I want The Summary of the Toad's warts?
Answers
Answer:
The word toad conjures up images of a grotesque, little amphibian and yet it is this little
animal that Larkin decides to base his poem on. He describes two toads. One is the exterior
influence that society has on and individual to work, and the other is the interior or personal
prompting to work. He takes a thirty six line attempt at finding away to elude the “squatting” of
the toads, and yet in the end his conclusion is that there is no way to hide from them.As the poem
begins, Larkin wastes no time in introducing the first toad, “Why should I let the toad work /
Squat on my life.”(1-2) The first toad is said to be equal to work. The use of this metaphor jogs
one’s memory to the social connotations that a toad upholds. One of these connotations is that a
toad is a repulsive little being, with an ugliness characterized in it warts or more precisely the
myth that those “uglies” are contagious. When this interpretation is used the poet is saying that
work is a ugly and repulsive entity, and its ugliness is contagious. A second interpretation of the
word toad can be found from fairy tales. In these types of works the toad is often seen as
something detestable on the exterior and yet of great value or beauty on the interior. An example
of this is the toad that when kissed by the princess was turned into a prince. In order for the real
identity of this amphibian to be realized, one must to get past the outer shell. In keeping with
this explanation Larkin can also be seen as saying that work at first appear as a hideous and
burdensome beast and yet after careful inspection and acceptance its true beauty is shown. Thus
one sees the first toad and views its composition as a combination of two interpretations.
A second item to note is the use of the verb “squat”(2) as the word to carry the action of
the toad. This word is definitely not one of the English languages most attractive words. Rather
by stretching one’s mind it can be seen as an “ugly” verb. The use of this “ugly” verb with a
noun that already has the connotation of being ugly pushes this metaphor to its maximum.
A second interesting metaphor in this stanza is the setting of “wit”(3) being equal to
“pitchfork”(3). This is a good parallel because it describes the versatility of wit in terms of a
pitchfork, which is also quite versatile. At the very minimum a pitchfork can be used for two
distinct objectives. It can be used as a device to picking up or carrying something. Secondly, it
can be used as weapon to fend off a foe. When using this interpretation the question in lines
three and four can be restated as, “Why can’t I use my wit to drive off work, and then also use
that same wit, like a pitchfork picking up hay, pick up the things of success?” By applying these
definitions it can be seen how Larkin’s choice of words gives the metaphor tremendous depth.
Another item to be noted in the first stanza is how Larkin brilliantly uses meter to give
the metaphors added feeling. He does this first by ending lines one and three with a double
accent. This gives the rhythm an awkward feel, as well as gives the word “work”(1) a inflection
of ugliness. He also does this with the word “pitchfork”(3), which gives it the feeling of
sharpness. Together, this strengthens the persuasive effect of the poem.
The second stanza continues on with a broadening of the description of the first toad.
Here another excellent metaphor is used when the toad is linked to a type of poison. Larkin has
just said that work “soils”(5) one with its poison and that the amount of this poison one has to
ingest is not proportional to the benefit it brings us. Instead this poison, otherwise known as
Answer:
toad is a repulsive little being, with an ugliness characterized in it warts or more precisely ... that same wit, like a pitchfork picking up hay, pick up the things of success