and try to make sure that what has been gained with so much sacrifice and suffering shall be preserved for the future glory and safety of mankind.
Churchill is saying that his ultimate goal moving forward is to preserve the peace that millions of people sacrificed their lives to achieve during World War II.
Let me however make it clear that I have no official mission or status of any kind, and that I speak only for myself.
Churchill is clarifying that he is not speaking for anyone but himself, in order to potential stop any negative ramifications that might arise as a result from this speech on a global scale.
that I should have full liberty to give my true and faithful counsel in these anxious and baffling times
Churchill is saying that Truman has given him permission to speak his mind in this speech allowing him to say what he truly believes.
as well as my own countrymen across the ocean and perhaps some other countries too.
He is saying that he is not only speaking to Americans in the audience, but to the entire world.
the President has travelled a thousand miles to dignify and magnify our meeting here today
Churchill is thanking President Truman for traveling all the way to Missouri, just to hear him give a speech in front of the world.
for a private visitor to be introduced to an academic audience by the President of the United States
Churchill is referring to himself receiving a personal invitation by US President, Harry Truman, to come and speak at Westminster College.
Indeed it was at Westminster
Churchill is referring to the borough of the City of Westminster in London. The Houses of Parliament where Churchill worked as Prime Minister is located in Westminster, as well as the famous Westminster Abbey, which is located right next door to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.
you should give me a Degree
He gave this speech at Westminster College because it was in Harry Truman's home town, and Truman had given him a personal invitation to come and receive an honorary degree.
Westminster College
Westminster College is a 4 year private college in Fulton, Missouri. It was originally founded in 1851. The current undergraduate enrollment is only 601.
Clear of its wrong beginnings, and may nev
He is talking about poor decisions that he made during the beginning of his life when he was child, that he still regrets today. However, this is not the reason why he keeps waking up scared of dying.
The mind blanks at the glare. Not in remorse —The good not done, the love not given, time
He's thinking about all the things that he didn't do during his life, all his regrets. Good actions he never did, love that he never gave. However, remorse is not the reason he is terrified of dying.
But at the total emptiness for eve
Larkin is scared of the "total emptiness" that comes with death. The idea of nothingness has him terrified of death and dying.
horrify.
rhymes with die 3 lines up
Arid
definition: lacking in interest, excitement, or meaning.
afresh
definition: in a new or different way
wretchedly
Definition: extremely, when referring to something unpleasant or low quality
Till then I see what’s really always there
He's comparing the incoming sunlight as the sun rises to the thought that he is now one day or sunrise closer to dying. Death is "always there" as he says.
I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.
His life seems to be boring and lonely, just work and getting tipsy every night. He wakes up at 4 am every single morning, staring at the darkness around him.
Flashes afresh to hold and horrify.
He's horrified of being dead, and with each thought his horror grows. He views the sun rising as a bad thing, because it means he's a day closer to death.
Torn off unused—nor wretchedly because An only life can take so long to climb
He's regretting the time he wasted, but he's saying that it wasn't wasted for nothing, as it can take a lot of time to figure out your life and get it together.
how
rhyme scheme with the line above
light.
little rhyme scheme with line 1
Arid interrogation: yet the dread Of dying, and being dead,
He's scared of dying, and doesn't want to
Making all thought impossible but how And where and when I shall myself die
All he can think about is the inevitability of death, and how he can do nothing about it.
Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.
He's all by himself in his bed, just lying there staring at the ceiling
Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,
As Larkin is lying in bed he's thinking about death and how it is inevitable. He's a day closer to death then he was yesterday.
O my America! my new-found-land, My kingdom, safeliest when with one man
example of a metaphor
Licence my roving hands, and let them go
Example of imagery
roving
Definition: constantly moving from one area or place to another.
O my America! my new-found-land, My kingdom, safeliest when with one man mann’d
He compares the girl to a new found land, saying that she is the safest when only one man, him, is with her.
Licence my roving hands, and let them go, Before, behind, between, above, below.
He wants the girl to let him put his hands on her wherever he wants, before, and during sex.