Imagery and rhythm and rhyme

Here, we will discuss the imagery and rhythm and rhyme of the poem “This Be the Verse” by Phillip Larkin.

Imagery

Imagery and metaphors contribute to making readers visualise the elements presented in poem “This Be the Verse” by Phillip Larkin, but also to empathise with the author’s message.

Allusion

The title of the poem is an allusion to another poem, “Requiem” by Robert Louis Stevenson, which explores the idea of happily seeking death after living gladly as well. In Larkin’s poem, the title is directly connected with the last two lines which advise readers to end their lives fast and stop perpetuating humankind:

Get out as early as you can,
          And don't have any kids yourself. (ll. 15-16)

Similes and comparisons

A direct simile is used when the author compares the increasingly negative influence of past generations on younger ones to a “coastal shelf”:  “It deepens like a coastal shelf.” (l. 14)

An implicit comparison stems from the first two stanzas. In the first one, the poet explains how parents negatively affect children while in the second stanza he talks about past generations, making an implicit comparison between the two. From it result...