An Idiot's Analysis on Annus Mirabilis

Annus Mirabilis- Analysis

In the poem “Annus Mirabilis,” Philip Larkin uses a number of contrasts to describe how ironic the way we view sexual intercourse in society is and why nineteen sixty three was a year of great progress in this respect.

Larkin begins by delving right into what is at the heart of the poem- “sexual intercourse”. By claiming “sexual intercourse began in 1963”, Larkin effectively gives a natural, primal, and powerful process a timestamp. Although it is common knowledge that sexual intercourse had no single “beginning”, the fact that Larkin chooses to use the word “began” suggests that he thinks it was absent from human life before nineteen sixty three. Larkin’s choice of providing a historical timeframe for the year by referring to “the end of the Chatterley ban” sets the tone of the poem as one that has a more progressive attitude towards sex (just like the novel being referred to did), in addition to describing why nineteen sixty three was particularly special. Similarly, by mentioning the Beatles, who were regarded as revolutionaries and representatives of the counter culture, Larkin equates sexual intercourse to this counter culture rather than to popular culture. Hence, in the first stanza, Larkin establishes a contrast by claiming that nineteen sixty three was the beginning of what is actually a natural and timeless process.

Larkin’s motivations behind writing the poem lie in the second stanza, wherein he describes the circumstances that led up to nineteen sixty three. By using words like “only” and “shame” in this stanza, Larkin depicts humanity’s attitude towards sex with a sarcastic and derisive undertone, claiming that till nineteen sixty three, “there’d only been a sort of bargaining.” Larkin’s use of the word “bargaining” is almost mocking, as the stanza goes on to criticize society’s practice of “bargaining” for sex by going through the efforts of a marriage, thereby depicting sex as something that one struggles to get rather than something that is natural and has no abstract requirements (like marriage). The words “wrangle for a ring” embody this struggle and introduce the idea of marriage as something that needs to be done to legitimize intercourse. Larkin’s use of the word “shame” in this stanza ridicules the attitude with which society looks upon marriage and sex. Larkin devotes this stanza to the communication of the frustration he had towards society for restricting sex to the confines of a marriage, and for only allowing pleasure if it had purpose. The fact that Larkin attributes “shame” (which is used to denote sex and marriage), an abstract concept, to a specific, arbitrary age mirrors humanity’s inhibiting attitude towards sex through another contrast.

The third stanza is sudden and Larkin’s use of the words “all at once” allow for the stanza’s position in the poem to ape the abruptness with which sexual intercourse “began”. Larkin makes this stanza stand out by giving it a jubilant undertone and evokes a sense of relief and victory in the reader by using phrases like “the quarrel sank”. The stanza depicts nineteen sixty three as a year of long awaited uniformity and