High Windows

This article is about the book of poems by Philip Larkin. For other uses, see High Windows (disambiguation).

High Windows

First edition
Author	Philip Larkin
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre	Poetry
Published	1974 (Faber and Faber)
ISBN	0-571-20275-6
OCLC	46613746

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". 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. It is currently on the AQA AS/A2 level English Literature syllabus.

Poems

The volume contains 24 poems:

Sequence	Poem title	Completion date
1	To the Sea	6910Oct 1969 (best known date)
2	Sympathy in White Major	670831 Aug 1967
3	The Trees	670602 Jun 1967
4	Livings: I, II, III	711210 Dec 1971
5	Forget What Did	710806 Aug 1971
6	High Windows	670212 Feb 1967
7	Friday Night in the Royal Station Hotel	660520 May 1966
8	The Old Fools	730112 Jan 1973
9	Going, Going	720125 Jan 1972
10	The Card-Players	70056 May 1970
11	The Building	720209 Feb 1972
12	Posterity	680617 Jun 1968
13	Dublinesque	700606 Jun 1970
14	Homage to a Government	690110 Jan 1969
15	This Be The Verse	7104Apr 1971 (best known date)
16	How Distant	651124 Nov 1965
17	Sad Steps	680424 Apr 1968
18	Solar	641104 Nov 1964
19	Annus Mirabilis	670716 Jul 1967
20	Vers de Société	710519 May 1971
21	Show Saturday	731203 Dec 1973
22	Money	730219 Feb 1973
23	Cut Grass	710603 Jun 1971
24	The Explosion	700105 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."

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."