Wedding Wind by Philip Larkin - Explanation

The poem narrates the story of a newly-wedded bride in her own words who tells about the incidents of her wedding night and the following day. The wind blew heavily that day and the next day witnessed too the same weathering phenomenon. This blowing of the wind symbolises the passion arisen in the heart of the bride.

On her wedding night, she is with her husband and then someone knocks the door to call her husband and he leaves his bride alone in the light of "candlestick". It is raining and she felt stupid upon his husband's act of leaving her alone on their wedding night. After his return, he tells her the reason for his departure i.e. their horses were growing restless and he had to tame them. She sarcastically feels that on her special day, every man and creature should be as happy as her husband. For any girl, the wedding is the most special and anticipated day of her life. She wishes to love her husband and receive the same in return.

The next day, the newly-wed couple engage in their daily chores. It is a sunny day with the wind blowing like before. She is jubilant as it's the new chapter of her life. Her husband has gone to check the flood damage and she feeds their chickens. She stares at the sky filled with clouds moving due to the wind. When the wind "thrash" her apron, she broods and attributes the weather as the coming of joy in her new married life. She compares it with "a thread carrying beads" The joy of waking with her husband in the morning is a gift of love. In the end, she wonders if there is an end to her joyous state and believes that even death can't take away her happiness.

So, the poem depicts the love of a girl and her joy due to the religious sanction of marriage. The wind finds several mentions in the poem marks a mysterious meaning. Throughout the poem, the husband's absence symbolises the unequal importance to love between the girl and her husband.

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