Study of Reading Habits PDF (Larkin, 1922-1985)

Study of Reading Habits Philip Larkin (1922-1985) When getting my nose in a book Cured most things short of school, It was worth ruining my eyes To know I could still keep cool, And deal out the old right hook To dirty dogs twice my size. Later, with inch-thick specs, Ev...

Study of Reading Habits Philip Larkin (1922-1985) When getting my nose in a book Cured most things short of school, It was worth ruining my eyes To know I could still keep cool, And deal out the old right hook To dirty dogs twice my size. Later, with inch-thick specs, Evil was just my lark: Me and my coat and fangs Had ripping times in the dark. The women I clubbed with emotion! I broke them up like meringues. Don't read much now: the dude Who lets the girl down before The hero arrives, the chap Who's yellow and keeps the store Seem far too familiar. Get stewed: Books are a load of crap. Philip Larkin’s “A Study of Reading Habits” follows the life of a young boy who loved reading books. The entire poem is written from a grown man's perspective looking back on his reading habits when he was young. The speaker indirectly talks about reading books during the three different stages of his life. Larkin enjoyed reading and listening to jazz music. Larkin studied English at St. Johns College and was known as a great scholar in his University. After graduating he became a librarian, first in the library of a town, later in a university. From 1955 until his death he was the librarian of the Brynmor Jones library at the University of Hull. The paraphrase: Stanza 1: The first 4 lines of Larkin’s A Study of Reading Habits the speaker demonstrates how passionately he felt about reading books. He describes a young boy who could not take his eyes off of a book. Getting so lost in the story he was reading, he would move closer and closer to the text, getting his nose so into it. We all know what the consequence of this is, and so did the speaker. In line 3 he acknowledges this, saying he would be willing to ruin his eyes. He writes about how reading made him feel different. Reading was an escape, a way to be anyone or anything he wanted to be. It made him feel cool, giving him supernatural abilities. He would be fighting villains twice his size with no fear. Stanza 2: As the speaker grew in age, his passion for reading stayed with him. He still found his same escape route, reading to be lost inside his own mind. And as we all guessed, he ruined his eyes. Line seven exposes the obvious point that the speaker wears very thick glasses. This line, along with the next, give the impression that much time has passed. The speaker goes on to talk about how he now found himself into a very different type of reading. He no longer wanted to fantasize about being a super strong hero; he now was into evil writings. The older speaker at this time becomes aware of women, emotion and violence. He has the typical pubescent fantasy of being a vampire. Vampires have supernatural powers, they stay awake all night, cannot be killed, and have emotion with lots of women. The speaker finds relief from his hormonal feelings in his books. Lines 11 and 12 relate directly to emotion; clubbing being substituted directly for emotion. Relating them to food, meringue is a sugary pie filling. Stanza 3: Before he use to seek for an escape in books but now that he is an adult with more complex issues he realizes that books wont help. Reading is just a reminder of his malfunctions. He then feels anger and finds another way of coping with his problems. In lines 17 he suggests to get stewed, assuming that he means drugs or alcohol is the escape now. He then goes on to say that books are a load of crap exposing that he totally has giving up with books and his own life. The speaker was exposed as a young man who never knew how to deal with reality since he was stuck in fantasies growing up. The speaker: The speaker in the poem is not Larkin but a twisted character whose tone is filled with disappointment and hallucination. Structure  ABCBAC rhyme scheme: like most of Larkin's poems, this has a very subtle rhyme scheme. It is marginally more perceptible than others, however it is disrupted by the enjambment. The AC on the end of the ABCB rhyme scheme creates a tone of dejection and  disappointment; despite the persona's attempts to escape reality, it is persistent  The enjambment and caesura are significantly more marked in the final stanza, creating a less markedly poetic effect. As the persona loses his interest in books, his language becomes more mundane and disjointed.  The poem has three stanzas. Each stanza is a sestet because it has 6 lines. Every stanza represents a stage in the speaker's life. The first is the stage of boyhood, the second is the stage of adolescence, and the third is the stage of youth.  The lines are iambic and anapestic trimeter. Figures of speech: - The words 'getting my nose in a book' indicate the high interest in books. -The word ' Cured' has a metaphor. Books are compared to medicine which can cure diseases. -The words ' dirty dogs' have a metaphor. Enemies are compared to dirty dogs. -The words ' inch-thick specs' indicate that his eyes got weak. -The words ' Evil was just my lark' have a metaphor. Evil is compared to a guide guiding the speaker to destruction. -The words ' coat and fangs' have a metonymy. They refer to the appearance of vampires. -The words ' like meringues' have a simile. Women are like sweet food. -The words 'dude' and 'chap' indicate that the speaker achieved no success in his life. He became an average person. -The words ' Books are a load of crap' have a simile. Books are like useless trash. Quiz: 1. The poem ' A Study of Reading Habits' was written by………. William Shakespeare William Butler Yeats Philip Larkin Alfred Tennyson 2. The author of the poem ' A Study of Reading Habits' was born in……… 1922 1933 1944 1911 3. The author of the poem ' A Study of Reading Habits' died in……… 1922 1985 1995 1965 4. Throughout most of his life, Larkin worked as a(n)……………. Engineer Doctor Librarian Officer 5. Larkin graduated from……… Cambridge university Harvard university Lancaster university Oxford university 6. The poem ' A Study of Reading Habits' has …………stanzas. 2 3 4 5 7. Every stanza in the poem ' A Study of Reading Habits' has………..lines. 6 4 3 8 8. Every stanza is a…………. Quatrain Triplet Octave Sestet 9. The rhyme scheme in the poem ' A Study of Reading Habits' is…….. ABABAB ABCABC ABCBAC ABBACC 10. The speaker in the poem is ………….. An unidentified person The poet himself A famous person A married woman 11. The speaker seems to be both……. Successful and sociable Old and optimistic Married and hopeful Imaginative and lonely 12. The poem describes how the speaker has considered books through ………….. stages of his life. 2 5 3 4 13. The first stanza describes how the speaker liked books during the stage of …………… Boyhood Adolescence Youth Old age 14. The second stanza describes how the speaker liked books during the stage of …………… Boyhood Adolescence Youth Old age 15. The third stanza describes how the speaker looked at books during the stage of …………… Boyhood Adolescence Youth Maturity 16. The word 'cured' is a good example of………….. Simile Metaphor Alliteration Rhyme 17. The words 'dirty dogs' are a good example of…………. Simile Metaphor Alliteration Rhyme 18. the words 'coat and fangs' refer to………. Vampires Farmers Children Boys 19. The words 'like meringues' are a good example………. Simile Metaphor Alliteration Rhyme 20. The word 'yellow' refers to………. Bravery Cowardice Strength Beauty