Strategy Response 1 (Week 4)

“This Be the Verse” by Philip Larkin

In this relatively simple worded poem, Larkin discusses with candor the affect of one generation on the other. What strikes me as strong or fresh in this piece of writing is the way in which its almost sing-song rhythm and rhyme scheme combines with its strong language to create a somewhat jaded nursery rhyme. The emotional register and especially the language used bespeak a somewhat bitter narrator, but the song like cadence and rhyming reign in the bitterness. This pushes the poem’s tone toward a more radical middle and keeps the voice from sounding like a teenager spouting an angst ridden tirade. More and more, I have seen good poets navigate successfully through delicate subjects that I typically regard as inaccessible. This poem, while essentially saying ‘fuck you’ to mom and dad, captures more than teenage anger or frustration because of the way in which it delivers its message. Furthermore, the subject of the piece is fairly straightforward and simple. The poet is not trying to spin several plates at once. the simplicity but sustaining breadth of the poem’s subject matter combine to deliver with potency. All the while, we don’t feel as if Larkin is dumping his family problems on us largely due to the melodic nursery rhyme style and the narrator’s composure in delivering powerful lines with journalistic sobriety.