For this reason, the speaker becomes angry at the loss of this fantasy world and states that books can "get stewed" as they no longer have a purpose. Brutal realism has struck and they are no longer under the delusion that books once offered as fantasy life is ineffective in shutting out reality.
They no longer see themselves as heroic but rather, as the supporting/background characters who are unsuccessful. This is because they now identify too much with the 'lame' characters- "the dude who lets the girl down" and the "yellow"(cowardly) man who "keeps the store". The speaker attempts to sound dismissive, using the line "don't read much now". As time passes, things change and the poem brings us into the present.The contrast between the rhyme of "fangs" and "meringues" shows that the speaker can laugh at their own foolishness. The simile "I broke them up like meringues" suggests the fundamental harmlessness of the imaginings in that it does not take much to break a meringue. However, these brooding fantasies are instantly dispelled with the last comedic line.An exclamation mark appears to highlight the power that they gained from reading-it was a seductive form of escapism. The line "evil was just my lark" plays on Larkin's last name, with "ripping" also being a play on words as it could be taken to mean having a good time or literally slashing something. They desire to become the anti-hero-the dark, seductive villain in a vampire novel and the fantasies start to involve women whom they "clubbed with sex". The comical "inch-thick specs" show that they can be self-deprecating and that physically, they could not match their illusions. As the speaker ages and becomes an adolescent, their desires also change.This slang expression and alliteration emphasises the hilarity of the image yet the speaker wanted to be strong and powerful- it is clear that they enjoyed reading exciting macho books. They imagined themselves as the hero, fighting for good against "dirty dogs".
A touch of bitterness appears when the speaker states that by reading they were "ruining their eyes" but at the time, they became part of the story.The title shows that first looks can be deceiving, From the start, colloquial language appears in the form of "getting my nose in a book" to cast a comic light on the serious-sounding nature of the title. In the youthful years of the speaker, books "cured" the boredom and monotony of life- they were an escape to a more exciting world and solved life's problems (except from school).It is whimsical and ridiculous in many ways as the speaker mocks what they once believed through stages of his life.Īn informal and humorous first person register is employed in order to give the poem a friendly, conversational feel but also to show that the poem shouldn't be take as serious and is just a trivial musing. This ironic and laughable poem details the reading habits of Larkin, or perhaps simply a persona, as he grows up and progresses through life. The division between fantasy and reality, escapism
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