Philip Larkin – Page 8 – Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of Philip Larkin’s ‘This Be The Verse’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Readers not fond of swearing in poetry are advised to look away now, for Philip Larkin’s opening lines can get pretty sweary. ‘They f*ck you up, your mum and dad’: a memorable opening line for one of Philip Larkin’s best-known poems, ‘This Be The Verse’, not exactly a laudatory paean to parenthood.

But what is Larkin’s poem actually saying, and why did he feel the need to write it? The following analysis attempts some answers to these questions.

December 2 in Literary History: Dickens Gives First Public Reading in America

The most significant events in the history of books on the 2nd of December

1814: Marquis de Sade dies. As well as giving us the word ‘sadist’ for one who enjoys inflicting pain on others, Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (to cite his full name) was also a novelist who wrote Justine in just two weeks in 1787, while imprisoned in the Bastille.

The Best Philip Larkin Poems Everyone Should Read

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

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. Whether you’re a devoted fan of the great man’s work, or seeking an introduction to a handful of his best poems, you should find something of interest here. (If you’re a fan of Larkin, you might also like our pick of W. H. Auden’s best poems – Auden was a big influence on early Larkin.)