--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in…" description: "\"I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the early '60s and when Sylvia Plath's \"Ariel\" came out it knocked me off my feet.\" — Stephen Dobyns" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg" --- # I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the… ![“I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the early '60s and when Sylvia Plath's "Ariel" came out it knocked me off my feet.” quote by Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg) > “I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the early '60s and when Sylvia Plath's "Ariel" came out it knocked me off my feet.” [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encountering Philip Larkin and Sylvia Plath's work profoundly impacted the speaker in their youth. **In simple terms:** Literary encounters in youth were transformative. Key Takeaway Seek powerful literature that moves you. Themes literature influence youth art Mood nostalgic inspirational Type reflective literary When to use this quote - college courses - book clubs - creative writing - personal growth Key Concepts poetry cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - Which works still resonate today? - How do you integrate literary inspiration into life? A Different Perspective Impact may fade over time without continued engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ariel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ariel/) [Ariel Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ariel-came-5161383/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philip/) [Philip Larkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philip-larkin-1219840/) [Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plath/) [Plath Ariel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plath-ariel-6007280/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Sylvia plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sylvia-plath/) ## Related quotes > [“Sylvia Plath and I met a long time ago. A really long time ago. Was it a summer day? No! It was a wintry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/sylvia-plath-and-i-met-a-long-time-ago-a-really-long-time-ago-was-it/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“We have conversations with each other most nights - Sylvia Plath and me!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/we-have-conversations-with-each-other-most-nights-sylvia-plath-and-me/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) > [“If too much has been made of the symptoms of Plath’s mental illness, so too little attention has been paid to its possible causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-wilson/if-too-much-has-been-made-of-the-symptoms-of-plath-s-mental-illness/) [Andrew Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-wilson/) > [It would be amazing to play Sylvia Plath. She was so dark, and what came out of her writing was troubled and fierce. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/it-would-be-amazing-to-play-sylvia-plath-she-was-so-dark-and-what/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [Like all twenty-one-year-old poets, I thought I would be dead by thirty, and Sylvia Plath had not set a helpful example. For a while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/like-all-twenty-one-year-old-poets-i-thought-i-would-be-dead-by/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Sylvia Plath. Interesting poetess whose tragic suicide was misinterpreted as romantic by the college-girl mentality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/sylvia-plath-interesting-poetess-whose-tragic-suicide-was/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Like Sylvia Plath, Natalie Jeanne Champagne invites you so close to the pain and agony of her life of mental illness and addiction, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/like-sylvia-plath-natalie-jeanne-champagne-invites-you-so-close-to/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [I love Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. I also love more cerebral poets like H.D. and Emily Dickinson. My parents subscribed to a monthly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/i-love-sylvia-plath-and-anne-sexton-i-also-love-more-cerebral-poets/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [Sylvia Plath wasn't scared of exploring the darker side of her psyche.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-bledel/sylvia-plath-wasn-t-scared-of-exploring-the-darker-side-of-her-psyche/) [Alexis Bledel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-bledel/) > [Sylvia Plath was just a month and a half older than I, and when she committed suicide I was only 30 - and very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-stevenson/sylvia-plath-was-just-a-month-and-a-half-older-than-i-and-when-she/) [Anne Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-stevenson/) > [“The blood jet is poetry, There is no stopping it. 'Kindness' by Sylvia Plath”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-blood-jet-is-poetry-there-is-no-stopping-it-kindness-by-sylvia/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I began to realize, with some little horror, that she was nothing more than a lowbrow, pop-psychology version of Sylvia Plath. It lasted forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-began-to-realize-with-some-little-horror-that-she-was-nothing-more/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“And besides, I'm not a writer. I don't go to coffeehouses and smoke, wear black, and analyze Sylvia Plath to the point of depression.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/and-besides-i-m-not-a-writer-i-don-t-go-to-coffeehouses-and-smoke/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“Sylvia Plath is there for me when actual living people upon who I have depended upon my whole life, are not. What I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlaina-tibensky/sylvia-plath-is-there-for-me-when-actual-living-people-upon-who-i/) [Arlaina Tibensky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlaina-tibensky/) > [ \[Short Talk on Sylvia Plath\] Did you see her mother on television? She said plain, burned things. She said I thought it an excellent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/short-talk-on-sylvia-plath-did-you-see-her-mother-on-television-she/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) ## More by Stephen Dobyns > [Love doesn't need a reason. Hate needs a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/love-doesn-t-need-a-reason-hate-needs-a-reason/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [“Isn't that why you want to shoot yourself? To make a protest against change?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/isn-t-that-why-you-want-to-shoot-yourself-to-make-a-protest-against/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [“If he could not find beauty, nothing else would be worth finding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/if-he-could-not-find-beauty-nothing-else-would-be-worth-finding/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [He thinks of that ocean house and wishes he were back in his former life or that one could take one moment and remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/he-thinks-of-that-ocean-house-and-wishes-he-were-back-in-his-former/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [My wife's dying upstairs and I can't do anything about it. I look in her face and I see the memories there. I see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/my-wife-s-dying-upstairs-and-i-can-t-do-anything-about-it-i-look-in/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [Other than fiction and poetry I tend to read history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/other-than-fiction-and-poetry-i-tend-to-read-history/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [Each thing I do, I rush through so I can do something else. In such a way do the days pass---a blend of stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/each-thing-i-do-i-rush-through-so-i-can-do-something-else-in-such-a/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [“A