'At Grass' (1950) is a poem by famous British poet Philip Larkin. It focuses on the lives of once-famous racehorses as they near their deaths. Larkin's poem takes on a nostalgic tone as it muses on mortality and freedom.
Below is a summary of 'At Grass' and an exploration of its key themes. You will also find an in-depth analysis of Larkin's poem.
'At Grass' by Philip Larkin
Below is a helpful table that contains key information about 'At Grass'.
| Written in | 1950 |
| Written by | Philip Larkin |
| Form | Elegy |
| Metre | Iambic tetrameter |
| Rhyme scheme | ABCABC |
| Poetic devices | Enjambment, personification |
| Frequently noted imagery | Natural imagery |
| Tone | Melancholy, nostalgic, accepting |
| Key themes | Ageing, nostalgia, freedom, death |
| Meaning | The value of living in the present and not dwelling on the past. The inevitability of death. |
'At Grass': poem
Let's first consider the poem itself:
The eye can hardly pick them out
From the cold shade, they shelter in,
Till wind distresses tail and mane;
Then one crops grass, and moves about
- The other seeming to look on -
And stands anonymous again.
Yet fifteen years ago, perhaps
Two dozen distances sufficed
To fable them: faint afternoons
Of Cups and Stakes and Handicaps,
Whereby their names were artificed
To inlay faded, classic Junes -
Silks at the start: against the sky
Numbers and parasols: outside,
Squadrons of empty cars, and heat,
And littered grass: then the long cry
Hanging unhushed till it subside
To stop-press columns on the street.
Do memories plague their ears like flies?
They shake their heads. Dusk brims the shadows.
Summer by summer all stole away,
The starting-gates, the crowd and cries -
All but the unmolesting meadows.
Almanacked, their names live; they
Have slipped their names, and stand at ease,
Or gallop for what must be joy,
And not a fieldglass sees them home,
Or curious stop-watch prophesies:
Only the groom, and the groom's boy,
With bridles in the evening come.
'At Grass': summary
We will now break down 'At Grass' stanza by stanza.
Stanza one
Larkin opens 'At Grass' using the 'they' pronoun. This makes the subjects of the poem initially ambiguous. The group he writes of are hard to see and spend their time in the shade. In the third line of stanza one, Larkin uses the words 'tail' and 'mane', clarifying that he is referring to horses. These horses spend their time standing around and eating. No one seems to know anything about them.
Stanza two
The second stanza of 'At Grass' details that this anonymity was not always the case. Fifteen years previous, these horses were famous racehorses. Larkin's narrator then includes some details about the prestigious races the horses once ran in. He includes the distances ran and the names of the various races. The horses gained great fame with their names being carved into trophies after their various victories on the racecourse. However, these trophies have now faded in the time that has passed.
Stanza three
Larkin goes on in this stanza to describe the atmosphere of the races these horses used to take part in. The silks he refers to are the shirts of the jockeys atop the horses. 'At Grass' also depicts the large number of people that would brave the June heat to attend and bet on the races. They would cheer loudly for their favourite horse, and then the results would be reported in the newspapers afterwards, showing their importance.
Stanza four
In stanza four, Larkin's narrator wonders if the horses nostalgically remember their glory days but comes to the conclusion that they do not. As animals, they live in ignorance of their past. They are now at the end of their lives and long removed from the summers in which they raced. These horses spend their days in peaceful fields, bothered by no one. However, the fame of their names is remembered and lives on.
Stanza five
Larkin then acknowledges that though the horses' names live on, they are disconnected from these names in their retirement. They live calm lives, doing what comes naturally to horses: galloping. No one is looking at them or betting on them. Only the staff that works in their stables see them now.
'At Grass' by Philip Larkin: themes
Let's consider some key themes in 'At Grass'. Larkin's poem revolves around the themes of ageing and nostalgia. The narrator is looking back at the past of these racehorses who are now in retirement and close to death.
The retired status of the horses is emphasised by the title of the poem, 'At Grass'. This phrase refers to when someone is retiring or stepping back from work due to their advanced age. Larkin writes of the horses' heyday and how celebrated and lauded they once were for their racing skills. However, they now lead peaceful and quiet lives as old animals.
Larkin remarks on the fact that the horses do not think about their past nor experience nostalgia for it as they are merely animals. 'At Grass' is drawing on the difference between humans and animals here. Humans in this situation would likely ponder their past and dwell on it. The narrator's human perspective also allows him an awareness of death and the fact that it is coming for the horses, as it comes for everyone.
However, the horses are portrayed as more peaceful because they do not do any of this. The theme of freedom is relevant here. Larkin's narrator suggests that the horses' lack of awareness of their successful pasts frees them from dwelling on their mortality, as humans often do. This freedom can be seen in the below quote that comes in the final stanza of 'At Grass'.
