As a poet, Larkin is often dismissed as “inherently pessimistic” (Colin Falck), with negative connotations, however his poetry rather attempts to present the world in a realistic and therefore blunt fashion. As Martin Stephen concisely put: “Larkin refused to be romantic about life or present views that are more attractive and comforting than true”. However, this does not mean Larkin’s poetry is devoid of optimism, and many of his poems display a happiness or faith in human potential. In “High Windows”, the “paradise” Larkin describes is certainly a hopeful and optimistic presentation of life. The antithesis between this “happiness” and the idea of a meaningless and purposeless society suggests Larkin’s belief in a mutual exclusivity between these two concepts. His conviction of “paradise” as a life of personal freedom is presented further in “High Windows”, where “bonds and gestures” have been rendered obsolete. Larkin emphasizes this idea in the beginning of the poem, shocking the reader with profanity, a technique which distinguishes him as a poet for its rather unpoetic nature. Noticeably absent in “High Windows” is the presence of “death”; this works to good effect in the creation of a scene of “happiness”. This reinforces Larkin’s idea that life and death are very separate as in his personal “paradise” there is no ubiquitous, subconscious fear of “oblivion”. The “eternal” happiness and metaphor of “the long slide” suggests that since life and death are separate, happiness found in life is eternal which contrasts with the nihilistic view of no life after death in any form. In “The Days”, which again suggests that in the limited existence of life, Larkin presents the idea that happiness and freedom gives life meaning in a sense. The line “they are to be happy in” reflects this, and that days are where we must live and be happy.