Larkin’s poem “Clifton” is portrayed through the voice of a man who has an addiction to pills and alcohol. However, Larkin has also portrayed his recovery and struggle to live and not just exist. This poem opens with the agency addressing his problematic addiction that has consumed his life. The speaker of the poem is introduced by the use of first person narration to make the reader steep into the shoes of the speaker. Within the first four lines, the reader is able to hear a reflective tone while the narrator establishes his issues that he has endured within the past and present. “I loved booze, / and booze and pills I loved more. / I still love them./ I still want them” (1-4). Using past and present tenses the readers is able to establish …show more content…
This stanza reveals the narrators confusion and addresses within the first line of the stanza his disbelief that he is alive. Throughout this stanza, he reveals the “turn” of the poem and his recovery. “When I stopped, I thought, / This is unspeakable deprivation” (46-47). The word “deprivation” is the narrator’s disbelief and realization of what he is doing to himself. After eleven months of pain and anguish, Larkin’s elucidates the narrator’s self-absorption, “pitying myself” (48). Unlike most recovering alcoholics, when released from rehabilitation the speaker celebrates dinner with board members and enjoys two glasses of wine. In addition, the poem jumps back into the “gaze” of the narrator reflecting upon his one-year sobriety, “with two glasses of wine, the first in a year” (50). Within this moment, the reader believes that the speaker has picked up his habit again. “I poured scotch into a tumbler, / and I couldn’t drink it./ I couldn’t. I thought, I can’t go through all that again (55-57). Analyzing the italic text, one is able to conclude that the italicized words are the deepest thoughts of the narrator. Moreover, the speaker’s realization of what is happening within past. The fact that the narrator could not drink again demonstrates his resolve but most of all his desire to