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194:'s "Requiem" ("This be the verse you grave for me"). Stevenson's thought of a happy homecoming in death is given an ironic turn. He often thought of dying in a ditch, but ended up dying peacefully in his home at the age of 44. Being a "othic writer", Stevenson wrote a lot of grim stories. His most famous is
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feet on an alternating rhyme scheme. The speaker, addressing the reader directly, expresses the idea that parents put a lot of emotional weight on their children with the famous line, "They fuck you up, your mum and dad". The speaker goes on to explain that it may not be intentional, but stems from
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A testament to the enduring appeal of Larkin's poem came in April 2009, when the first four lines were recited by a
British appeal court judge as part of his judgement of a particularly acrimonious divorce case involving the future custody arrangements of a nine-year-old child. Lord Justice Wall
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parents. The third stanza is where the poem makes its assertion: the misery humanity experiences is a cycle that expands continuously. The speaker concludes with some advice: "Get out as early as you can... And don’t have any kids yourself".
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referred to the emotional damage caused to the child, saying: "These four lines seem to me to give a clear warning to parents who, post-separation, continue to fight the battles of the past, and show each other no respect."
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their own emotional baggage (with "some extra, just for you"). In the second stanza, the speaker describes the way that the reader's parents were also given this emotional trauma by
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It is one of Larkin's best-known poems; the opening lines ("They fuck you up, your mum and dad") are among his most frequently quoted. Larkin himself compared it with
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wrote an upbeat parody of the poem that begins with the lines "They tuck you up, your Mum and Dad, / They read you Peter Rabbit, too."
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134:(1922–1985). It was written around April 1971, was first published in the August 1971 issue of
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Philip Larkin, "This Be the Verse" from
Collected Poems. Copyright © Estate of Philip Larkin.
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https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/james-mcavoy-explains-character-haunting-180000306.html
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165:. Television viewers in the United Kingdom voted it one of the "Nation's Top 100 Poems".
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quoted the first and last stanzas, when asked about his relationship with his parents.
535:"'Home is the sailor, home from sea': Robert Louis Stevenson and the End of Wandering"
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printed the first stanza of the poem on items in their Fall/Winter 2016 collection.
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358:" (2023). The first stanza is quoted in numerous TV series, including the
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245: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
157:" and said he expected to hear it recited in his honour by a thousand
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The Poet of Dirty Words: History takes a second look at Philip Larkin
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Directed by
Vanessa Parise. Stephanie Germain Productions, 2022,
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509:"15. Requiem. Robert Louis Stevenson. Modern British Poetry"
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has cited the poem as an influence on his animated series
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with an alternating rhyme scheme, by the
English poet
722:"A Deep Dive Into BoJack Horseman's Dementia Episode"
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set the poem to music and performed it on her albums
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51:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1023:The Oxford Book of Twentieth Century English Verse
581:"They quote you Larkin, your appeal court judges"
751:Firefly Lane S2E3 "Reborn on the Fourth of July"
386:episode "Reborn on the Fourth of July" (2022).
16:Poem by English 20th century poet Philip Larkin
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1031:Selected Letters of Philip Larkin, 1940–1985
783:""This Be The Verse:" Who Is Philip Larkin?"
1072:Relationships that influenced Philip Larkin
196:The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1111:Works originally published in New Humanist
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261:Learn how and when to remove this message
111:Learn how and when to remove this message
533:The Yearbook of English Studies (2004).
190:The title of the poem is an allusion to
812:Philip Larkin reads "This Be the Verse"
635:"The book that dare not speak its name"
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759:https://www.netflix.com/watch/81416369
140:, and appeared in the 1974 collection
364:episode "Dearborn-Again" (2010), the
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633:Gerrard, Nicci (15 September 2002).
484:"This Be The Verse by Philip Larkin"
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285:The poem is extensively featured on
243:adding citations to reliable sources
49:adding citations to reliable sources
667:Simons, Jake Wallis (30 May 2010).
