Links: Dockery and Son, Self's the Man, Here
Written on Larkin's 40th birthday
Stanza 1: 'fobbed' is refering to a fob watch, it could also refer to him being 'fobbed' off by time.
'Tell me the truth' - asking time - personification of time, what's the meaning of life? is what Larkin is asking.
'All the other lads there were itching to have a bash' - living life, like Dockery and Son. - Larkin is waiting to find out what the meaning of life is, and in doing this he has let time pass him by. - paradoxical.
Stanza 2: Larkin seems intimidated and overwhelmed by time - 'so he patted my head, booming'
Stanza 3: 'half life is over now' - he is middle aged, re-examining life, maybe having a mid-life crisis.
'And i meet full face on dark mornings the bestial visor' - personification of death or time or the truth.
'what does it prove? sod all.' - wasting life - waiting - regret - not enjoying life - just waiting for things to happen.
'spent youth' - wasted youth
'tracing the trite untransferable truss-advertisement truth' - alliteration - missing out on life because he was looking for the meaning of life.
'truss-advertisement' - embarrassing - to do with age, supposed to help - it's a con - 'send no money' now but you will pay in the end - a bit like life.
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