‘The Beckoning Obstruction’: On the theme of scarcity in the poetry of Peter Larkin

Abstract

Although he writes almost exclusively about trees and one of his main themes is scarcity, Peter Larkin should not be considered only an ecological nature poet. A close examination of his verse reveals him to be also a complex metaphysician whose work is infused with subtly allegorical elements which undercut any apparent ignoring or side-lining of the human. One can approach it in terms of a revealing tension between form and content, between the astonishing plenitude of what he has to say about a remorselessly single subject-matter – trees – and his consistent invocation of their magnificent fragility. Thereby he implies a paradoxical coincidence of the fullness of Creation and creativity with the undertaken risk of weakness and rarity. Equivalently and inversely, the ascent of trees towards transcendence has to go by way of a horizontal deviation. From the resulting diagonal an intricate and enigmatic beauty results, which invites a covertly theological rendering.

Keywords

• tree
• scarcity
• allegory
• vertical
• diagonal
• Peter Larkin