for the contemporary world. Considering this, the speaker's modern and fresh rhythmic approach makes perfect sense.

    • Rhyme Scheme

      "Water" is written in free verse, meaning it doesn't have a rhyme scheme. The poem's lack of rhyme might be a little surprising at first, given that lines 1 and 2 seem like they might establish some kind of pattern (in / religion).

      As with its lack of meter, the poem's lack of rhyme adds to its matter-of-fact tone. That tone, in turn, subtly contrasts with the complexity, uncertainty, and richness of the speaker's attitude toward religion. There's thus an ironic tension between the speaker's words (which are pretty straightforward) and the speaker's feelings about those words (which are anything but!).

  • “Water” Speaker

    • The speaker of "Water" isn't clearly identified in the poem; readers never learn this person's gender, age, etc. That being said, it's clear that this speaker has thought a lot about religion! While the speaker doesn't express actual belief in the divine, they do seem to recognize the allure of religious ritual.

      In the end, of course, the speaker's stance on ritual is open to interpretation: it's not clear whether the speaker is sarcastically critiquing both religion and ritual as things that are always "construct[ed]" (i.e., made up) and therefore hollow, or if the speaker sincerely believes in the power of ritual when stripped of its religious baggage.

      It's very possible that the speaker here is Philip Larkin himself. Larkin was famously an atheist who wrote often about religion and seemed to admire some of the linguistic richness and ritual elements of Christianity.

  • “Water” Setting

    • "Water" doesn't take place in any specific setting. The speaker talks about a hypothetical church, but it's unclear where that church would be located or what it would look like beyond the fact that going there would somehow involve wading through water. Religion, in theory, transcends all boundaries, and it thus makes sense that the poem doesn't ground itself in a specific time or place.

  • Literary and Historical Context of “Water”

      Literary Context

      "Water" was written in 1954 and first published in the magazine Listen in 1957. Philip Larkin later included the poem in his third volume of poetry, The Whitsun Weddings. Published in 1964, this collection helped solidify Larkin as one of the most influential and popular British poets of the post-WWII years.

      Larkin was a lifelong religious skeptic, as his poetry often indicates. His poem "Faith Healing," for example, is a largely (though not entirely) scathing portrayal of evangelical Christianity, while "Aubade" calls religion a "vast moth-eaten musical brocade / Created to pretend we never die." He once suggested that his famous poem "Church Going" was so popular "because it is about religion, and has a serious air that conceals the fact that its tone and argument are entirely secular." Larkin seems to take a somewhat more optimistic view of religion—or at least of religious ritual— in "Water," though the poem conspicuously says nothing about actual religious belief.

      Larkin was the most prominent member of what came to be known in the 1950s and '60s as "The Movement," a group of writers who pushed back on the experimental tendencies of modern poetry. Movement writers favored a restrained, ironic, unsentimental style and emphasized their cultural Englishness. Other writers associated with The Movement include Kingsley Amis, Donald Davie, and Thom Gunn.

      Historical Context

      "Water" was written in 1954, a year before Larkin began working as a librarian at the University of Hull (where he would remain until his death in 1985). Though the poem doesn't seem to be influenced by any particular historical event, organized religion and religious belief were on the decline in the UK at the time—and understandably so: this was the period following the second of the two world wars, events that caused massive social upheaval and tested or shattered the faith of many who witnessed them.

      Generally, in the UK (as throughout much of Europe), the cultural predominance of the church had weakened since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As Larkin himself put it in a 1943 letter: "[N]obody gives a darn for [religion] any longer, not in England, anyway. Methodism caught on fine in the 18th century, but it’s worn thin now."

      Larkin participated in and generally welcomed the trend away from organized religion. However, he also felt occasional ambivalence on the subject, including some nostalgia for the social cohesion that (in his view) religion used to offer. Given the poem's allusions to baptism and communion and Larkin's biography, it's possible to read "Water" as a critique of the Anglican church specifically—after all, it's the church Larkin would have known, and it remains the dominant religious force in England to this day.

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