Religion brings inner strength, spiritual light and ineffable peace only when one strongly believes in it. Critical analysis of “Church Going” transpires that it was written at a time when people’s belief in religion was declining. Less attendance in churches could be witnessed. The purpose of the poem is not to target any specific religion nor does it satirises society. It reveals the innersole of people. It is about the condition of people after the world war. The poet prophesies the future of churches. He is of the view that in the future churches would no more be used for religious purposes. He predicts the decline of churches in the upcoming years.
Click here to read “Church Going” instead of its critical analysis.
Critical Analysis of “Church Going”:
Many readers and critics have misinterpreted it as a religious poem but Philip Larkin has denied this interpretation. Though the poem is about churches yet it is not a religious poem, says Philip Larkin. According to him, it is a purely secular poem, in which no specific sect or religion has been criticised; instead, he just talks about the future of churches. He just makes his opinions. He also depicts people’s future with respect to religion and superstition beliefs. World War left an impact on many prudent minds. Religion was fading because their prayers were not being answered.
Philip Larkin about “Church Going” said:-
“It is of course an entirely secular poem. I was a bit irritated by an American who insisted to me it was a religious poem. It isn’t religious at all. Religion surely means that the affairs of this world are under divine supervenience, and so on, and I go to some pains to point out that I don’t bother about that kind of thing, that I am deliberately ignorant of it.”
Philip Larking
It should be kept in mind that the poem is not religious at all. However, critics (whom Philip Larkin calls irrational) do not agree with the remarks of the poet. They believe that somehow, religion is involved. The church is directly proportional to religion, therefore, either intentionally or unintentionally religion has been linked.
Stanzas-I & II Critical Analysis of Church Going:
The speaker is the poet himself, who tells his incident. He said that he, after ensuring that no ritual ceremony was going on in the church, visited it. He entered and “thud shut” the door. He describes the scenery of the church while illustrating that there were some books, flowers, which were kept on last Sunday (now faded), matting floor and also an organ to produce music; it was played during worship. The poet had no hat, therefore, he took off his bicycle’s clip in order to show some respect. He gives further description of church-building. He saw the church had been renovated and cleaned. He read some verses from Bible; when he finished, he shouted “Here endeth”. In reply to his action, he heard some mocking sounds. Then he put his signatures on the book, drop sixpences in the charity box and exited. He did not find his visit worthwhile instead he called it a wastage of precious time.
The attitude of the poet towards religion and church, in the first two stanzas of the poem, is the worst. He had not mocked anyone but himself. Perhaps, it was the first time, when he visited the church or he was confused. It seemed that he had no etiquette. He thud shut the door. He did not pray with a strong belief; rather he examined the church like a tourist. In the end, he realized that his visit was worthless.
Philip Larkin is representative of his era. People in those days were fed up with religion. Due to chaos, people could not find peace in it. In fact, their belief in religion was fading day by day. The poet is not only telling his own story but the story of every person, belonging to his age. He has no faith in religion. He does not consider the church a useful place, It is just a building for him like other buildings in his city. There is no peace for him in it. Larkin said that the poem was not a religious poem but secular. Be that as it may, it reveals the downfall of religion.
Stanzas-III & IV Critical Analysis of Church Going:
Every time the poet visits the church, he feels that it is waste of time. He goes to the church with enthusiasm but returns hopeless. He finds every visit useless. The poet also depicts the future of churches, which is gloomy. He is sure that one day people will stop visiting the churches; buildings will be converted to museums and things will be kept in locked boxes so that people can see them. People will consider churches as unlucky places. Superstition beliefs will be reborn with the downfall of religion. There is another possibility that women would come to churches in order to find cures for their children. They would get amulets for the treatment of their children. It is also possible, says the poet, that people would find the souls of deads in the churches. But eventually, superstition beliefs will also come to an end. What will happen next?
In these stanzas, the downfall of religion is shown. A very sad future has been prophesied by the poet. He does not consider religion everlasting. It is temporary for him. The poet has not criticised the religion or the people but the purpose of going to churches. If religion fades, superstition beliefs will become stronger. Church buildings will become relics or museums. People will come and see holy objects. Religion and superstition beliefs are interlinked with each other. Where there is religion there must be superstition beliefs. From a secular point of view, this poem is not an attack on religion; rather it satirises superstition beliefs. It indicates the weaknesses of people. After the end of religion, there come superstition beliefs but what after it?
The poem is also about change. Rarely, any person shows consistency in religious activities or superstition beliefs. Both these things are switched by people according to their needs. If there is no peace in the hearts of the people then how can religion give them peace? From a secular point of view, the poem is not about religion but about people. Alfred Alvarez argues and says:-
“Church Going presents in concentrated form an image of the post-war Welfare State Englishman….. It is the image of a shabby Englishman who is not concerned with his appearance but who is poor, having a bike not a car, who is gauche (or clumsy) but full of agnostic piety; who is under-fed, under-paid, over-taxed, hopeless, bored and wry. ”
Alfred Alvarez on Critical Analysis of Church Going
It is right that from a secular point of view, chaos is reflected in the hearts of people, therefore, they are hopeless. Hope is necessary to find peace in religion which lacks in this case.
Stanzas V, VI & VII Critical Analysis of Church Going:
The last three stanzas of the poem depict the horrible condition of churches. With the passage of time, churches will no longer be recognized due to the growth of grass and plants. People will never know about these buildings. Like the poet, people will wonder about them. They will never know what purpose they serve. The poet also wonders who will be the last visitor, whether he will be an antiquarian or a worshiper. There is a possibility that churches would be used for the purpose of ritual ceremonies such as marriage and death.
Buildings will remain intact but they will not serve any serious sense. In the last stanza of the poem, Larkin gives hope to the readers. He says that whenever people will come to these dead buildings they will wonder about their purposes but soon will realize that they are religious places, therefore, the spiritual essence of churches would never be ignored nor forgotten. People would think that a visit to church would make them wise as dead bodies are buried there.
The poet is purely secular. In these lines, definitely he has exaggerated the future of churches. He has shown nature as the supreme commander of everything. Plants, trees and grass will hide the churches; people will come only for ritual ceremonies viz. marriage and death. The poet still has hope; he ends the poem while saying that the spiritual importance of churches can never be forgotten nor can it be underestimated. He has not shown any disrespect to religion. He has revealed his innersole. He writes what he feels.
There may be many meanings in the poem. It is also possible that the poet is criticising people; they go to churches to bring change to their destinies. They should struggle instead of just praying. Visiting church twice a day does not give anyone success but hard work may provide them. When people go to church time and again and do not find anything they give up on their prayers. They should know that God helps those who help themselves. Only prayer is not enough, struggle and hard work are also necessary.
It is also possible that after world war people became hopeless; there was neither charm nor peace in their lives, therefore, they did not find churches helpful. The poet may be a frustrated hopeless person who is not expecting any good future.
So far as the artistic qualities in the poem are concerned, the poem is a masterpiece. Like some other poems of Philip Larkin, this poem is also a dramatic monologue. It is full of symbols. A lot of symbols can be found in it. Images are also there. The meanings of the poem depend on the minds of the readers. For example, some consider it a religious poem whereas remaining secular. In short, the poem is the finest piece of literature.
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