The poem
'This was Mr Bleaney's room. He stayed The whole time he was at the Bodies, till They moved him.' Flowered curtains, thin and frayed, Fall to within five inches of the sill,
Whose window shows a strip of building land, Tussocky, littered. 'Mr Bleaney took My bit of garden properly in hand.' Bed, upright chair, sixty-watt bulb, no hook
Behind the door, no room for books or bags - 'I'll take it.' So it happens that I lie Where Mr Bleaney lay, and stub my fags On the same saucer-souvenir, and try
Stuffing my ears with cotton-wool, to drown The jabbering set he egged her on to buy. I know his habits - what time he came down, His preference for sauce to gravy, why
He kept on plugging at the four aways - Likewise their yearly frame: the Frinton folk Who put him up for summer holidays, And Christmas at his sister's house in Stoke.
But if he stood and watched the frigid wind Tousling the clouds, lay on the fusty bed Telling himself that this was home, and grinned, And shivered, without shaking off the dread
That how we live measures our own nature, And at his age having no more to show Than one hired box should make him pretty sure He warranted no better, I don't know.
Mr Bleaney , ah good "old2 Mr Bleaney. I am doing higher english at school and was studying Larkin poems as i do not enjoy higher english i didnt really bother to pay much attention so when it came to choosing the poem i write a critical responce to i choose mr bleaney as i found the name amusing ( i am only just 16 and im alowed to think like this i chose my personal study book because of the funny title too!!!)…
Read the whole commentMr Bleaney , ah good "old2 Mr Bleaney. I am doing higher english at school and was studying Larkin poems as i do not enjoy higher english i didnt really bother to pay much attention so when it came to choosing the poem i write a critical responce to i choose mr bleaney as i found the name amusing ( i am only just 16 and im alowed to think like this i chose my personal study book because of the funny title too!!!) After reading Mr Bleaney and finding it wasnt the easiest or een shortist of larkin poems i skimmed through the others to find out that it was the best poem and really thought provoking (big words for someone whom doesnt like english ) any way i actually enjoyed Mr Bleaney and the comical name just added to my appreciation to it. Right now the reson i found this site , i am studying for my prelims and looking for notes on the poem and even though this particular forum doesnt have any comments i have read others which do and are of great interest. basically my comment is just a long way of asking you to help me with my studying by posting your comments about the deep and thought provoking poem that is "Mr Bleaney"
This poem follows 'Here' in The Whitson Weddings (which, strangely, cannot be found on this website). The poem's form is 7 equal stanzas, with a regular abab rhyme; this could be said to echo the narrator's monotonous life. The sentence structure overides stanza division, which adds momentum to the poem. Stanza's 1 to 5 seem to set the scene, and the final two reflect upon the situation. It could be suggested that…
Read the whole commentThis poem follows 'Here' in The Whitson Weddings (which, strangely, cannot be found on this website). The poem's form is 7 equal stanzas, with a regular abab rhyme; this could be said to echo the narrator's monotonous life. The sentence structure overides stanza division, which adds momentum to the poem. Stanza's 1 to 5 seem to set the scene, and the final two reflect upon the situation. It could be suggested that the sentences run on pointlessly from stanza to stanza, echoing the life of the narrator. It is clear that the narrator lacks self-confidence, 'Stuffing [his] ears with cotton-wool, to drown The jabbering set'. Stanza 5 is an end stopped stanza which causes a break in the poem, and gives a double pause, allowing Larkin to change the tone of the poem.
The use of 'frigid wind' in the sixth stanza is negative, as both 'frigid' and 'wind' could be considered to have negative connotations.
By the poem's conclusion, the narrator seems to be able to accept second-best, as though he is worth no more. This reveals a sense of self despair.
Yet another of Larkin's poems which is related to the shallowness of human life, and his thoughts at to his own existance.
Some nice points, I'm doing this poem at higher level this year, and i did at "Int 2" last year so i know it 'well' here is another little snippit!
the title "Bleaney" its self has connitations of the words "bleak" & "mean" which suggest the personality of the former tennent.
you'r comments have helped me. thanks.
Iain D
Ayrshire
Scotland.
just to add, there is "no rooom for books or bags" which suggests there is no room for personal belongings. Thus, the current resident becomes as anonymous as the old Mr Bleaney. It also indicates that there is a succession of Mr Bleaneys, each as despairing as the next...sad poem
This poem is about an invisible man, Mr Bleaney who has ever rented the room. The narrator seems to be a lodger. He is told about Mr Bleaney's boring and depressing routine life by the landlady. Although the lodger doesn't wanna lead a life as what Mr Bleaney had ever done, he seems to identify himself with Mr Bleaney in the last stanza, as he claims "I don't know"
this contankerous poem uses a variety of contankerous techniques to get across the idea that there is nobody iving in this house. it is sadly too contankerous. I wiss it had more words.
