Afternoons

'Afternoons' is a poem which could be seen as nostalgic, sympathetic, snobbish and misogynistic, depending on the reader's individual interpretation. My personal opinion is that the poem inhabits all four tones; Larkin exhibits examples of each as he describes his view on young marriage and having children young.  
     Pathetic fallacy is used  to echo and enhance the depressing tone of 'Afternoons'; Larkin describes the summer as 'fading', giving a sad impression of hard, cold months ahead. This time-related phrase could also be a reference to ageing, as age is a topic within this poem. This dying of the year is juxtaposed with 'the new recreation ground'; here Larkin presents a sense of old and new, relating to the different characters within the poem varying from adults to adolescents. He then makes a reference to the 'hollows of afternoons', suggesting that the mums which he is referring to have nothing to do - they are possibly 'stay at home' mums, and the phrase obtains connotations of being unemployed. The 'Young mothers assemble', depicting a sense of organisation, as if they have been waiting for this their whole lives, and have almost been programmed to become mothers from the day they themselves were born. By making an age reference to the mothers, Larkin stresses his view of importance concerning their youthfulness.
     Stanza two enlightens the viewer on how 'Behind them, at intervals, / Stand husbands in skilled trades'. The caesura present in the first line of the second stanza echos the intervals/divisions of the husbands. Larkin could be seen as being misogynistic here due to him not making a reference of age to the men, as if it is of no relevance and bares no negative repercussions, and stressing the fact that the males are all in 'skilled trades', whereas the occupation of the mothers appears either non-existent or not worth acknowledging. 'An estateful of washing' surrounds the characters; this is somewhat stereotypical, and the line holds a judgmental tone, possibly making reference to the young mothers' washing hanging out to dry for everyone to see (this is slightly snobbish). 'The wind / Is ruining their courting places' ('their' referring to those of the parents who are 'Setting free their children'). This could reflect the fact that it is the course of nature which has ruined the young mothers' old spots to hang out with their lovers - with age has come ruin, and they are now reliving memories which have become elements of the past. These courting places 'are still courting places / (But their lovers are all in school)' - personally I believe this line to be a judgement of Larkins referring to teen pregnancies. It could also refer to love only being present in the youthful, not in adult life; it deteriorates with age.
     Larkin's describes 'their beauty' as having 'thickened'; this is a broad reference which I believe relates to the young mothers, although it could be argued that it relates to the children, or even the class of people as a whole. The word 'thickens' holds the connotations of weight-gain and largeness, and it could be that he is portraying the way in which age has an effect on every aspect of you, creating a possible loss of identity. This could again be misogynistic as the phrase could be perceived as rudeness. The final two lines of 'Afternoons' present the idea that the parents are no longer the stars of their own shows; they are having to live for their children now, and in this way they can no longer be selfish. 'Something is pushing them / To the side of their own lives' - the children have become their main focus, instead of themselves, and this could be linked to 'Dockery and Son' as in both Larkin appears to be shining a negative light of doom on the prospect and reality of having children.