FOR SIDNEY BECHET

Philip Larkin

SIDNEY BECHET

Jazz musician
For Sidney Bechet is seen as a tribute to his
music
Considered one of the first notable jazz
[saxophonists] (wikipedia)
Was born and raised in New Orleans the
birthplace of jazz
Most popular during the late 1940s, died in
1959. FSB was written in 1954.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po8J4NBdiSc

Larkin

Set in a brothel glorious Storyvilles

Larkin is focused on the music, saying Bechet
[Mutes] the Red Light District of New Orleans.
Surrounded by people he finds distasteful
White scholars manqus, Sporting-house girls
like circus tigers
Compares Bechets music to love your voice
falls on me as they say love should
Seems happy and content, but there is an
underlying tone of sadness as with most Larkin
poems final word is pity.

Focusing in Comparison to
Love

Jazz is sultry and traditional, Larkin enjoyed

traditional things and was against modern lifestyles.
Music is art. Larkin uses the rhyming scheme, ABAB
CDCD throughout in order to create a relaxing tone.
In this sense, hes using Bechet as an example of art
encouraging romance flower-baskets and
quadrilles, Everyone making love and going shares.
Cynical of love as seen in other poems such as
Talking in Bed. Suggests love will always end, and
relates this to Bechets music long-haired grief and
pity

Going shares means taking it easy

The stages

The poem seems to go through 3 stages and covers

different themes in each stanza
Music, romance and grief
He happens upon transcendence due to the note [Bechet
holds], narrowing and rising and paints Bechet with
fascination and respect, with all ears involved in
listening.
Contrarily, he sees Bechets music as an awakening for
falsehood.
There are two sides Bechets jazz creating a setting for
romance being a good thing (Everyone making love) or
it being a negative, girls like circus tigers (priced far
above rubies) to pretend their fads

Grief

The final stanza suggests Bechets music as a force

to [Scatter] long-haired grief and scored pity.
Again, this could have two interpretations:
Scattering in order to get rid of, deal it out
evenly to make it more bearable (music lifting
spirits and allowing people to go shares) OR
Scattering in order to spread, suggesting Larkin
believes its the beautiful things in life which make
you realise the ugly relates to love dying out,
scored pity sounds rehearsed as if Bechets
intention is for people to empathise with the darker
side of his music.

Struggling persona

Larkins persona seems to go through a

contrasting thought-span, though beginning
admirably towards Bechet and obviously
echoing the tribute name this poem has been
giving, he incorporates negative wording in
each stanza to maintain a glum undertone:
Shakes, falsehood, Mute, like circus
tigers, pretend their fads, unnoticed, old
plaids, speech alone, long-haired grief and
scored pity
Sense of doubt

Thank you!