Have slipped their names, and stand at ease,
Or gallop for what must be joy (ll. 25-26)
'At Grass': analysis
Now we will break down and analyse 'At Grass' in more depth.
Meaning
'At Grass' focuses on mortality and nostalgia. Larkin muses on formerly successful racehorses and their now peaceful lives in retirement. As they are animals, they do not think about the past. Instead, they simply live in the present. Such an existence is implicitly contrasted with how humans would deal with a similar situation. Larkin proposes that the horses are happiest because they do not dwell on nostalgia. Their names live on as they happily exist in ignorance of this.
However, the human narrator of 'At Grass' also focuses on the inevitability of death as he has an awareness that the horses do not possess. He focuses on how death is near for these old horses and, further, how it is unavoidable for everyone despite any successes they may have while alive.
Form, metre, and rhyme scheme
'At Grass' is an elegy. Through the device of the retired racehorses, Larkin muses on mortality and the inevitability of death.
An elegy is a poem that reflects on death and mortality. It is often written specifically for a person who has passed, but it can also be more generally focused on the topics of loss and death.
'At Grass' also has a consistent metre and rhyme scheme. It consists of five stanzas, each of six lines with eight syllables per line. The rhyme scheme of 'At Grass' is ABCABC, and its metre is in iambic tetrameter.
Iambic tetrameter is a type of poetic metre. A poem in this style has lines made of four iambic feet each, with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable found twice per line.
The consistent style of 'At Grass' represents the consistency of life and mortality. Despite any and all achievements while alive, death and the cycle of life are inescapable.
Poetic devices
We will now consider the poetic devices used in 'At Grass'.
Enjambment
'At Grass' makes use of enjambment.
Enjambment is a poetic technique in which a line runs into the next line or stanza without the use of any punctuation to separate them. This device can also be referred to as 'run-on lines'.
There are many instances of enjambment in 'At Grass', with one such being found below.
Yet fifteen years ago, perhaps
Two dozen distances sufficed
To fable them: faint afternoons
Of Cups and Stakes and Handicaps, (ll. 7-10)
Enjambment encourages the audience to read on faster to discover the meaning behind the lines. It can create a sense of urgency and drama. Larkin uses enjambment in this stanza in reference to the racehorses' famous past successes. The urgency here emphasises the activity and excitement of the life the horses were once a part of.
Personification
Personification is also present in 'At Grass'.
Personification is when human characteristics are applied to non-human things. These can be animals or inanimate objects.
The personification in Larkin's poem can be found in the below lines from stanza four.
Do memories plague their ears like flies?
They shake their heads. (ll. 19-20)
Larkin's narrator states that the horses shake their heads. This is attributing human-like qualities to animals who would not naturally do this. Larkin is doing this to draw attention to the differences between humans and animals. This is an important thematic focus of 'At Grass'. Personifying the horses highlights how differently humans view mortality when compared to animals who do not have the ability to think about such topics. Humans think about death and mortality, often becoming caught up in nostalgia for the past. But animals, as in 'At Grass', are more at peace because they cannot think of these things. They live in blissful ignorance.
Frequently noted imagery
Next, we will look at imagery in 'At Grass'.
Natural imagery
The beginning and end stanzas of 'At Grass' are focused on the horses' retirement away from the bustle of horse racing. There is a large amount of natural imagery used here. In the fourth stanza of the poem, Larkin paints a picture of the natural world that the horses now inhabit. He writes that 'dusk brims the shadows' as they stand in their 'unmolesting meadows'. Larkin uses this imagery to paint a peaceful picture of the natural world.
The use of the word 'unmolesting' in this stanza is striking and quite unusual. This is not a word typically associated with the peace of nature. Larkin is using the word in this context to draw a contrast between the horses' previous life and their life now in retirement. The use of this word suggests that this previous life may have been far from 'unmolesting'. Larkin hints that fame and existing in the public eye can be intrusive and overbearing. However, the horses are free from all this now. They are also separate from humans, who may suffer similar fates because they have always existed in ignorance of any possible intrusions.
Tone
The tone of 'At Grass' is nostalgic and melancholy. It is preoccupied with mortality and the passage of time, pondering on how the glory days of these racehorses have now passed. Larkin uses metaphorical language to reference the fact that death is close for these animals.
A metaphor is when something is used to describe something else without either thing being directly linked to the other.
For example, the idea of 'dusk' coming in amongst the fields is a metaphor for the fact that these horses are nearing the end of their lives. Just as the day ends, so will their lives.
However, 'At Grass' is also accepting of these facts. It presents ageing as a reality and does not attempt to fight against it. Larkin's narrator sees it as natural.
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