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Jun 10, 2015 · Trying to create a ‘top ten’ definitive list of Philip Larkin’s best poems is impossible, not least because each Larkin fan will come up with a slightly different list. However, we’ve tried our best to bring together some of Larkin’s most classic poems here.
- Summary
- Meaning
- Structure
- Literary Devices
- Themes
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Historical Context
- Similar Poetry
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkinis a poem about how parents burden children with their faults and in their turn, they were also burdened with those faults. ‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin presents a full cycle. In the first stanza, the poet refers to the present scenario. Here, “they” or the parents fill their kids with the faults they had...
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin talks about the emotional baggage or faults that parents bestow on their children. However, the meaning of the title provides a key to the idea of the poet. It means, what the poet is going to describe in his poem, should happen in society. In the last stanza, he provides the solution to the problem. Moreover, t...
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin consists of three stanzas. Each stanza of the poem contains four alternative rhyming lines. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABAB, and it goes on like this. However, in the first stanza, “do” and “you” contains an imperfect rhyme. Apart from that, there are a total of eight syllables in each line. Each foot conta...
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin isn’t a rhetorical piece of art as the poet talks about a theme that is frustrating in itself. However, there are some instances where the poet uses a few literary devices. For example, in the title, ‘This Be The Verse,’the poet uses an allusion to the poem, ‘Requiem’ by Robert Louis Stevenson. The poet adopts t...
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin presents some important themes such as a convention, parenthood, emotional baggage, hypocrisy, and mental suffering. In this poem, the poet criticizes the conventions of society that a generation somehow tries to pile on the next generation. They don’t care about the individuality of a person and wish everyone s...
Stanza One
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin begins with the most-quoted line of modern literature, “They fuck you up, your mum and dad.” It means that the conventions of society as a whole mess up with parents as well as their children. Those who blindly follow the absurd rules try to behave rationallyand sagacious. In reality, they do fuck one’s mind and kill one’s individuality. They actlike hypocrites while guiding the next generation. Moreover, the poet says those people or parents with such a m...
Stanza Two
The second stanza of ‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin refers to the past when the process began. When they were kids, their parents also burdened them with their emotional baggage. Here, the poet refers to the older generation as “fools in old-style hats and coats”. By referring to their garments, the poet ironically points to their intellectual poverty. They were showy class and blind followers of the god named “convention.” Moreover, the poet sarcastically remarks that they were “soppy-...
Stanza Three
Thereafter, in ‘This Be The Verse’, Philip Larkin anticipates the future of this process. The end-stopped linesin this stanza as well as in the first stanza, sound like rigid statements. What the poet says, is harsh yet true. However, according to the poet, man unknowingly or knowingly hands over “misery” to another man. Like a chain reaction, the latter hands over it to another. And, the process goes on. It deepens like a coastal shelf unobserved. Moreover, the decaying of the coastal shelf...
‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin is a lyric that was written around April 1971. It was first published in the August 1971 issue of “New Humanist” and also appeared in the 1974 collection “High Windows”. It is one of the best Philip Larkin poemsand the opening lines are frequently quoted. Larkin himself compared this poem with ‘Lake Isle of Inni...
Like ‘This Be The Verse’ by Philip Larkin, the following poems also present similar themes. 1. Mundus Et Infansby W.H. Auden– This one of the best W.H. Auden poems, is a satireon the adult world through the life of an infant. 2. The Tale of Custard the Dragonby Ogden Nash– This one of the best Ogden Nash poems, similarly presents the theme of hypoc...
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It is one of Larkin's best-known poems; the opening lines ("They fuck you up, your mum and dad") are among his most frequently quoted. Larkin himself compared it with W. B. Yeats 's "Lake Isle of Innisfree" and said he expected to hear it recited in his honour by a thousand Girl Guides before he died. It is frequently parodied.
It presents a grim view of parenthood, suggesting that parents inevitably pass on their own flaws and shortcomings to their children. The speaker emphasizes the cyclical nature of suffering, claiming that parents were also victimized by their own parents.
The British poet Philip Larkin published "This Be The Verse" in 1971. The poem is about the way that parents pass their flaws and emotional complications on to their children, who in turn pass their own misery on to their children.
September 2002 Nomination: This Be The Verse [April 1971. From High Windows] For millions, this terribly British poem encapsulates both the agony of parenthood and our rage at our parents for having, inevitably, deranged us at times. It cleverly leaves open the question. Read More ».
