Born Yesterday by Philip Larkin

What’s the Point?

This poem was written for Sally Amis, daughter of famous novelist Kingsley Amis, the day after she was born. Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin were friends and Larkin wrote this poem to celebrate the birth of his friend's daughter. As you can see, it's not that celebratory. Larkin was a depressive who had some serious issues around women. This is one of his more optimistic poems and, whether or not you see it that way, he was probably trying to generous to his friend's daughter. Rather than wishing her beauty or intelligence, he wishes her ordinariness because he believes that it is in the ordinary that happiness can be found.

Where’s my Evidence?

• Tightly folded bud
• May you be ordinary
• dull -
  If that is what a skilled,
  Vigilant, flexible,
  Unemphasised, enthralled
  Catching of happiness...

How do I Analyse this?

Form: This poem is written in two stanzas and a series of short, tight lines. The first stanza deals with Larkin telling the reader what he does not wish for Sally Amis. He reveals what he is wishing for at the beginning of the second stanza: "may you be ordinary" and it is somewhat anticlimactic. He uses the rest of this stanza to explain that what he is really wishing for her is "happiness". This is not revealed until the final line, creating suspense and anticipation.

Imagery: He opens with a metaphor  of a tightly folded bud.

Tightly folded bud

Tightly folded bud

Apart from looking like a baby, this is a very feminine image and holds the promise of 'blooming' in the future.
The line "I have wished for you" brings to mind the christening in sleeping beauty. Perhaps Larkin sees himself, slightly ironically in the role of fairy godfather, bestowing a wish or blessing.

Fairies granting blessings at a christening

The second stanza has very understated imagery as it is celebrating the ordinary and is thus very plain in its language. He uses the metaphor:"Nothing uncustomary/ to pull you off balance" suggesting the fragility and instability of happiness. The enjambement used in this line exaggerates this idea of balance as the line feels slightly unbalanced.
The list of adjectives at the end of the stanza do not create powerful images but then the surprising metaphor "catching of happiness" is then sprung on the reader in the final couplet. It sounds like you might catch happiness accidentally, like a cold or that happiness is something that might easily be missed, something that needs to be 'caught'.

Catching happiness?

Or, catching happiness?

Structure: The enjambement at the beginning of the poem, gives the poem a conversational tone, creating deliberately understated tone, reflecting this celebration of ordinariness. This dismissive tone of ordinariness is picked up in the line "well, you're a lucky girl." which is dismissive and scornful of luck. In fact the whole of the first stanza is telling the reader what Larkin does NOT wish for Sally. He is scornful of the usual cliche.

It is not until the second stanza that we finally get to Larkin's wish: "May you be ordinary" and it is an anticlimax. The list of adjectives:

"dull -

If that is what a skilled,
Vigilant, flexible,
Unemphasised, enthralled"

are deliberately understated but linked through use of both consonance and assonance. He even rhymes "dull" and "flexible" as if celebrating the idea of "dull". However the final line is lifted by both the image and sounds in "catching" and "happiness" (note how these two words are also linked by assonance) and the use of a rhyming couplet brings the poem to a satisfying close, perhaps gently underscoring his desire for Sally Amis to be happy.

What is the Reader supposed to feel?

I'm not sure that I'm supposed to feel this, but I find this poem infuriating. Sally Amis died tragically in her early 50's from alcohol related problems and to be quite honest, if this is what greeted her arrival into the world, it's not surprising. It's so mealy mouthed: "may you be ordinary". Would Larkin have written this for a man? Would he have wished this for, say, Martin Amis - Sally's extremely successful novelist brother? I appreciate what he is saying and possibly, as someone who spent his whole life depressed, "happiness" is the greatest of all achievements but I'm not sure that I buy into the sentiment that an "average of talents" is the key to happiness. I suppose a more sympathetic reading is that Larkin is trying to avoid cliche and is saying to Sally, not to undervalue the importance of an ordinary happiness.

How can I Link this to what the writer is saying?

Larkin was somebody who certainly struggled to "catch" happiness. In this poem he seems to be saying that happiness lies in balance and in 'ordinariness'. He suggests that too much talent or beauty might 'throw you off balance' and thus prevent you from 'catching happiness'. I think that the sentiments expressed in this poem are sincere and that he genuinely wanted Sally Amis to have that most simple but most elusive of qualities: happiness.

How can I Link this to another poem?

Nettles - a poem where an adult is wishing to protect a child. Scannell wishes he could protect his son from harm but can't.
Harmonium - A poet who also struggles to find the words to express emotion. He expresses his love for his father through a series of 'ordinary' images.
Praise Song - Another celebration of ordinariness but a rather different celebration of the feminine.

Mr Bruff

BBC Bitesize

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