<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>This essay presents a cognitive stylistic analysis of Philip Larkin’s “Talking in Bed,” highlighting the linguistic functions that aid the reader in the meaning-making process. In the poem, the realization of truth dawns upon the persona in the final moments of a lingering introspection, shedding light on the reason for which he is lying in bed beside his partner, profoundly incapable of uttering a word. It seems to him, in the end, that truth is indispensable to human relationships. This essay represents a thorough attempt at textually analyzing the poem, broaching snippets of knowledge from multiple fields – philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and literature – all in an attempt to present a comprehensive interpretation of Larkin’s poem. The aim is to further evidence the speaker’s realization, that the articulation of truth is a vital element in a healthy relationship, and to provide an understanding of the stylistic technique most utilized by Larkin, namely, the linguistic deviation he usually deploys by the end of his poems. I argue that the ambiguity he instills at the end of this poem makes for a cognitive attempt at empathically communicating to the reader the sense of meaninglessness the persona suffers from throughout the poem.</p></abstract>

This essay presents a cognitive stylistic analysis of Philip Larkin’s “Talking in Bed,” highlighting the linguistic functions that aid the reader in the meaning-making process. In the poem, the realization of truth dawns upon the persona in the final moments of a lingering introspection, shedding light on the reason for which he is lying in bed beside his partner, profoundly incapable of uttering a word. It seems to him, in the end, that truth is indispensable to human relationships. This essay represents a thorough attempt at textually analyzing the poem, broaching snippets of knowledge from multiple fields – philosophy, psychology, linguistics, and literature – all in an attempt to present a comprehensive interpretation of Larkin’s poem. The aim is to further evidence the speaker’s realization, that the articulation of truth is a vital element in a healthy relationship, and to provide an understanding of the stylistic technique most utilized by Larkin, namely, the linguistic deviation he usually deploys by the end of his poems. I argue that the ambiguity he instills at the end of this poem makes for a cognitive attempt at empathically communicating to the reader the sense of meaninglessness the persona suffers from throughout the poem.

On Telling the Truth: A Cognitive Stylistic Reading of Philip Larkin’s “Talking in Bed”

East-West Cultural Passage

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

This essay presents a cognitive stylistic analysis of Philip Larkin’s “Talking in Bed,” highlighting the linguistic functions that aid the reader in the...

On Telling the Truth: A Cognitive Stylistic Reading of Philip Larkin’s “Talking in Bed”

Published Online: Jan 29, 2021

Page range: 110 - 123

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ewcp-2020-0006

Keywords
Philip Larkin, “Talking in Bed”, poetry, stylistics, linguistics, cognitive stylistics, truth, philosophy, analysis, Jordan Peterson, telling the truth, relationships, deviation, ambiguity, defamiliarization

© 2020 Sohaib Malkawi, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

On Telling the Truth: A Cognitive Stylistic Reading of Philip Larkin’s “Talking in Bed”

Published Online: Jan 29, 2021

Page range: 110 - 123

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ewcp-2020-0006

KeywordsPhilip Larkin, “Talking in Bed”, poetry, stylistics, linguistics, cognitive stylistics, truth, philosophy, analysis, Jordan Peterson, telling the truth, relationships, deviation, ambiguity, defamiliarization

© 2020 Sohaib Malkawi, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Philip Larkin, “Talking in Bed”, poetry, stylistics, linguistics, cognitive stylistics, truth, philosophy, analysis, Jordan Peterson, telling the truth, relationships, deviation, ambiguity, defamiliarization