The Well-Educated Mind: W. H. Auden

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W. H. Auden

1907-1973

American/British Poet

The Well-Educated Mind

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W. H. Auden was born in Britain. He began his higher education journey looking towards  engineering, but received recognition for his poetry and changed courses. He became a teacher while he wrote poems, plays, and literary reviews. In 1939, he immigrated to America, became a citizen, and taught at universities. Many of his works are political, religious, and psychological in nature. I found many of them to be genius and true. 

Following are poems read and reviewed and a few read but not reviewed.

AS I WALKED OUT ONE EVENING

This is a such a true poem. Ouch!

The poet was out walking the city streets one evening, about the crowds - as "fields of harvest wheat," - when he overheard a singer declare that "Love has no ending."

The singer promised to love his "dear" until the impossible occurred (like "China and Africa meet") or until "the end of the world."

Then Auden intervenes with a dose of reality..."BUT..." as the clocks chime in.

The clocks called out: "O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time."

And the clocks together proceed to tell the truth about life and living, aging and growing old. Love doesn't last. We become distracted by our worries and anxieties until we wonder where did life (and love and time) go? Time always wins in the end.

Sometimes life on earth feels worthless and purposeless, even corrupt! (It is!!)
And yet, the clocks say (to everyone listening): Face it! Life, though short, is a blessing. You still have to rise up and love your neighbor. You, corrupt as you are, must love your corrupt neighbor.

By the time the clocks were done chiming, the lovers were gone and the river flowed on as before.

THE COMMON LIFE

This was a little difficult at first, but after the second read, it became clearer. It is a poem about relationships or rather roommates living together or just a common space shared between two people, with a spiritual or religious tone. It seeks to tell how two people navigate or exist in the same space. But unfortunately, I did NOT understand the ending:

The ogre will come in any case:
so Joyce has warned us. Howbeit,
fasting or feasting, we both know this: without
the Spirit we die, but life

without the Letter is in the worst of taste,
and always, though truth and love
can never really differ, when they seem to,
the subaltern should be truth.

???

EPITAPH ON A TYRANT

Epitaph on a Tyrant is a short poem written in 1939, the eve of WWII. One thinks of Hitler, though the poem does not say.

Auden describes the kind of society the tyrant is seeking: perfection. His policies to achieve such are straightforward. The tyrant (or dictator) knows human nature is foolishness (easy to fool). Obviously, the dictator is interested in arms and war, probably to spread his ideas and to obtain more power. When he is in high spirits, the government officials laugh with him; but when he is in a tyrannical mood, people suffer at his hands.

THE FALL OF ROME

The Fall of Rome is an interesting poem. 

It begins general and broad, about nature and nothing that seemed related to the topic of Rome. 

The next several stanzas demonstrate the ways in which a society falls: through tax evasion, mental apathy, sexual perversion (I added the perversion part) -- maybe more like sexual fixation, educated citizens not very intelligent or smart, armies rebelling, government employees discontent.  

Then the final two stanzas return back to topics unrelated to the demise of a city. Birds are patiently waiting for the time they may return to the empty city, and reindeer are moving swiftly over a landscape. Obviously, reindeer do not belong in Rome, and it is an indication that this poem isn't only about the fall of Rome, but rather is indicative of many civilizations throughout time. They all seem to follow the same prescription for demise. 

IN MEMORY OF SIGMUND FREUD 

Auden wrote a personal memorandum about Sigmund Freud after his death in 1939, to the general public. It was the year Hitler invaded Poland, and with this and other world events in mind, Auden brought attention to several of Freud's ideas and his own ideas about poetry. 

Auden did not agree with everything Freud wrote about, but he respected him and many of his concepts. He juxtaposed the date of Freud's death with that of the invasion of Poland as polar opposites. Freud's thoughts  represented creativity, freedom, and individuality, while the Nazi machine embraced authoritarianism, conformity, and death.

Incidentally, Freud, a Jew, fled Nazi-controlled Vienna to London, where he later died from cancer. 

One of my favorite lines is this:

...all he did was to remember

   like the old and be honest like children.

He wasn't clever at all: he merely told

the unhappy Present to recite the Past

     like a poetry lesson...

This is a really honest and upright poem. I will probably read it a few more times. It's the kind of poem you have to read for yourself because I can't put it into fair words without butchering it. 

IN MEMORY OF W. B. YEATS

This is a pleasant poem in memory of the poet W. B. Yeats.

It was frigid winter the day Yeats passed away. Outdoors, nature still did it's thing, but the news spread about Yeats decline. He was surrounded by nurses, and he was losing consciousness. His glorious working mind shut down.

However, his legacy lives on through his readers, throughout the world and generations. Unfortunately, younger generations will interpret his words through their own lens, as they usually do.

Tomorrow, as life goes on, only a few of Yeats fans will remember his death.

Again, this event was the eve of WWII, and misery was magnified. Poetry cannot really effect any change in the world -- there is still darkness everywhere; but poets can create hope, like springtime.

