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".Cooper, Stephen.''Philip Larkin: Subversive Writer''. Sussex Academic Press (2004)p.170 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.Swarbrick, Andrew. ''Out of Reach: The Poetry of Philip Larkin'' London Macmillan (1995)pp.122-123Regan, Stephen. ''Philip Larkin''. Palgrave Macmillan (1997) p.124
It is currently on the AQA AS/A2 level English Literature syllabus.

Poems

The volume contains 24 poems:

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."James, Clive. ''As of This Writing''.W. W. Norton & Company(2003)p.57

References

{{Philip Larkin

English poetry collections
1974 poetry books
Poetry by Philip Larkin
Faber and Faber books