High Windows

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High Windows is a collection of poems by English poet Philip Larkin, and was published in 1974 by Faber and Faber Limited. The readily available paperback version (ISBN 978-0-571-11451-1) was first published in Britain in 1979.

It consists of 24 poems, which are:

To The Sea

  • Poem appears to contrast Larkin's childhood memories with the present day creating a sense of NOSTALGIA. His idealised scene in the first 2 stanzas contrasts greatly with the neglected beach of the present day, and his tone throughout the poem is that of CYNICISM.
  • Larkin uses negative words like "weak", "cheap" and "rusting" to show how the beach has deteriorated as Larkin has aged. The perseption changes to show that as Larkin ages, the beach loses its value e.g. "Famous Cricketers" vs. "Cheap Cigars".
  • The perfect seaside scene is described using primary colours suggesting a picture postcard view. The vivid descriptions give an authentic viewpoint and make imagining the beach very easy.
  • Larkin is observing people on the beach, but he does not fit into the groups - Children, Parents and Their Parents. As a result he is ALIENATED from the people he is observing. Futhermore, the juxtposition of the young and old represent the sense of tradition encapsulated by the seaside.

Sympathy in White Major The Trees Livings (which is divided into three sections) Forget What Did High Windows Friday Night at the Royal Station Hotel The Old Fools

  • Based on the idea of growing old, and is referred to as a "hideously inverted childhood".
  • Age is scene as UGLY, whereas the metaphor for life is a million-petalled flower = BEAUTIFUL.
  • Going, Going
  • The Card Players
  • The Building
  • Posterity
  • Dublinesque
  • Homage to a Government
  • This Be The Verse
  • How Distant
  • Sad Steps
  • Solar
  • Annus Mirabilis
  • Vers de Société
  • Show Saturday
  • Money
  • Cut Grass
  • The Explosion

It is currently on the AQA AS level English Literature syllabus.edit

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