The opening line of the poem is Larkin giving his opinion of the status of the hospital "Higher than the handsomest hotel", his opinion being that the hospital may not look like much but it serves a noble purpose and buildings such as hotels are inferior in this way. Also this can be read to say that the hospital dominates the skyline and is a landmark, "The lucent comb shows up for miles".

This is a place were people come and wait to be seen, this is the subject of both the second and third stanzas, this is the main activity that appears to go on in the building. "Like an airport lounge", "tea at so much a cup" minor details that are important in the monotony of waiting. The people that are waiting are "caugh

This poem is Larkin summing up the British view of illness and that we are ashamed of imperfections such as illness, the national psyche being too proud to admit any defect. " It must be an error of a serious sort,/for see how many floors it needs, how tall" This stigma over illness is subject to subtle mockery throughout. By not referring to the hospital in the title perhaps Larkin is being ironic. The poem could easily be called The Hospital , "but no!" Larkin appears to say, we can't refer to this directly hospitals imply illness!

The patients glancing at each other in "washed-to rags ward clothes" are demoralised by the shame and worry that come with being ill. "They're quiet. To realise/ This new thing held in common makes them quiet" The clothes are washed-to-rags because of a lack of money, this is a sly snipe at the government, Larkin points out that there are many many ill people and that the experience of being treated is demoralising and unpleasant with much waiting because of the lack of funding given to

The atmosphere in the hospital is odd, the patients are described as "Here to confess that something has gone wrong" , the mood is conjured by the uneasy descr

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Hospital Larkin, poem larkin,
Approximate Word count = 812
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)