Openings, rhythm and relationships: Philip Larkin reads Mr Bleaney

Abstract

Mr Bleaney is one of Philip Larkin’s most popular poems. In this article I discuss five recordings, by Larkin himself, of the first two sentences in free direct speech from a presumed landlady: ‘This was Mr Bleaney’s room. He stayed/The whole time he was at the Bodies, till/They moved him’. The recordings are similar in that they all project the opening as being in medias res; they differ, however, because across the five recordings Larkin places prominences in different locations and makes different choices of tone. The differences suggest that Larkin projects the direct speech into differing (imagined) preceding discourse contexts. But their different ways of being in medias res can also be regarded as ‘perfectly normal’ openings to the poem. The rhythms of the recordings of the two sentences are symptomatic of the fact that Larkin reads most of his poetry as non-poetic anecdotal discourse, thus subverting his wish to be perceived more as a poet than as a social commentator. The recordings also provide evidence for issues raised by critics: the relationship between landlady and tenant; the relationship between Larkin and his audience; the rhythm of the landlady’s speech; the meaning of moved him.