High Windows

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 was first published in Britain in 1979. The collection is the last publication of new poetry by Larkin before his death in 1985, and it contains some of his most famous poems, including the title piece, "High Windows", "Dublinesque", and "This Be The Verse".[1] The collection contains themes presented in his earlier collections, though the tone of the poems caused critics to suggest the book is darker and more "socially engaged" than his earlier volumes.[1][2][3][4] It is currently on the AQA AS/A2 level English Literature syllabus.

This article is about the book of poems by Philip Larkin. For other uses, see High Windows (disambiguation).
High Windows
First edition
AuthorPhilip Larkin
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry
Published1974 (Faber and Faber)
ISBN0-571-20275-6
OCLC46613746
Preceded byThe Whitsun Weddings 

Poems

The volume contains 24 poems:

SequencePoem titleCompletion date
1To the Sea6910Oct 1969 (best known date)
2Sympathy in White Major670831 Aug 1967
3The Trees670602 Jun 1967
4Livings: I, II, III711210 Dec 1971
5Forget What Did710806 Aug 1971
6High Windows670212 Feb 1967
7Friday Night in the Royal Station Hotel660520 May 1966
8The Old Fools730112 Jan 1973
9Going, Going720125 Jan 1972
10The Card-Players70056 May 1970
11The Building720209 Feb 1972
12Posterity680617 Jun 1968
13Dublinesque700606 Jun 1970
14Homage to a Government690110 Jan 1969
15This Be The Verse7104Apr 1971 (best known date)
16How Distant651124 Nov 1965
17Sad Steps680424 Apr 1968
18Solar641104 Nov 1964
19Annus Mirabilis670716 Jul 1967
20Vers de Société710519 May 1971
21Show Saturday731203 Dec 1973
22Money730219 Feb 1973
23Cut Grass710603 Jun 1971
24The Explosion700105 Jan 1970

Critical reception

Clive James, in As of this writing, describes High Windows as Larkin's bleakest volume of poetry, though he does admit that there are aspects of the poetry that contain the humour found in Larkin's earlier books of poetry. James suggests that Larkin has never liked the idea of a poet "Developing" and that Larkin himself remains the same throughout his career as a poet. High Windows, in James's opinion, shows that Larkin simply strives, with the addition of each poem, to state more clearly the same principles shown by his early works and concludes that "The total impression of High Windows is of despair made beautiful." [4]

Blurb

The following is the blurb from the published book.

"When Philip Larkin's High Windows first appeared, Kingsley Amis spoke for a large and loyal readership when he wrote:

'Larkin's admirers need only be told that he is as good as ever here, if not slightly better.' Like Betjeman and Hardy, Larkin is a poet who can move a large audience — to laughter and to tears — without betraying the highest artistic standards."

References
  1. Cooper, Stephen.Philip Larkin: Subversive Writer. Sussex Academic Press (2004)p.170
  2. Swarbrick, Andrew. Out of Reach: The Poetry of Philip Larkin London Macmillan (1995)pp.122-123
  3. Regan, Stephen. Philip Larkin. Palgrave Macmillan (1997) p.124
  4. James, Clive. As of This Writing.W. W. Norton & Company(2003)p.57
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