The explosion

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The explosion

• Philip Larkin

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The Explosion by Philip Larkin

• This poem describes a tragic accident, an
  explosion in a coal mine in which a group of
  miners lost their lives. At the exact moment of
  the accident the wives of the dying men had a
  vision. At that moment, their husbands appeared
  clearly in front of them, as well as certain
  words from the Bible.

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The miners

• The miners are heading to work in the coal pit,
  wearing work boots and overalls.
• This is a typical group of working men. They
  smoke pipes and their conversation is marked by
  swearing and bad language.
• Larkin says their language is oath-edged.
• They laugh and joke as they walk to work together.

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An air of menace

• To the miners, this is just another day. They are
  unaware of the deadly explosion that will soon
  kill them.
• However, there is an air of menace that hints at
  the destruction to come.
• There is something sinister about the shadows
  pointing towards the mine.
• Shadows pointed toward the pithead.

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An air of menace

• It is as if the shadows are pointing the workers
  towards their deaths.
• The entrance to the coal pit in the poem brings
  to mind the gates of hell.
• Hell has often been referred to as the pit.
• There is a sense in the poem that the workers are
  descending to a place of doom and darkness.

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The explosion occurs

• The tremor from the explosion is felt in the
  nearby fields, startling the cows.
• A cloud of dust is blown out of the mine and
  causes the suns light to become dim and blurred,
  as in a heat-haze.
• Larkin doesnt describe the explosion in the mine
  directly. He doesnt describe the agony of the
  men struggling for their lives underground.
• The chaos and horror of the mine is left to our
  imaginations.

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The vision

• At the moment of the accident, the wives of the
  dying men have a vision. Even though they were
  not all together, afterwards each claimed to have
  had a similar vision.
• Firstly, a passage from the Bible appeared before
  them. It claims that after we die we travel to
  Gods house, where we will be reunited with the
  friends and relatives that have passed before us.

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The vision

• Then the wives had visions of their husbands
  for a second/ Wives saw men of the explosion.
• In this vision the men seem larger than life and
  ablaze with a golden light Gold as a coin.
• In one vision, a miner is carrying the larks
  eggs that were discovered in the way to work that
  morning One showing the eggs unbroken.

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What is this poem about?

• Life after death
• This poem suggests that death is not the end.
  This is suggested by the wives vision of the men
  at the time of the accident.
• They see words of hope from the bible and their
  husbands appear to them almost like angels.
• The eggs held by one of the miners are a symbol
  of life after death.

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What is this poem about?

• Life after death
• Eggs are associated with birth and new life. The
  lark eggs have been unbroken by the tremors that
  shook the fields.
• Similarly, our lives will be unbroken by death.
  Even after we live this life, we will continue to
  exist in Gods house.

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What is this poem about?

• A social commentary
• It is also possible to read the poem as a social
  commentary on the conditions of mine workers.
• Every day, they must walk into the hellish mouth
  of the pit.
• The are described as Coughing as they walk,
  indicating the damage done to their lungs.
• The daily danger of their lives is clear when the
  explosion takes place.

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What is this poem about?

• A social commentary
• Tragically, it is only in death that the mens
  difficult lives are transformed.
• In death, they are Gold as a coin, whereas in
  life they were permanently blackened by the mine.
• It is only in death that the miners rise up and
  transform themselves, to become Larger than in
  life they managed.

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Questions

1. Why do you think Larkin does not describe the
   actual explosion? Do you think his indirect
   portrayal of the explosion works well?
2. What view of death and life after death is put
   forward in this poem?
3. The Explosion is considered one of Larkins most
   moving poems. Describe your response to the poem.