"The Explosion" Poetic Analysis

Background
Philip Larkin wrote this poem in 1969 after hearing of a mining tragedy in the north of
England. He felt great sympathy for the miners and wanted to write this elegy in their
honour.

Summary
On the day of the explosion
Shadows pointed towards the mine where the men worked
The slagheap, the huge pile of dusty, gritty waste generated by mining, seemed to sleep in the
sunshine of the morning.

Note
We know from the title that the poem is about an explosion, now, having read the first
stanza, we know it's an explosion in a coal mine. The repetition of the word 'explosion' in the
first line reinforces the sense of foreboding. The alliteration in the first stanza creates a
gentle, peaceful atmosphere that is at odds with what we know will happen. The repeated 's'
sound is calming and creates a gentle, soothing mood. However, the hint of underlying
danger is created by referring to the slagheap 'sleeping' as if it were a dormant volcano a
drowsy monster. By personifying the pile of coal dust and shale in this way, Larkin adds to
the sense of menace something dangerous is lurking, something is threatening the miners.
The shadows pointing towards the pithead are sinister. This is a very dark image of a sunny
morning; the shadows are perhaps foreshadowing the impending deaths of the miners. The
language of the poem is deliberately casual and informal, 'On the day of the explosion' tells
us of a dramatic event in a deliberately understated way. The event is allowed
to speak for itself; the poet makes no attempt to stir our emotions with strong words. Note
the way the word 'explosion' stands out in the description of a calm, sunny, quiet morning.
There is no other mention of sound; everything is still at this point, even if there is a sense of
dread suggested by the mention of shadows and a sleeping slagheap.

Summary
The men came down the lane in mining boots,
Coughing and swearing and smoking pipes,
Filling the silent morning with noise.

Note
Into this calm, quiet, sunny morning come the miners. They are rough, uneducated men, Aoife O’Driscoll 2008 Page 3

coughing, swearing and ignoring the beauty and silence of the early morning. They have no
idea of their imminent deaths, naturally, but we do and the tension of the poem is mounting
with each stanza.

One of them chased rabbits, he didn't manage to catch them,
He came back with a nest of larks eggs he had found,
He showed them to the others and then put them back safely in the grass.

Note
This is a charming image of one of the young men playfully chasing rabbits and delightedly
showing a nest of eggs to his fellow miners. The details are touching and sweet and the
gentleness and playfulness only make the impending catastrophe more poignant. Although
Larkin is remaining a detached observer in this poem, his sympathy for the miners is clear.
He gives us positive images of them, moving details which bring them to life for us. Note the
use of verbs in this stanza, 'chased', 'lost', 'came', 'showed', 'lodged', all adding the the sense
of movement, of vibrancy and of life. Knowing as we do that this vibrancy, this life will soon
end, we are moved.

Summary
On they walked, bearded men in rough trousers,
Fathers, brothers, several members of the same family, laughing and calling each other by
their nicknames,
Through the tall, open gates to the mine.

Note
The miners pass by, but the word 'passed' is also used to talk of those who have died or
'passed away'. The men belong to a close-knit community, tied together by bonds of family
and friendship. We know this because they are referred to as fathers and brothers and use
nicknames when talking amongst themselves. They pass into the tall gates which may reflect
the gates of heaven or of hell. The gates are 'standing open', almost as if the miners are being
invited to their deaths. They walk through the gates, oblivious.

At noon, the earth shook, cows
Stopped grazing for a second when they sensed it, the sun
Was dimmed as if a scarf was held over it or a heat haze blurred its brightness

Note
The actual explosion is described in a very detached way. There is no mention of the noise,
the pain, the fear, the grief or the horror. Instead, Larkin only tells us that the cows stopped
grazing for a moment when they sensed the vibration and the sun appeared dim. The fact
that the cows continued grazing is proof that life goes on regardless. The sun dimmed
because the dust from the explosion rose into the air and created a haze or smog. It may also
be a reference to the description of Jesus' death in the Bible: the sun darkened when he died,
according to St. Luke. The simple language doesn't take from the emotional impact of the
tragedy, rather, it adds to it. We use our own imaginations to fill the gaps. The miners were
straightforward, simple men and it is only fitting that their deaths should be described in
language they could understand, in language they would find accessible.

Summary
The dead go to heaven to wait for us, they
Are sitting with God in comfort
We will meet them again in heaven

Note
This is a prayer from a funeral service, it may be in italics to emphasise that it is not the
poet's own words being used here but rather a quote from the Bible. It may also be because
Larkin – an agnostic - wants to distance himself slightly from the quote or it may be because
he is highlighting the significance of these words. The quote itself introduces a note of hope
in the midst of despair. The message is a comforting one and brings some solace to the
miners' wives.

Summary
 (These two stanzas run together in meaning so I will treat them as one for the purposes of
the notes.)
It was said that the wives saw these words as plainly as if they were written on the chapel
wall and that they also had a vision of their dead husbands walking towards them,
transfigured into golden images of brightness, larger than life and walking with the sun
glowing behind them, creating a halo of light.
The vision the wives have of their husbands is a glorious one, of men transformed into
heavenly beings, bathed in a golden light and larger than life. The sun, which had been Aoife O’Driscoll 2008 Page 5

dimmed at the moment of their deaths, now shines brighter than ever and surrounds them
with a halo.
One of the men in the vision is holding the eggs. The eggs are unbroken.


Note
There is hope now: the men are born again to a new life in the next world and the tone is
optimistic. It is significant, too, that the poet refers to all the wives as having the vision at the
same time: this strengthens the idea of community which the men shared in the second,
third and fourth stanzas.

This final line is important. The eggs are a symbol of new life, of continuity and of hope for
the future. They are unbroken and they, like the men, have been transformed into something
wonderful, a vision of immortality. Death is not the end.

Theme
The theme of this poem is the triumph of life over death. The men led hard lives and died
horribly yet the main message is one of hope, of a vision of immortality.

Tone
The tone of this poem is detached and impersonal at the start but a clear sense of the poet's
sympathy for the miners emerges as he gives us touching details of their lives. The ending is
optimistic: there is hope for the future.

Features of style
The language in this poem is simple and straightforward, Larkin wanted his poetry to
be accessible to all and deliberately wrote in a way that people could relate to.Even
when the sun itself is dimmed by the explosion, it is 'Scarfed as in a heat-haze', a
simple comparison with no great sense of drama. A scarf is an everyday object; the
poet uses such understated language to great effect. It reinforces the miners' simple
lives and the fact that they were ordinary men doing a difficult job.
The only divergence from this simplistic imagery is the description of the wives'
vision of the men. They are transformed into heavenly beings, larger than life, bathed
in a golden light.
The poem begins quietly, nothing moves until the men appear, they are loud and
active and fill the morning's silence with their talk and their activity.
All is silent and calm again after the explosion.
In the wives' vision, the men are moving again, walking towards them in an echo of
their journey in the earlier part of the poem.
The description of the men in the second, third and fourth stanzas is of larger than
life characters. In the wives' vision, they are actually larger than life; death has not
diminished them.
The eggs are an important symbol of hope, of continuity.
The first five stanzas end with full stops, as if the poet hopes to delay the catastrophe
by slowing down the poem. The pauses add to the sense of tension. The last line
stands alone and in so doing reinforces the hopeful note on which the poem ends.