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Thursday 19 February 2015

Take One Home for the Kiddies

This is one of Larkins humouros, shortest poems. He describes the careless nature of children, and the tolerable nature of parents.

Stanza One
> 'On shallow straw, in shadeless glass' - bleak unatural homes for animals, shadless seems like the hamsters are unprotected (possibly from the eyes of horrible children!)
> 'Huddled by empty bowls' - image of neglect in the petshop, huddled together implies they're cold
> Repetition of no enhances negatives
> The children asking and getting implies Larkin thinks parents are walkovers.

Stanza Two
> 'Living toys are something novel' - the children see the hamster as a funny toy, not a living thing, this suggests their careless nature.
> 'Soon it wears off' - easily bored
> 'Fetch the shoe box, fetch the shovel' - disposable

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