Annus Mirabilis

Sexual intercourse began

In nineteen sixty-three

(which was rather late for me) -

Between the end of the Chatterley ban

And the Beatles' first LP.

Up to then there'd only been

A sort of bargaining,

A wrangle for the ring,

A shame that started at sixteen

And spread to everything.

Then all at once the quarrel sank:

Everyone felt the same,

And every life became

A brilliant breaking of the bank,

A quite unlosable game.

So life was never better than

In nineteen sixty-three

(Though just too late for me) -

Between the end of the Chatterley ban

And the Beatles' first LP.

High Windows

When I see a couple of kids
And guess he's fucking her and she's
Taking pills or wearing a diaphragm,
I know this is paradise

Everyone old has dreamed of all their lives -
Bonds and gestures pushed to one side
Like an outdated combine harvester,
And everyone young going down the long slide

To happiness, endlessly. I wonder if
Anyone looked at me, forty years back,
And thought, That'll be the life;
No God any more, or sweating in the dark

About hell and that, or having to hide
What you think of the priest. He
And his lot will all go down the long slide
Like free bloody birds . And immediately
Rather than words comes the thought of high windows:
The sun-comprehending glass,
And beyond it, the deep blue air, that shows
Nothing, and is nowhere, and is endless.

I would like to refer my monographic essay to the poet Philip Larkin and his relation to the Sexual Revolution, I meant, in Larkin's time there were profound changes in matters referring to sex and the contraceptive methods. The sexual revolution refers to a significant change in sexual behaviour and sexual morality throughout the West (particularly in the U.S.A and the United Kingdom ) in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

T he sexual revolution was liberalization after a conservative period . Sex was openly discussed in books and music. Sexual practices that were previously considered unsuitable for discussion, such as oral sex, orgasm and homosexuality, were openly talked about. New methods of contraception allowed men and women to be able to control their own reproduction. The cheap availability of latex condoms for men and oral contraceptives for women added a sense of freedom to the sexual intercourse. When the oral contraceptives became available and sexually-transmitted diseases were easily treatable, there were lots of babies which were conceived outside of marriage (something that had been odd before the sexual revolution came, in other words, when the Church dominated society).

This sense of a new age of sexual freedom is ironically captured by Philip Larkin, in his poem, “ Annus Mirabilis” (1967). In line 3 “(which was rather late for me)” , the poet is regretting because it was too late for him. Before the sexual revolution came, young men and women always had to think twice before getting intimate because there was a high possibility to produce ‘unwanted' or ‘unplanned' children. However, with the invention of the pill, most of the young lovers of the ‘60s and ‘70s did not even have to think twice before making love to each other. In the first stanza of the poem, the author seems to show us that he would like to enjoy such sexual ‘advantages'. He gives us an impression in favour of the pill, and although he does not mention it, nevertheless, we have to keep in mind that Larkin is using an ironic tone.

A fact that has attracted my attention is the title of the poem itself: “ Annus Mirabilis” . Annus Mirabilis is a Latin expression, so if we translate this expression the meaning could be more or less ‘Impressive Year' or ‘Admirable Year' (literal translation). Therefore, 1963 (which is the year that Larkin mentions in the second line of his poem) could be described as Annus Mirabilis because the availability of the pill and the sexual revolution supposed a new culture of ‘free love'.

In “ Annus Mirabilis” , Larkin also explores a different kind of change over the time: the change of society's values. As I have said before, the Annus Mirabilis in question is 1963, where “ sexual intercourse began ” (line 1), “ Between the end of the Chatterley ban/And the Beatles' first LP ” (lines 4-5). These two last facts were very important, as was especially the appearance of Beatles' first LP, now that we have to keep in mind the tremendous importance and influence that this band had for the youths of the'60s and ‘70s.

The general feeling in the 1960's was one of emancipation, liberation, and freedom. The social shift, the revolution, is described in this poem as “ up till then there'd only been…/a shame that started at sixteen ” (lines 6-9), “ then all at once, the quarrel sank: /everyone felt the same ” (lines 11-12).

This poem was written in 1967, and I think that the poet is looking back, because it is “ just too late ” (line23) for him to be part of the experience.

At the time “ Annus Mirabilis ” was written, it was an era ironically illustrated like “ a brilliant breaking of the bank ” (line 14). Human relationships had changed and before the sexual revolution happened, love was only included inside the boundaries of marriage, and sometimes, marriage was not more than a sort of blackmail, as he says in the poem “ wrangle for a ring ” (line 8). But this poem should not confuse us because Larkin rejected modernism, as he declared in an essay reprinted in “ Required Writing” , and in several poems such as “ Going Going” and “ The Building” (both written in 1972), and above all, we have to keep in mind the ironic tone Larkin is using.

I would like to make reference to another Philip Larkin's poem called “ High Windows ”. In this poem the tone used by Larkin is much plainer. The poet is not as ironic as in “ Annus Mirabilis ”. At the beginning of this poem, Larkin seems to be in favour of the sexual revolution (lines 1-5). But we also can find a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia “That'll be the life” (line 11) . In “ High Windows” (1974), the poet compares himself to an “ outdated combine harvester ” (line 7) that harvester was represented in the 1950s as an advance of modern agricultural technology but later in the ‘60s, it was replaced by more advanced machinery. The poet looks at the contemporary society as if it was in a permanent state of happiness which is endless. Larkin is observing changes in habits and practises of which he does not feel a part. In this poem, the author has the same feeling that he has in “ Annus Mirabilis ”, that feeling of regret, the fact that it is too late for him. although Larkin had conservative ideas, I think that he was in favour of the sexual revolution; I think Larkin's aptitude in reference to the pill and the n ew methods of contraception was positive. In my opinion, Larkin knew how to value of being able to speak about sex without any kind of limitations or restrictions “ or having to hide/ What you think of the priest” (lines 13-14).