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Philip Larkin was born in Coventry in 1922. From 1943 to 1946, he worked as a librarian in Shropshire. He worked after that as sub-librarian at Queen’s University in Belfast.
As well as writing poetry, he wrote two novels, “Jill” in 1946 and “A Girl In Winter” in 1947.
He was offered the post of Poet Laureate in 1984 but refused it. He died in December 1985.

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Here is some brief information about the poetry of Philip Larkin that is on your course.

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More detailed information can be found further down the page.

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 Wedding Wind.
A poem about a woman’s happiness after getting married.
 
At Grass.
This poem is written about horses that were once famous racehorses but are now old and retired.
 
Church Going.
In this poem, Larkin walks into a church and walks around.
Although he has no interest in religion, he still likes being in the church and he spends some time wondering why.
 
An Arundel Tomb.
Larkin is looking at a carving of a man and woman who died long ago. He notices that they are holding hands and
he realises that although they once were important well known people, all that is left of them is an indication of their love. 
 
The Whitsun Weddings.
Larkin in this poem is on a train. It is Whitsun, an English public holiday and a traditional time for weddings. He is amazed by
all the wedding groups he sees as the train travels through the stations on the way to London. 
 
Self’s The Man.
A poem about marriage, Larkin compares his own life with a friend of his who got marries.
 
MCMXIV.
This poem was written about England and the lives that English people lived before the First World War.
 
Ambulances.
Larkin here wrote about how people feel when they see an ambulance go by.
 
The Trees.
A poem about Spring and how everything is reborn.
 
The Explosion.
This poem was inspired by a true story. There was an explosion in a coal mine in England that killed a lot of men and here, Larkin thinks about the men themselves and the families they left behind.
 
Cut Grass.
This is another poem about nature. In it, Larkin writes about grass being cut as Spring approaches.