Talking in Bed- Philip Larkin

In Talking in Bed, Philip Larkin describes a situation between two people that has grown unfair. The poem is about lovers that have grown apart, but have not yet been able to openly express their emotions. Vendler describes this poem as meditative, where it seems as if “nothing happens” and the subjects of the poem are in the same place at the end as they were in the beginning.

The most interesting part of this poem came in the last two lines, which read:

“Words at once true and kind,
Or not untrue and not unkind.”

These two lines seem to really capture what Larkin was trying to describe throughout the entire poem. In these lines, it is apparent that the two lovers were once in an open and honest relationship where there was no problems expressing how they felt. However, they are now trapped in a place that was once the most welcoming area for communication. As it appears now, the two “lovers” are caught in a balance between being able to discuss the distance they are feeling and seeming to still have some feelings for each other. It is as if the two are still concerned with not hurting the other person’s feelings, so instead of saying things that are not true or being completely honest, they are using words that are “not untrue” and words that are “not unkind”. In these closing lines, the reader can finally get a sense of the degree of estrangement felt between the couple.