Influence In Philip Larkin's 'This Be The Verse'

The overall theme of ‘This Be The Verse” by Philip Larkin is the idea of influence. Larkin is striving to portray the message that everyone is influence by the people in which they surround themselves. This is important because throughout the poem Larkin uses techniques such as changing tenses, giving personal and worldly examples, and figurative language. One of the many ways Larkin portrays the message of influence is by using multiple tenses throughout the poem. The first stanza is very relatable to the immediate audience, and this is because the first stanza is written in present tense. The present tense looks directly into the life of the reader, which gives the poem an overall captivating aspect. By starting off with, “They fuck you up, your mum and dad.” Larkin is looking at the present day life of his

The second stanza indicates a transition to the past tense. Instead of focusing on the present day life of the audience, Larkin turns his focus to the generation before; he turns his focus to the generation that is causing him to question individuality and the influence the people around us have on our own lives. Larkin switches from saying “They fuck you up,” to saying “But they were fucked up in their turn.” In the first stanza he is blaming the negative aspects on the mum and dad, but in the second stanza he rebukes his own original thought by alarming the reader that they too were fucked up in their life; Larkin is changing his standpoint by writing in past tense and clarifying that it is not the past generations fault, because they too were fucked up. The third stanza marks another turn in the poem, as Larkin switches to writing in future tense. The third stanza portrays itself as more of a warning to the audience, because it is written in futuristic terms. Larkin writes, “Get out as early as you can, and don’t have any kids yourself.” The use of ‘don’t’ in this phrase points to a time that