Toads (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Philip Larkin
- First Published: 1955
- Type of Work: Lyric
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry
- Subjects: Manners or customs, Wit or humor, Depression, mental, Conformity, Work or workers, Intellect, Pleasure, Frogs
The Poem
“Toads” is based on an extended analogy and presents a common complaint: In order to afford the enjoyments of life, people spend so much time working that the labor often overshadows and ultimately spoils their enjoyment. Philip Larkin, who compares work to a toad, takes the complaint one step further by confessing that although he is envious of those who have conquered work, he cannot break free from the expectations of the system because “something sufficiently toad-like/ Squats in me, too” (lines 25-26). It is this final, greater toad that prevents Larkin...
[The entire page is 1464 words long]
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