Analysis Of High Windows And This Be The Verse By Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin’s poems “High Windows” and “This Be The Verse” both emphasize generational conflicts. In each case, Larkin characterizes the tension or conflict between younger and older generations. Larkin also effectively distinguishes the effect between one generation and the next. Comparing the two poems with each other, there are various commonalities and contrasts in each pieces’ characterizations of generational influences, conflicts, or tensions. Larkin’s “High Windows” poem is composed up of five quatrains. The poem is written in a metric pattern and features an “abab” rhyme scheme. The point of view of the poem is written in a first person perspective. The audience is allowed to assume Larkin is the speaker of the

There is a commanding and serious tone behind the title. It is as if he is trying to convince his audience that he has it all figured out. And the “it”? The “it” he has all figured out is that, “They fuck you up, your mum and dad.” He says, “They may not mean to but they do. / They fill you with the faults they had / And add some extra just for you.” The first stanza is describing how our parents bring us into existence. It is not to say that some parents, if not most, do not try to give us a good life, teach us how to live a good and long life. They simply cannot. All our parents can do is pass down their own flaws in which they possess and even add some extra ones to those. The bottom line is this: your parents fuck you up, and on top of that, they pass down their individual flaws to you. What can one do to prevent this? Absolutely nothing. There is no escaping it. If there is good news coming out of this situation, it is this: it is not your fault. All the bad you are accountable for, every mistake you have ever made, every complaint anyone has ever made about you, do not fret. Instead, take all of that and direct it towards your parents. After all, if your problems exist solely because your parents fucked you up when you were young, how can you possibly be accountable for the wrongs you do? At the same time, there is something for one to consider. If one is not responsible for their own actions, then why bother monitoring your behavior? Just do what you want and feel like, without