Wild Oats - Larkin

Wild Oats is a poem about the story of two girls who come to visit Larkin where he works. One woman is described as a 'bosomy English rose' and the other her 'friend in specs'. Larkin has a relationship with the 'friend in specs'. However the overall message of this poem is that Larkin always looked on to an idealised version of a woman. He used the 'friend in specs' as a stepping stone to try and get into a relationship with 'bosomy English rose' we get a sense that Larkin always aims higher for girls who are out of his league.

In the first stanza of this poem we are given the two main stereotypes of women. A 'bosomy English rose' and her 'friend in specs'. They are two complete contrasts to one another, this comes across as sexist because Larkin is giving us two very limited stereotypes of women. We also get the sense of the basic nature of this poem, that it isn't a complex poem through the ordinary language it uses. It's not latinate or elevated, it is more colloquial and vernacular. A perfect example of this is the simple quote 'the friend I took out'. We almost get a sense that the overall language Larkin uses comes across as if it is a Dramatic Monologue where he is being very intimate with the tone he uses.

The last stanza shows Larkin's lack of dedication to women. The quote 'Well, useful to get that learnt' implies a willingness not to dedicate himself in a relationship, rather yearn for one particular woman. He seems to wish for an idealised version of a woman in his life. Where he says 'Unlucky charms, perhaps' means that even if he did go out with Bosomy rose it would never work because he is always looking for something better in life. The fact that he is never dedicated gives off connotations that someone else is always the next big thing.

Overall this poem gives off an unsteady atmosphere to Larkin's love life.

Critical interpretations
Bosomy English rose in this poem seem to be based on a real life figure named Jane Exall. In the poem it says 'I met beautiful twice'. This was based on the lunch dates in Leicester and Shrewsbury in February and December 1950. There is no evidence of further meetings although Jane suggests that they might meet when Larkin visited Charles Madge, who admired his poetry, in Birmingham (Essay: Jane Exall - 'A Bosomy English Rose' by Suzuyo Kamitami).