work of art gives testimony to what it is to be a human being. It bears witness, it extracts meaning. A work of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/a-work-of-art-gives-testimony-to-what-it-is-to-be-a-human-being-it/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [“It was not that she felt any allegiance to the truth. God knows she had cheated on too many men for the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/it-was-not-that-she-felt-any-allegiance-to-the-truth-god-knows-she/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [I'm reading "The Sunset of a Splendid Century" by W.H. Lewis. He was C.S. Lewis's brother. He wrote two books about the French court…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-m-reading-the-sunset-of-a-splendid-century-by-w-h-lewis-he-was-c-s/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [“Each thing I do I rush through so I can do something else.. in such a way do the days pass.. I see all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/each-thing-i-do-i-rush-through-so-i-can-do-something-else-in-such-a-2/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [It was as if pain were a room he had entered and the door had been locked behind him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/it-was-as-if-pain-were-a-room-he-had-entered-and-the-door-had-been/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [Many of my poems try to use a comic element to reach a place that isn't comic at all. The comic element works as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/many-of-my-poems-try-to-use-a-comic-element-to-reach-a-place-that-isn/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [I majored in English in college and that was my major in graduate school before switching to creative writing. I read a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-majored-in-english-in-college-and-that-was-my-major-in-graduate/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) > [Sometimes someone will tell me about an author I've never heard of before and that will send me to that person. That's how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/sometimes-someone-will-tell-me-about-an-author-i-ve-never-heard-of/) [Stephen Dobyns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) [Explore all 50 Stephen Dobyns quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/) ## More Ariel quotes > [Want to talk third wave feminism, you could cite Ariel Levy and the idea that women have internalized male oppression. Going to spring break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/want-to-talk-third-wave-feminism-you-could-cite-ariel-levy-and-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [ In 1982, when Alexander Haig and \[Ariel\] Sharon put this plan to invade the south of Lebanon and Beirut, they imagined that in two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasser-arafat/in-1982-when-alexander-haig-and-ariel-sharon-put-this-plan-to-invade/) [Yasser Arafat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasser-arafat/) > [“For the eyeing of my scars, there is a charge”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/for-the-eyeing-of-my-scars-there-is-a-charge/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [”Ariel Sharon is a man of courage and a man of peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/ariel-sharon-is-a-man-of-courage-and-a-man-of-peace/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [An old couple came running from a motorhome, scribbling as they ran. Their sign read, Can you check on our cat, Ariel? No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/an-old-couple-came-running-from-a-motorhome-scribbling-as-they-ran/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [Ariel is the only Disney Princess to have had a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muniir-zero/ariel-is-the-only-disney-princess-to-have-had-a-child/) [Muniir Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muniir-zero/) > [It's totally true: Ariel, Christopher Owens, me, and Courtney Love, all in Saint Laurent ads, all with the same haircut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-cole-smith/it-s-totally-true-ariel-christopher-owens-me-and-courtney-love-all-in/) [Zachary Cole Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-cole-smith/) > [“The collar had restrained his winds but not killed them. They uncoiled from behind the shadows, ready to surround her, to lift her up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-mantchev/the-collar-had-restrained-his-winds-but-not-killed-them-they-uncoiled/) [Lisa Mantchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-mantchev/) > [At one point, I animated villains in our stories, a bear or a giant, then on The Little Mermaid Ariel just called to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-keane/at-one-point-i-animated-villains-in-our-stories-a-bear-or-a-giant/) [Glen Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-keane/) > [Come unto these yellow sands, And then take hands. Curtsied when you have and kissed The wild waves whist, Foot is featly here and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/come-unto-these-yellow-sands-and-then-take-hands-curtsied-when-you/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Ariel Gordon is superbly, supremely, a poet of the body. She finds words for the physicality of the forest, of the garden, of pregnancy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kroetsch/ariel-gordon-is-superbly-supremely-a-poet-of-the-body-she-finds-words/) [Robert Kroetsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kroetsch/) > [“(Ursula) She was a boss babe running a business, and doing it in style.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-hart/ursula-she-was-a-boss-babe-running-a-business-and-doing-it-in-style/) [Lily Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-hart/) > [“She probably fell asleep and was washed away by the tortoise waves!” -Arista”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalia-hades/she-probably-fell-asleep-and-was-washed-away-by-the-tortoise-waves/) [Khalia Hades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalia-hades/) > [Mind is locked in matter like the spirit Ariel in a cloven pine. Like Ariel, men struggle to escape the drag of the matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/mind-is-locked-in-matter-like-the-spirit-ariel-in-a-cloven-pine-like/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“I think of Ariel, my local neighborhood mermaid, how she only had twenty-four hours to turn her life around...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-celebi/i-think-of-ariel-my-local-neighborhood-mermaid-how-she-only-had/) [Shannon Celebi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-celebi/) [Browse all 49 Ariel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ariel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the early '60s and when Sylvia Plath's \"Ariel\" came out it knocked me off my feet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Dobyns" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in-my-20s-in-the-early-60s-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ariel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in-my-20s-in-the-early-60s-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b6/stephen-dobyns-13599_ariel_i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in_3212502.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I remember coming upon Philip Larkin in my 20s in the early '60s and when Sylvia Plath's \"Ariel\" came out it…” — Stephen Dobyns", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen Dobyns", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-dobyns/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I remember coming upon Philip Larkin...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in-my-20s-in-the-early-60s-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-dobyns/i-remember-coming-upon-philip-larkin-in-my-20s-in-the-early-60s-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```