Philip Larkin (1922-1985) is widely regarded as one of the greatest English poets of the late

twentieth century for giving expression to an anti-romantic sensibility prevalent in English

verse then. His poetry is characteristically marked by a very glum accuracy about emotions,
places and relationships, and is also bound up in recurring themes and subjects, particularly
death and fatalism. MCMXIV is regarded of one of his best works.

MCMXIV explores the different aspects of change and what it entails for different parties.

It reflects the paradigm shift in attitude of the society towards death before and after the war.
The title, MCMXIV, is the Roman numeral for 1914, the year England participated in World
War I (WWI). Before, young men were encouraged to think of fighting as heroic and brave,
reminiscent of Roman myths of war as reflected in the choice of using Roman numerals as
the title, so that the poem seemingly becomes another tale of heroic bravery. Yet, 1914
signalled the decline of the empire, far from a glorious tale of heroism. These men had no
idea of the suffering and trauma that would happen during war, as illustrated through the
lines: Grinning as if it were all/An August Bank Holiday lark, which implied they thought
little of it. However, after 1914, these men would never have such a nave perception of war
again, as reflected in the repetition of the first and last lines of the last stanza Never such
innocence and Never such innocence again and also conveys the difficulty that the
families of the soldiers might face in accepting the loss of normality they had previously
enjoyed.

It also shows how change is inherent in us and our surroundings, and plays with various
perspectives to question our concept of change. Larkin does not use the traditional point of
view of a soldier to depict the horrors of war and to exemplify the change between past and
present. Instead, he illustrates what life was like for the people left behind during the war.
This creates a poignant scene of a country frozen in time while its soldiers are away fighting
at war, yet; life still goes on, those left behind trudging through the mundane, but necessary,
rituals of life. Also, Larkin juxtaposes Nature with Man by personifying Nature and showing
how it carries on despite the absence of the soldiers (And the countryside not caring), while
to the families of the soldiers life has seemingly come to a standstill (The thousands of
marriages/ Lasting a little while longer).

MCMXIV is the very example of change in itself, and hopefully it will inspire readers with
its refreshing insights on this common phenomenon of change.

Guiding questions:

1. How does this idyllic picture change and why?
2. Do you think the message of change would have been more poignant or more
accessible had Larkin chosen to use the conventional point-of-view of a soldier to
paint a picture of the horrors of war?
3. What other literary devices did Larkin utilise in order to bring across the concept of
change?
4. Need a person always have to have first-hand experience in a certain event in order to
undergo change, or to be impacted by the consequences of change?

Activity:

Compare this poem with Everyone Sang by Siegfried Sassoon. Which poem do you feel
better brought across the concept of change, and why?