The Importance of Elsewhere

The poem The Importance of Elsewhere includes three stanza, each with four lines. The themes consist of Time and isolation and relates to the poem 'Here' because it is opposite to it.

Before he came to Hull, Larkin worked in a library in Belfast, where the inspiration for this poem “lonely in Ireland” comes from. He did, however, dislike travel and being away from England, though as this poem demonstrates, it does have advantages.

In the first stanza, and into the second, the persona explores the idea of being “elsewhere”. “Strangeness” there “made sense”, because when we're “elsewhere”, it makes sense to be an outsider and stranger. “Salt rebuff of speech” is a description of the harsh northern Irish accent, and Larkin likes that it is “Insisting so on difference” – for him, it is a relief to not have to be the same as the people around him. He says That it is ok to be lonley in another country because that is what is expected when u walk into  different culture.

The second stanza describes Belfast, evoking all the senses: “draughty streets” (touch), “archaic smell” (smell), “herring-hawker’s cry” (hearing). In some ways, the description is similar to the “fishy-smelling / Pastoral” in ‘Here’. Though different, Larkin feels he has an excuse for that difference in “To prove me separate, not unworkable”.

 In the third stanza,“Living in England has no such excuse”, however. Notice the pronoun usage which also augments the difference: “Their streets…” and in England, these are “my customs”. In England he can't compare himself to anyone because they are like him. Larkin is meant to belong in England but he doesnt, which is why their is " no such excuse" to be lonely in England While he could get away with being antisocial in Ireland, “It would be much more serious to refuse.” The final line reminds us again of the poem ‘Here’ with its first word, and the isolation that he seeks. “Underwrites” is a legal term, meaning to guarantee or confirm; it is ironic really that only in “elsewhere” can he feel confirmed of his “existence”.