This be the verse commentary

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In the poem "This be the Verse" written by Phillip Larkin around 1971, Philip Larkin uses many literary features such as imagery, simile, metaphor etc and carefully planned poetic structure to create an atmosphere in which his past experiences as a youth is transferred to the innocent of the present.

In the first stanza, Larkin starts off the poem by using a common coarse language through out his poems. "They F*** you up, your mum and dad" is a reflection of his resentment and anger at his youth. Due to the fact that Larkin's youth and history has influenced his poems, his poetic diction varies accordingly. For example, in the second line, the word "may" delivers a sense of uncertainty as though he was uncertain whether the intentions of the parents were intentional of unintentional. Furthermore, it acts as a catalyst that shifts the tone of the poem from a livid and irritated tone, from the recurring "f's," to a calm and uncertain tone. The comma after the word "to" in line 2, acts as a wake-up call and a transition that shifts the tone from uncertainty back to being irate. In line 3, the imagery in "They fill