The Whitsun Weddings

This poem by Larkin explores a train journey which he encounters on; he narrates a wedding which he sees as he travels past. Larkin acts as a detached observer from the scene being illustrated - he is external from the wedding, however he comments in detail on the characters, outfits, venue and landscape and in this sense he is within, and without. The themes of this particular poem follow society and the characters within, journeys, rights of passages, transitions and new beginnings.
     The tone of 'The Whitsun Weddings' is cynical and slightly rude; Larkin refers to the mothers as "loud and fat", showing no attempt to mask the offence which he is inflicting on the older generation of females. Contrasting to this, the fathers he passes wear "broad belts under their suits / And [have] seamy foreheads". This remark still obtains offensive elements, but the impolite manner of the description is, this time, veiled slightly and not as blunt. This presents a hint of sexism within the poem. Both descriptions are satirical; he is poking fun at an area of society who wear "nylon gloves and jewellery substitutes", and the occasionally snobbish tone of the stanzas portrays the idea that he sees this group of wedding-goers as slightly beneath him.
     The imagery used by Larkin to describe the landscape surrounding him is bleak; the "canals with floatings of industrial froth" pollute a world of natural beauty and possible hope, and "acres of dismantled cars" pass his train window. Larkin's imagery for the wedding venue is also grim; he describes the location as "bunting-dressed / Coach-party annexes". This, like his description of the girls in "parodies of fashion", makes the characters appear cheap and unable to reach extravagance. This links to 'The Movement'; Larkin is creating a direct link between himself and an 'ordinary' audience.
     The optimism of nature is shown in the final line - Larkin desribes his "sense of falling" as being "Sent out of sight, somewhere becoming rain." This creates a feeling of renewal, and offers a comfort for the gloomy reality which he has presented to the reader.