Distinct Negativity Underlying the Poetry of Larkin and Duffy Anonymous 12th Grade

“Many of Duffy’s poems echo themes of Larkin’s… loneliness haunts her verse.” This belief clearly expressed by Jody Allen Randolph demonstrates that both poets address negative and lonely themes within their respective poems. The concept of negativity encompasses a multitude of potential themes, such as loneliness, grief or sadness, and considering that both writers grew up amidst social change, it is undeniable that they both saw the detrimental aspects of these changes. The poets have been described as the “respective voices of their generations”, thus conveying the idea that they depict their individual social hardships within their works. This is clear through Larkin’s ‘Talking in Bed’, whereby he could be interpreted as critiquing the social convention of marriage, which is evidently comparable to Duffy’s ‘Litany’, which is often believed to be a depiction of the flaws behind a seemingly idyllic society, thus conveying a negative tone in their work. Furthermore, negativity is also expressed through cynicism in regards to love, which Larkin demonstrates through ‘An Arundel Tomb’, which is definitely comparable to Duffy’s ‘Before You Were Mine”, as both poems convey a negative sense of doubt in the concept of everlasting...