The name of the poem is itself symbolic because the word bleaney has been derived from ‘bleak’ meaning miserable. This poem by Larkin is full of symbolism because in it Larkin has symbolized the shabby life style of people of his time. in the first stanza when the land lady gives the description of the room to the speaker she says ‘Flowered curtains, thin and frayed Fall to within five inches of the sill Whose…
Read the whole commentThe name of the poem is itself symbolic because the word bleaney has been derived from ‘bleak’ meaning miserable.
This poem by Larkin is full of symbolism because in it Larkin has symbolized the shabby life style of people of his time. in the first stanza when the land lady gives the description of the room to the speaker she says
‘Flowered curtains, thin and frayed
Fall to within five inches of the sill
Whose window shows a strip of building land?
Tussocky, littered’
These lines symbolizes the poor circumstances of bleany’s life and the emptiness of Mr Bleany’s life and symbolizes that bleany was living a shabby and littered life and his life was full of hopelessness.
Now the speaker takes a look at the room and says
‘No room for books or bags’
This suggests there is no room for personal belongings.
The next symbolic lines are
‘The jabbering set he egged her on to buy’
This means that the set was useless for the speaker but it was very important for bleaney coz he was not able to afford it and he asked his landlady to buy him this set
The speaker says that he knows what kind of life Mr. Bleaney lived by observing the room and says
‘His preference for sauce to gravy’
It means that bleaney was living a ready made kind of life.
In the end Larkin conveys his thought by saying
‘That how we live measures our own nature’
Although the speaker doesn't want to lead a life as what Mr. Bleaney had ever done, he seems to identify himself with Mr. Bleaney in the last stanza, as he claims "I don't know
In stanza 5, there is a "-" it suggests the lodger pauses to think about the lifestyle of Mr Bleaney. It also adds a sort of link to the next piece of information given about Mr Bleaney's unadventurous life.
I've just had to write a four-page essay about this damn thing. Still love it, though. It's just so... empty and lonely and sad, and nobody in this poem has a life of any worth or meaning.
Like most of Larkin's work in the 'Whitsun Weddings' collection, Larkin has to reflect on his own life when he considers the choices of others. He is quick to dismiss Mr. Bleaney's lifestyle and his yearly routine. 'the jabbering set', 'preference for sauce to gravy' does not have a sound of ellegance to it. The room itself has curtains to small for the frame 'fall to within five inches of the sill' and as many…
Read the whole commentLike most of Larkin's work in the 'Whitsun Weddings' collection, Larkin has to reflect on his own life when he considers the choices of others.
He is quick to dismiss Mr. Bleaney's lifestyle and his yearly routine. 'the jabbering set', 'preference for sauce to gravy' does not have a sound of ellegance to it. The room itself has curtains to small for the frame 'fall to within five inches of the sill' and as many people have said the fact that the room is has 'no room for books or bags' means there is no personalisation of the room.
Yet Larkin cannot see how this strictly routine character could have been happy with his life, in the last stanza Larkin says 'should make him pretty sure he warranted no better'. Quite stern words for someone who throughout his poetry never appears to be happy with his own life.
i have had two days to write a five page essay on this poem, and i am not really into poetry i find it really hard to disect and interpret the underlying meaning. Thank goodness i founf this page! All of your comments have helped me in a way you would never know. thank you!!!!
this poem has used aclosely_structured approch to reading.breaking down the exploration of the text info small units has given you amodel for answering the larger more general question that you usually find in exams.
comments
Mr Bleaney depicts the universality of life of modern Man.we r leading the same bleak n lonely life as mr Bleaney.we may not be living alone but we share spiritual loneliness wid him n the persona of the poem. we may reside in well furnished houses but like mr bleaney ,we share sterility of souls . n eventually we die... waiting, throughout our lives for ,godot
Nostraphlicity of the poem
I find the Nostraphlicity of the poem very geropey,on the other hand bleany is yedishly bellivinsed. The significance is galvinised by the fafility at Larkins disposal.
ANALYSIS OF MR.BLANEY
mr bleaney is representation of man in general.larkin through his character of bleaney wants to emphasize the loneliness of human soul.the poem is written in a way to reflect the influence of prevailing circumstances i.e the poet has written this having impact of world war 2.