Water - Larkin

The name of this poem 'Water' reinforces a positive nature to this poem and is one of only two of the positive belief poems by Larkin. The quote 'If I were called in to construct a religion' suggests that Larkin wants to create his own religious belief which reinforces that he doesn't believe in current religious beliefs because as we know he is atheist.

'Going to church would entail a fording' suggests that Larkin can't be bothered with religious beliefs or he doesn't trust them. There is further evidence for this through the fact that the church's religion is 'dry'. Now if Larkin's religion was to be made from water then dryness is the opposite to wetness which suggests that Larkin doesn't trust the church.

Within stanza three 'a furious devout drench' is used as an oxymoron to represent contrasting views in modern day religion, this maybe why Larkin doesn't have a current strong religious belief. 'Drench' is a reference to water however at a more extreme level.

We get a good ending to this poem when Larkin represents his new religion positively. It would 'congregate endlessly' representing the view that it would have endless positive attributes to the world through the 'any-angled light'.

This links to the poem by Abse Red Balloon as Abse and Larkin both convey their religious beliefs through both of these poems.