Wild Oats

This poem by Larkin presents his ideal relationship that he could achieve with a certain type of woman. It is presented as a dramatic monologue which shows an intimate relationship between the reader and the persona which shows that Larkin assumes that we are his confidante.
One of the main themes of this poem is relationship however rather the lust that Larkin prefers to love for women.
One of the things that I found interesting about this poem was the way in which Larkin portrayed his stereotypes towards women. This can be seen in "friend in specs" as it suggests that the persona has limited stereotypes towards body parts and appearance and that he has quite a sexist view showing a shallowness attitudes to females. This can also be seen in "The whole shooting-match" as it is a metaphor as shooting-match signifies shooting birds/partridges. This suggests that Larkin sees women as something he can hunt which presents him as an image of a predatory male. You can also see the view that Larkin lusts over women through the phrase "fur gloves" as it suggests that he views them as an image of 'idealised' desire.
This poem can also be presented in a colloquial way as Larkin chooses to use words such as "About", "doubt" and phrases such as "I got back". This suggests that Larkin is quite casual when it comes to women and is not interested in having a long-term partner.
The rhyme scheme used within this poem as there is a half-rhyme used on the consonances that are in the poem. This can be seen in "snaps" and "perhaps" and "doubt" and "out".
I believe that this poem presents an uncompromising, idealist, rigid view that Larkin has on women and is not like Abse's poems which are in their own way romantic.