Church Going
by Philip Larkin
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At a glance:
- Author: Philip Larkin
- First Published: 1955
- Type of Poem: Meditation
- Genres: Poetry, Meditation
- Subjects: Religion, England or English people, Christianity, Faith, Church or churches, Agnosticism, Protestantism or Protestant churches, Christmas
The Poem
“Church Going,” a poem of seven nine-line stanzas, is a first-person description of a visit to an empty English country church. The narrator is apparently on a cycling tour (he stops to remove his bicycle clips), a popular activity for British workers on their summer holiday. He has come upon a church and stopped to look inside. Not wishing to participate in a worship service, the visitor checks first to make “sure there’s nothing going on.” He will eventually reveal that he is an agnostic and that his interest in churches is not derived from religious...
(The entire page is 1340 words.)
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