Parents have always been a great influence in a person’s life. They provide the child with moral guidance and consolidation in times of need, as well as fundamental inheritable qualities. Philip Larkin, in his 1974 poem titled “This Be The Verse”, is challenging this concept, bringing out only extreme examples of the contrary.

Firstly, Larkin mentions the fact that mum and dad fill the child up with all the faults they have. This is never entirely true as parents usually do what is best for their child – they try to conceive their weak points and not pass them on to the next generation. In stead, they aim to bequeath only the strongest traits and virtues which will help the adolescent in their life.

Secondly, in the second verse, Larkin states the thought that this handing down of these wicked attributes has been going on throughout generations. In this, he is countering Charles Darwin’s factually-proven theory of evolution – life is the survival of the fittest. Even if there had been some ill traits running through the lineage of a family, the evolutionary process of culling them would have taken its course and these foul properties would have been done away with over time.

Thirdly, the author takes it so far as to comparing the situation to a deepening coastal shelf. It is common knowlege that what goes down, must come up eventually. Thus, Philip Larkin’s view that „Man hands on misery to man“ – only misery, mind you – is completely redundant. He fails to mention even once the fact that most of the traits handed down by parents are, in fact, beneficial and even vital for the survival of the offspring. To crown all, Larkin insists on the reader refraining from producing offspring – complete nonsense of the highest degree!

In conclusion, it is safe to note that, while a quite readable piece of poetry, Philip Larkin’s „This Be The Verse“ should not be regarded as factually conclusive until proven otherwise with viable examples by the author. It should be taken with a pinch of salt, considering all the factual inconsistencies pointed out in this essay.