This be the verse

How does Philip Lark negotiate levels of diction in This Be the Verse? How does it help the message?

The levels of diction that Philip Larkin uses is low. "They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do." It is informal, it basically uses language of ordinary people. The poem talks about how his parents were messed up, how they messed him up. That whatever faults they had they blamed on him and added more to make themselves feel better. He talks about their past lives and how they themselves were messed up. He advises others not to have kids of their own because of the faults that they will be blaming their kids. That's what I think the last verse more or less means.


This be the verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dadThey may not mean to, but they do.They fill you with the faults they hadAnd add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turnBy fools in old-style hats and coats,Who half the time were soppy-sternAnd half at one another's throats
Man hands on misery to man.It deepens like a coastal shelf.Get out as early as you can,And don't have any kids yourself.

Philip Larkin