Ignorance

Theme/Content:

Ignorance is an abstract poem about religion and beliefs.

Structure:

The rhyme scheme in this poem is ABBCC.

Analysis:

• 'Ignorance' is a lack of knowledge/education, unlearned, naive attitude towards things, sometimes selfish.
• The first line of the stanza 'strange to know nothing, never to be sure' is an uncertainty towards beliefs, and Larkin questions what life is. The word 'strange' is repeated, and Larkin is quite stubborn/ignorant to other people's beliefs if they aren't concrete or justified, and this makes them strange. 'True or right or real' suggests that there is many different answers to just one question. The poem is tentative, 'someone must know', is Larkin questioning, hoping for answers and wanting answers. 
• 'Strange', the unfamiliar and unknown nature is complex, hard to understand 'Ignorance of the way things work' suggests that people take things for granted, the cost of our nature. We lack true knowledge about anything, and 'their' refers to everyone else that is searching for the answers. The 'skill at finding what they need' is everyone's attempt at survival, trying to understand life. The 'punctual spread of seed' could imply knowledge or reproduction. There is a 'willingness to change', that people adjust their beliefs to suit society or life around them or that people change over time to adapt to the world they know nothing about. 
• The last stanza is quite abstract, to 'wear such knowledge - for our flesh' implies human live for answers, and when they think they have some, or have strong beliefs they show them off and flaunt them. 'Surrounds us with its own decisions', with a lack of control, influenced by others in society. 'Yet spend all our life on imprecisions', that people aren't careful, and Larkin comments on life choices. 'That when we start to die have no idea why' suggests that people hold knowledge but have no idea really why this knowledge is, and when they die they forget about all the decisions and don't care about them so why make them in the first place.