482:Poetry Foundation (15 April 2019).
370:episode "The Inspired" (2013), the
669:"Oliver James: It's all about you"
348:The entire poem is recited in the
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720:Chaney, Jen (12 September 2017).
161:before he died. It is frequently
607:Kuper, Simon (16 October 2015).
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539:The Yearbook of English Studies
230:needs additional citations for
36:needs additional citations for
1049:List of poems by Philip Larkin
781:Roazen, Ben (16 August 2016).
429:List of poems by Philip Larkin
1:
699:. Little, Brown. p. 12.
693:Trynka, Paul (18 July 2011).
579:Pidd, Helen (30 April 2009).
453:The Nation's Favourite Poems
173:The poem consists of three
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609:"How to invest in babies"
126:is a lyric poem in three
1106:Poetry by Philip Larkin
1078:Mr Larkin's Awkward Day
398:'s character in 2024's
394:The poem is recited by
319:In a 2002 interview on
295:How Not To F*** Them Up
920:Posthumous collections
192:Robert Louis Stevenson
155:Lake Isle of Innisfree
1062:Philip Larkin Society
832:Full text of the poem
815:- YouTube Audio File.
415:The streetwear brand
1086:(juvenile pseudonym)
947:The Whitsun Weddings
901:The Whitsun Weddings
732:on 13 September 2017
696:David Bowie: Starman
339:Raphael Bob-Waksberg
239:improve this article
45:improve this article
823:by Stephen Burt at
211:Cultural influences
124:"This Be The Verse"
60:"This Be The Verse"
999:Other publications
877:Poetry collections
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968:This Be The Verse
893:The Less Deceived
706:978-0-316-13424-8
488:Poetry Foundation
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449:Rhys-Jones, Griff
400:suspense thriller
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56:Find sources:
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34:This article
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909:High Windows
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730:the original
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639:The Observer
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586:The Guardian
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383:Firefly Lane
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237:Please help
232:verification
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143:High Windows
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137:New Humanist
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43:Please help
38:verification
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673:Independent
545:: 240–252.
327:David Bowie
312:(1987) and
293:(2002) and
159:Girl Guides
151:W. B. Yeats
1116:1971 poems
1100:Categories
961:Mr Bleaney
736:5 February
592:9 November
518:21 October
435:References
378:Austerlitz
373:Succession
333:Television
306:Anne Clark
274:Literature
71:newspapers
1067:Larkin 25
825:slate.com
787:Hypebeast
647:0029-7712
457:BBC Books
376:episode "
354:episode "
351:Ted Lasso
337:Comedian
322:Parkinson
991:" (1977)
984:" (1964)
977:" (1964)
970:" (1974)
963:" (1955)
956:" (1964)
949:" (1964)
564:24 April
493:16 April
423:See also
356:Mom City
316:(1988).
314:R.S.V.P.
297:(2010).
289:' books
177:of four
169:Synopsis
163:parodied
1042:Related
755:Netflix
726:Vulture
559:3509497
417:Supreme
175:stanzas
128:stanzas
85:scholar
1058:(1982)
1034:(1992)
1026:(1973)
1018:(1947)
1010:(1946)
989:Aubade
982:MCMXIV
912:(1974)
904:(1964)
896:(1955)
888:(1945)
792:4 July
703:
678:4 July
652:4 July
645:
618:4 July
557:
463:
87:
80:
73:
66:
58:
939:Poems
555:JSTOR
411:Other
361:Weeds
301:Music
278:Poet
184:their
92:JSTOR
78:books
1007:Jill
975:Days
794:2024
738:2024
701:ISBN
680:2024
654:2024
643:ISSN
620:2024
594:2009
566:2021
520:2019
495:2019
461:ISBN
390:Film
153:'s "
64:news
547:doi
407:.
241:by
47:by
1102::
785:.
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543:34
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