C[omp]ute

From: "andrew cooke" <andrew@...>

Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:07:33 -0400 (CLT)

Inspired by
http://www.metafilter.com/63163/There-once-was-a-girl-named-Lenore and
http://badgods.com/limerickpoems.html here's Larkin's High Windows
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/high-windows/ :

Young kids these days are in luck.
Put their faith in the pill and then fuck
the church.  In my time
I've let my faith climb
past glass, death, blue sky and on up.

At this point I'd like to say "maybe the X is too clever", but since I
don't know the word (for the stylistic device of breaking/changing meaning
across two lines) I'm probably not using it right anyway.

The death and (second) faith references, incidentally, are not my reading,
but  what I think is the "standard" take.  For me the poem has less to do
with religion and death and more to do with freedom and escape - obviously
they are linked, but the specifics seem fairly irrelevant.  Instead, I
think it's interesting how Larkin can use his experience and technical
ability to give an amazing sense of liberty - in a sense he's testing the
mastery that comes with age against the inherent freedom of youth and,
reassuringly for old folks like me, wins out.

Andrew