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A satirical poem that criticizes the cycle of abuse and misery in the family and society. The speaker advises the reader to escape from the vicious circle and not reproduce it.
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- Reader Discretion Advised
When Philip Larkin wrote “This Be the Verse” in 1971, he...
- Be Kind While There's Time
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‘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...
Learn about the meaning, structure, themes and literary devices of Philip Larkin's famous poem, This Be The Verse. The poem criticizes the conventions of society that burden children with their parents' faults and hypocrisy.
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A satirical poem about the cycle of parental flaws and misery, borrowing its title from Robert Louis Stevenson's poem "Requiem". The speaker suggests that the only way to avoid this fate is to "get out" of life without having kids.
"This Be The Verse" is a lyric poem in three stanzas with an alternating rhyme scheme, by the English poet Philip Larkin (1922–1985). It was written around April 1971, was first published in the August 1971 issue of New Humanist, and appeared in the 1974 collection High Windows.
Compared to Larkin's other works, this poem shares his characteristic bleakness and preoccupation with the darker aspects of human nature. It aligns with the post-World War II era's disillusionment and skepticism, reflecting the widespread sense of loss and disillusionment following the war.
Jun 24, 2016 · Larkin's poem criticizes the role of parents in shaping their children's lives and the cycle of misery in human history. The title is a twist on Stevenson's 'Requiem', and the opening line uses a vulgar word to express the poet's resentment.
Read the full text of This Be The Verse, a satirical poem by Philip Larkin that criticizes the cycle of abuse and misery in human life. Learn about the poem's context, themes, and analysis on PoetryVerse.
