Broadcast - Larkin

Broadcast is another poem by Larkin which encompasses the theme of love but also brings together with it the theme of music. Larkin himself was a great lover of Jazz music. The poem is basically about Larkin listening to this classical orchestra on the radio. His lover is within the crowd. The poem gives the effect off that two people in completely different places are able to listen to the exact same orchestra.

For the majority of this poem Larkin uses lots of sounds to describe the music that he hears. For example he uses words such as 'whispering' that are fricative in their nature and come across softly, then we have a complete opposite through the word 'coughing' which is an example of a plosive sound which comes across as a very threatening noise. Then we have another contrast through the words 'sudden scuttle' which act as alliteration and as a sibilant which gives off a harsher sound. Through these different descriptions Larkin is encompassing all of the contrasting noises and sounds that add together to give off the sound of music in this classical orchestra.

The second stanza goes into more detail of his lover in the crowd. As readers, we get a feeling that this poem is very personal to his lover where Larkin comments on her 'slightly-outmoded shoes'. It seems as if he is highlighting
 a personal joke between the two of them. He describes her as 'beautiful and devout' which is an intimate and loving description. The 'cascades of monumental slithering' acts as a metaphor for a waterfall. It shows that through all that noise he is still trying to listen out for her. This links in well with the poem by Larkin 'Talking in Bed', where Larkin presents the couple as being tiny in such a vast world through the description of what is on the outside of their bedroom.

The last stanza also conveys further feelings towards his lover. The quote 'desperate to pick out your hands, tiny in all that air' suggests a yearning towards this woman. It's almost as if he loves the person he is not with. This links well to the poem 'Wild Oats' where Larkin is trying to find the idealised version of a woman. However on the other hand this quote is a beautiful description of her, that he will always listen out for her. This in turn, is different to how he treats women in the poem 'Wild Oats'.

Critical Interpretations
One Sunday afternoon the previous November, the BBC Symphony Orchestra gave a concert in the City Hall, Hull which was simultaneously broadcast on the radio. Knowing I was at the live performance, Philip listened to it at home. The following day he handed me a typescript of the poem, initially called 'Broadcast Concert', but later shortened to 'Broadcast'. (Maeve Brennan http://www.philiplarkin.com/histpom/title/broadcast.htm)