spacer 27
Poem of the Day | Top 30 | Poets | Shopping | Forums | Search | Comments
Today, on November 22nd, 2009, the site contains 196 poets, 8,692 poems and 7,657 comments.
Analysis and comments on Mr Bleaney by Philip Larkin

[1] 2

Comment 13 of 13, added on September 18th, 2009 at 2:57 AM.

we often give our deductions the meaning accordning to our own preception.Mr.Bleaney is a symbol of life,s cycle which is written by Jhon Ashbyry in his poem The Melody Train.In Melody Train the common element among the poet and others were Trai,in there the common element shown by poet through his protagonist(a new tenant) is room.Room is the place lived by Mr.Bleaney and now it's his turn to live and 'removed by' others after his death like Mr.Bleaney.

sidra from Pakistan
Comment 12 of 13, added on January 1st, 2009 at 1:58 PM.

this poem has used aclosely_structured approch to reading.breaking down the exploration of the text info small units has given you amodel for answering the larger more general question that you usually find in exams.

marwa from Egypt
Comment 11 of 13, added on June 15th, 2006 at 4:55 AM.

i have had two days to write a five page essay on this poem, and i am not really into poetry i find it really hard to disect and interpret the underlying meaning. Thank goodness i founf this page! All of your comments have helped me in a way you would never know. thank you!!!!

J from United Kingdom
Comment 10 of 13, added on April 10th, 2006 at 3:27 AM.

Like most of Larkin's work in the 'Whitsun Weddings' collection, Larkin has to reflect on his own life when he considers the choices of others.

He is quick to dismiss Mr. Bleaney's lifestyle and his yearly routine. 'the jabbering set', 'preference for sauce to gravy' does not have a sound of ellegance to it. The room itself has curtains to small for the frame 'fall to within five inches of the sill' and as many people have said the fact that the room is has 'no room for books or bags' means there is no personalisation of the room.

Yet Larkin cannot see how this strictly routine character could have been happy with his life, in the last stanza Larkin says 'should make him pretty sure he warranted no better'. Quite stern words for someone who throughout his poetry never appears to be happy with his own life.

Liam from United Kingdom
Comment 9 of 13, added on October 3rd, 2005 at 2:43 PM.

I've just had to write a four-page essay about this damn thing. Still love it, though. It's just so... empty and lonely and sad, and nobody in this poem has a life of any worth or meaning.

Adrienne from United Kingdom
Comment 8 of 13, added on September 30th, 2005 at 12:08 PM.

In stanza 5, there is a "-" it suggests the lodger pauses to think about the lifestyle of Mr Bleaney. It also adds a sort of link to the next piece of information given about Mr Bleaney's unadventurous life.

Rachel from United Kingdom
Comment 7 of 13, added on June 20th, 2005 at 2:13 AM.

The name of the poem is itself symbolic because the word bleaney has been derived from ‘bleak’ meaning miserable.
This poem by Larkin is full of symbolism because in it Larkin has symbolized the shabby life style of people of his time. in the first stanza when the land lady gives the description of the room to the speaker she says
‘Flowered curtains, thin and frayed
Fall to within five inches of the sill
Whose window shows a strip of building land?
Tussocky, littered’
These lines symbolizes the poor circumstances of bleany’s life and the emptiness of Mr Bleany’s life and symbolizes that bleany was living a shabby and littered life and his life was full of hopelessness.
Now the speaker takes a look at the room and says
‘No room for books or bags’
This suggests there is no room for personal belongings.
The next symbolic lines are
‘The jabbering set he egged her on to buy’
This means that the set was useless for the speaker but it was very important for bleaney coz he was not able to afford it and he asked his landlady to buy him this set
The speaker says that he knows what kind of life Mr. Bleaney lived by observing the room and says
‘His preference for sauce to gravy’
It means that bleaney was living a ready made kind of life.
In the end Larkin conveys his thought by saying
‘That how we live measures our own nature’
Although the speaker doesn't want to lead a life as what Mr. Bleaney had ever done, he seems to identify himself with Mr. Bleaney in the last stanza, as he claims "I don't know


Raheel from Pakistan
Comment 6 of 13, added on June 16th, 2005 at 5:00 PM.

this contankerous poem uses a variety of contankerous techniques to get across the idea that there is nobody iving in this house. it is sadly too contankerous. I wiss it had more words.

tim from Australia
Comment 5 of 13, added on June 7th, 2005 at 2:07 AM.

This poem is about an invisible man, Mr Bleaney who has ever rented the room. The narrator seems to be a lodger. He is told about Mr Bleaney's boring and depressing routine life by the landlady. Although the lodger doesn't wanna lead a life as what Mr Bleaney had ever done, he seems to identify himself with Mr Bleaney in the last stanza, as he claims "I don't know"

sissi from China
Comment 4 of 13, added on May 24th, 2005 at 5:28 AM.

just to add, there is "no rooom for books or bags" which suggests there is no room for personal belongings. Thus, the current resident becomes as anonymous as the old Mr Bleaney. It also indicates that there is a succession of Mr Bleaneys, each as despairing as the next...sad poem

Pav from United Kingdom

This poem has been commented on more than 10 times. Click below to see the other comments.
[1] 2


Information about Mr Bleaney

Poet: Philip Larkin
Poem: Mr Bleaney
Volume: The Whitsun Weddings
Year: 1955
Added: Feb 20 2003
Viewed: 13062 times


Add Comment

Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding this poem better? If they are accepted, they will be added to this page of Poetry Connection. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.

Do not post questions, pleas for homework help or anything of the sort, as these types of comments will be removed. The proper place for questions is the poetry forum. Also, please do not post any links what so ever.

Please note that after you post a comment, it can take up to an hour before it is visible on the website! Rest assured that your comment is not lost, so don't enter your comment again.

Comment on: Mr Bleaney
By: Philip Larkin

Name: (required)
E-mail Address: (required)
Country:
Show E-mail Address:
Yes No
Subject:
Poem Comments:

Poem Info

Larkin Info
Copyright © 2003-2009 Gunnar Bengtsson, Poetry Connection. All Rights Reserved.
Credit Card Debt Consolidation | Glassjaw Blog | Credit Card Debt