How Much Money Does a Man Require?: A Study of the Poems on Money by D. H. Lawrence and Philip Larkin

Abstract

Many prominent poets so far have written poems on money including D H Lawrence and Philip Larkin. The present paper is the result of the study of the poems of D H Lawrence and Philip Larkin on money. The paper attempts to analyze and critically appreciate the poems to found out similarities and differences in them in terms of the attitude to and opinion of money of the poets. One of the major similarities is both the poets talk about the ill effects of money on money and the resulting sorrow and suffering. According to them there are so many things in the life other than money that go in making life meaningful and blissful. The poems give us insights into the true meaning of human life as well as how far money is necessary to make it meaningful. In short, money should be treated as a means, but certainly not as an end of life.