Nothing could contrast more sharply with “Still Falls the
Rain” than “Church Going.” They describe
two opposite responses to the chaos and destruction of World War 2: a return to
faith, and the re-embracing of Christianity, versus a loss of faith, and
abandonment of Christianity. Of course, “Church
Going” doesn’t explicitly mention the war, but post-War atheism, and search for
meaning in post-Christian world, underlines all of Larkin’s work, at least all
that I’ve read. This poem is extremely
depressing, and in general, I find his poems depressing. They’re bleak, at least. To me at least, the image of a man, fallen
away from the faith, or maybe never having practiced it, visiting a church, not
to attend services, but simply to look around, touch the Bible and the altar,
is extremely sad. He doesn’t believe in
God, or at least faith isn’t particularly important to him, but he’s still
looking for meaning in this church, and doesn’t find it. It’s heartbreaking.
I find particularly interesting the last stanza, which
reflects on the fact that religious institutions will always exist, and have a
place in society, if only because people need some sort of meaning and feeling
of purpose, in what’s otherwise a depressing and cruel world – “that much will
never be obsolete.” The speaker describes
the church as “serious,” and I’m wondering what he means by that. (“A serious house on serious earth it is, in
whose blent air all our compulsions meet, are recognised, and robed as
destinies.”) Does “serious” here mean
strict? Full of emphasis on death? Or maybe meeting a fundamental human need? Perhaps the presence of dead people makes it
serious, since death is no laughing matter, as he says in the last line, “If
only that so many dead lie round.” The
inevitable reality of death, maybe, connects people to religion and compels
them to go to church, if only because of funerals and such. Major life events, like baptisms, weddings,
and funerals, bring most people in to church, even if that’s the only time they
go, as he says, “only in separation – marriage, and birth, and death.”
If I were in a weepy mood, this poem would probably make me
cry, but right now, I just sigh and grimace.
On to some more cheerful reading. :)
Kate,
ReplyDeleteI also fond the last stanza interesting and was kind confused with why Larkin used the word serious to describe the church. The rest of the stanza starting with “And that much never can be obsolete” is talking about that someone will always discover religion and go to a church. The reason the he will go there is because “he once heard, was proper to grow wise in” saying that people before him have said that it is the right thing to do to get your wisdom from the church. The last line of the poem to me means that so many people have died believing in religion and the church that they are buried around it, because many churches have cemeteries. So its not just the fact that people said it was the right thing to go to church, its that they actually believed it to so much so that they died believing it. Based on this I think Larkin used the word serious to describe the church because like you said it fills a basic human need.
Daniel Pietaro
I agree “Church Going” was really depressing to read. I personally felt connected to this poem because I was raised with really no affiliation to religion. My father is Christain and my mom is Episcopalian- basically Christain but not as strict. Like this poem I never really practiced the religion, went to church a handful of times, and never really attended services. I felt connected to the speaker of the poem because like you said they are describing their visit to church and how faith isn’t particularly important to him. I feel the same way, I just don’t like to stress about beliefs, but still want to find some meaning. I am so glad you pointed this out because I connected to the poem and didn’t know how to express just as good as you did!
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