Larkin must have been thinking about the fate of his own poetry too, when he wrote that essay. . .

There is a fine line between having having a discussion about a poem and analyzing it. It seems to me that a poet like Hardy is honest in two ways at once: the way of conscious clarity (verbally), and the way of openness to the complexity of the unconscious (emotionally). This honesty seems to allow us to walk that fine line, and may open the door for the kind of discussion among both poets and readers that Robert in another thread said he is aiming for in this fray. . .

And thank you Jim--that is especially nice to hear you enjoy the Labe, since I'm a big fan of your Sappho translations as well--I feel they truly capture the music.