Quotes by Philip Larkin

Explore a curated collection of 18 quotes by Philip Larkin. Discover timeless wisdom, insightful thoughts, and memorable words that have inspired readers around the world. Browse through the gallery below and click on any quote to read more.

Time has transfigured them intoUntruth. The stone fidelityThey hardly meant has come to beTheir final blazon, and to pro — Philip Larkin
So many things I had thought forgottenReturn to my mind with stranger pain:Like letters that arrive addressed to someone — Philip Larkin
Only in books the flat and final happens, Only in dreams we meet and interlock.... — Philip Larkin
The Old FoolsWhat do they think has happened, the old fools,To make them like this ? Do they somehow supposeIt's more gr — Philip Larkin
Poetry is nobody’s business except the poet’s, and everybody else can fuck off. — Philip Larkin
Sexual intercourse began in nineteen sixty-three (Which was rather late for me) between the end of the Chatterley ban an — Philip Larkin
SEX is designed for people who like overcoming obstacles. — Philip Larkin
Never such innocence,Never before or since,As changed itself to pastWithout a word--the menLeaving the gardens tidy,The — Philip Larkin
I'd like to think...that people in pubs would talk about my poems — Philip Larkin
Maiden Name Marrying left your maiden name disused. Its five light sounds no longer mean your face, Your voice, and all — Philip Larkin
I think that at the bottom of all art lies the impulse to preserve. — Philip Larkin
Sex means nothing--just the moment of ecstasy, that flares and dies in minutes. — Philip Larkin
Much better stay in company!To love you must have someone else,Giving requires a legatee,Good neighbours need whole pari — Philip Larkin
Caught in the center of a soundless fieldWhile hot inexplicable hours go byWhat trap is this? Where were its teeth conce — Philip Larkin
Poetry is an affair of sanity, of seeing things as they are. — Philip Larkin
I have wished you something None of the others would.... — Philip Larkin
MCMXIVThose long uneven linesStanding as patientlyAs if they were stretched outsideThe Oval or Villa Park,The crowns of — Philip Larkin
You can't put off being young until you retire. — Philip Larkin