1. Critical Lens of
Wystan Hugh Auden was one of the greatest English poets of his time. This is partly because he believes and identifies with what he wrote. He wrote in the preface to The Collected Shorter Poems of W. H. Auden:.
Some poems which I wrote I have thrown out because they were dishonest or boring.
A dishonest poem is one which expresses feelings or beliefs which its author never felt or entertained one must be honest even about one's prejudices.
This piece shows that all the poems that W. H. Auden wrote were related to his life or his beliefs in life. .
W. H. Auden was born in York, England on February 21, 1907. He moved to Birmingham during his childhood and was educated at Christ's Church, Oxford. As a child he was influenced by the poetry of Thomas Hardy and Robert Frost. He went on to study at Oxford. However he was unsuccessful and only received a third-class degree in English. Auden went through many hard times and many happy times in his life. These times were recorded in his poems.
The first of these emotional occasions was his wedding, which he wrote about in his poem, "A Bride in the 30's." In 1935 Auden married Erika Mann, a journalist. Auden was unaware Mann was only marrying him to obtain a British passport. This poem started out in a happy mood telling of the wonderful aspects of marriage. After his wedding when he realized that he was being used, he ended the poem writing, " Forfeit the beautiful interests and fall where the engaging face is the face of the betrayer." This line showed his feelings of being betrayed by the woman whom he had just lent his heart to. Auden later moved to the United States where he met Chester Kallman and happily remarried.
Auden's next stage in life was his, "Journey to Iceland." This was brought on by a number of life altering decisions. One was his divorce from his first wife Mann. Another reason was his religious conversion to Anglo-Catholicism.
Auden - Epitaph on a Tyrant Wystan Hugh Auden, an English-born American writer, was one of the most important poets of the 20th century. ... Auden was born in York, the son of a physician. ... In 1945 he published The Collected Poetry of W. H. ... Auden expresses a similar opinion in his poem. ...
Auden writes the poem, "Funeral Blues," in 1940 (802). In the poem, "Funeral Blues," Auden talks about the loss of a person's loved one and feels as if their life is over. ... Auden talks about a person's grief and creates a very sad and depressing feeling. This is based on Auden's choice of words and sentence structure. ... Auden brings across very strong feeling of grief and depression that can happen after a loved one dies. ...
In 1922 while still attending school, Auden began to question his religious faith, and shortly after Auden was introduced, by a friend, to the idea of writing poetry. ... Throughout "As I Walked Out One Evening," Auden uses the rhyme pattern of a, b, c, b, d, e, f, e, g, h, i, h This pattern allows the poem to flow and give the author the opportunity to emphasize certain words. Continually, Auden uses the metaphors and symbols in the poem. ... Many critics praise Auden's work in "As I Walked Out One Evening," and cite it as a classic piece of Auden's collection. ... The influence of...
Theme for the Unknown, Red Transportation While the four poems, "Public Transportation," "The Unknown Citizen," "The Red Wheelbarrow," and "Theme for English B" encompass a wide variety of styles, they all address a similar theme. Each poem involves the idea of appearances and, in most cases, th...
Views on Death Distinguishing a poets" rhetoric styles on death such as, "Death, Be Not Proud," by John Donne, shares his view on death as a transformation into eternal life. "Ozymandias," by Pearce Bysshe Shelly, uses his poem to describe what was once a powerful figure now has all been forgo...
Auden the diversity of his works represent the variation of experiences in his life. ... He was a great physician whom Auden shared a close, affectionate relationship with. ... This poem can be seen as Auden's perspective of his father's profession. ... In addition to promoting this Auden had some more general political opinions. ... Auden influenced his writing. ...
Dickinson and Auden use imagery to help the reader visualize the theme of death. ... Auden, on the other hand, uses imagery in a different way. Auden states, "Silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin, let the mourners come" and "Put crepe bows around the white necks of the public doves, let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves" (Auden 3-4, 7-8). ... Auden compares the loved one to cardinal directions; he does this to let the reader know whoever passed away was very important to the significant other "He was my North, my South, my East and...
Auden, the distinguished poet, playwright and author, was of the opinion that "a poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language" (W.H. Auden n. pag.). In his poem "Lullaby" (Auden 29), there is a clear focus on the expression of love. ... For the purpose of this discussion it is important to note Auden's sexual orientation; he was gay. ... In line 15, the specific reference to the literary character Venus, Auden thus mixes beauty and love with death and the dark side of life. ...