"Afternoons" appears in Philip Larkin's collection The Whitsun Weddings (1964). The poem presents a melancholy portrait of families at a playground, centered on "Young mothers" who have transitioned from their romantic younger years into a life of parenting and adult responsibility. As they watch their kids playing, the moms feel (according to the speaker) that "Something is pushing them / To the side of their own lives." The poem invites readers to question whether family life, and raising children in particular, demands more sacrifice than it's worth.

• Read the full text of “Afternoons”

• “Afternoons” Summary

• “Afternoons” Themes

  • 

    Motherhood, Maturity, and Sacrifice

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-24

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Afternoons”

  • Lines 1-4

    Summer is fading: ...
    ... new recreation ground.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 5-8

    In the hollows ...
    ... free their children.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 9-14

    Behind them, at ...
    ... Near the television:

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 15-18

    Before them, the ...
    ... all in school),

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 19-24

    And their children, ...
    ... their own lives.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• “Afternoons” Symbols

  • 

    Daily and Seasonal Cycles

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-5: “Summer is fading: / The leaves fall in ones and twos / From trees bordering / The new recreation ground. / In the hollows of afternoons”
    • Lines 15-16: “Before them, the wind / Is ruining their courting-places”
    • Lines 19-20: “And their children, so intent on / Finding more unripe acorns,”

• “Afternoons” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Metaphor

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where metaphor appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “Summer is fading:”
    • Line 5: “In the hollows of afternoons”
    • Lines 23-24: “Something is pushing them / To the side of their own lives.”

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 8: “their children”
    • Line 16: “courting-places”
    • Line 17: “courting-places”
    • Line 19: “their children”

  • Consonance

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where consonance appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “fading”
    • Line 2: “fall”
    • Line 3: “From,” “bordering”
    • Line 6: “assemble”
    • Line 7: “swing,” “sandpit”
    • Line 8: “Setting”
    • Line 10: “Stand husbands,” “skilled trades”
    • Line 11: “washing”
    • Line 12: “lettered”
    • Line 13: “Wedding,” “lying”
    • Line 16: “ruining,” “courting-places”
    • Line 17: “courting-places”
    • Line 18: “lovers,” “all,” “school”
    • Line 21: “Expect to,” “taken”

  • Enjambment

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    Where enjambment appears in the poem:

    • Lines 2-3: “twos / From”
    • Lines 3-4: “bordering / The”
    • Lines 5-6: “afternoons / Young”
    • Lines 6-7: “assemble / At”
    • Lines 7-8: “sandpit / Setting”
    • Lines 12-13: “lettered / Our”
    • Lines 13-14: “lying / Near”
    • Lines 15-16: “wind / Is”
    • Lines 16-17: “courting-places / That”
    • Lines 19-20: “on / Finding”
    • Lines 23-24: “them / To”

• “Afternoons” Vocabulary

  Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

  • Recreation ground
  • Hollows
  • Sandpit
  • Intervals
  • Skilled trades
  • Estateful
  • Albums
  • Courting-places
  • Unripe acorns
  • Thickened
  • (Location in poem: Line 4: “The new recreation ground.”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Afternoons”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Afternoons” Speaker

• “Afternoons” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Afternoons”

• More “Afternoons” Resources

  • External Resources

    • Council Housing Estates — Learn more about postwar Britain's council housing estates, the kind of complexes referred to in this poem.

    • More on Council Housing Estates — Check out some more background on postwar British council housing, with pictures and examples.

    • The Poem Aloud — Listen to Philip Larkin reading "Afternoons."

    • The Poet's Life — Read a short biography of Larkin at the Poetry Foundation.

    • Larkin on TV — Watch a 1981 TV documentary about Larkin's work.

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Philip Larkin

    • An Arundel Tomb

    • A Study of Reading Habits

    • Church Going

    • Coming

    • Home Is So Sad

    • MCMXIV

    • Money

    • Mr Bleaney

    • Next, Please

    • Poetry of Departures

    • Talking in Bed

    • The Trees

    • The Whitsun Weddings

    • This Be The Verse

    • Water

Cite This Page