Therefore, Auden makes a last request of Yeats to work his magic with his words, to bring goodness into the world. Lastly, he calls on Yeats' words to heal people.

LULLABY

This was a difficult poem to discern; I needed a little help. Basically, Auden paints a picture of two lovers in each other's arms. He expresses that life and love are fleeting, but lovers should enjoy the moment they have together, even though it will not last forever. Everything transforms -- the whole world changes, childhood is brief, and faithfulness passes away. But the moment is lovely, and we should embrace it nonetheless. 

THE MORE LOVING ONE 

This poem uses the love of stars to represent unrequited love. Auden recognizes that the stars we admire know nothing about us, nor do they care. And when they appear, we did not miss them. If they disappeared forever, we would get over it eventually. Loving stars is his motif for loving another person who cannot or will not return his love. 

Auden's argument is that if he had to choose between the one to receive love verses the one who gave love, he would rather be the more loving one than the one who cannot or will not return love. 

ON THE CIRCUIT

In this poem, a writer is controlled by his publishing company and must make the circuits (or go on his pilgrimage) to sell his works. He doesn't like it very well, and his flesh would rather be at home in bed, but he has been conditioned to believe that the people need to hear him/see him in order to sell his writing. So he reluctantly travels via plane from city to city (or holy sites). He doesn't get to know anyone long enough, though they are friendly towards him. 

The writer admits he is grouchy and doesn't like to fly because there is never anything good to drink on the plane. He sneaks his own drink on the plane. (Bet you can't do that today!) He says the fancy hotels do not impress him. He'd rather read the Bible. 

And finally, seeing the same scene again, incoming rooftops on the ground of a city, another show exactly like the last one, he asks God to bless the people of the USA, a rich country that now he contributes. 

SEPTEMBER 1, 1939

Oh, this is such a great poem.

It is the eve of WWII, again, and Auden is hanging out in a NYC bar pondering all that is happening in the world. A madman is threatening war and everyone is quietly minding his own business. Even the City with its facade pretends all is well.

But War is imminent and the writer can feel it, and he knows the people worry, albeit silently to themselves. They rather focus on important things, like themselves. 

Look at history: the writer traces the present back to Martin Luther, the Father of the Reformation -- he caused Hitler! (Seriously, let's give Hitler some credit for Hitler.) Hitler was mistreated, and everyone knows bullies typically were bullied themselves.

Look at Thucydides who knew about democracy and its dictators. Dictators lie to the people and talk them out of logic and reason; soon the people  become accustomed to oppression. And the cycle repeats itself over and over again. 

America pretends to be blameless, but how long will the people fall for it? The people are just as guilty, I suppose. They stick their head in the sand and ignore the truth, focused only on what is important to them. 

We really are selfish, and only want what we want, instead of what is best for all people. Out of guilt they promise to be good and do good to others. How can they escape the cycle?

Then the writer exclaims that he has a voice to use to break through the lie that only government has power to solve man's problems. People are not powerless. The State is just a facade. The State is made up of men like us, and we can use our voices to speak up. 

The writer knows he has a responsibility to use his voice to speak up and in this way increase hope.

***

I can see how this poem has become popular at different times in history (even right now) as so many people live in uncertainty bc of tyrants and terrorists who threaten war and conflict. Most of us just want to live in peace, but all these events seem out of our hands. 

Audent writes that people need to think outside ourselves and help others -- think of what is best for others, instead of only focusing on ourselves. That's called: Helping your neighbor, and that is a good thing. If people were more kind, compassionate, empathetic, and loving, maybe we could prevent the creation of more bullies, especially those who end up in positions of heads of state. 

THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES

Again, another poem reflecting war -- in this case, post WWII. 

The Shield of Achilles is written from the POV of the goddess Thetis as she oversaw Hephaestus create the armor her son, Achilles, who would carry this with him into the Trojan War. She imagined the images displayed on his shield -- images of beauty and courage and strength and hope; yet, what she saw horrified her. This was a glimpse into the future. Near and far, far future. 

Where she hoped to see bounty, she saw barren land, no food, and nowhere to rest. Where she thought she would see religious tradition, she saw men being executed. And no one cared. Where she thought she would see images of feats of strength and courage, she saw abuse and destruction and death. 

Images of armies marched to battle, waiting to be told what to do. Girls raped and boys hurting one another carelessly. No one cared about anyone else.

At the very end, Hephaestus walked away from him assignment, despondent, and Thetis could only look into the shield and admit her son was destined to die young. 

Although the reader knows he is reading about Achilles' shield, the images are described in modern terminology, demonstrating the hopelessness of battle and war, destruction of land, and the growing selfishness of the human heart. Thetis was able to get a glimpse of the future, and we can look back through history and see that nothing has changed for the better. 

THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES
HUNTINGTON GARDENS

UNDER WHICH LYRE

In this poem, Auden contrasts two men or two ideologies. The setting is the United State post WWII, but this poem is universal, now that our world is  much smaller, and these ideas have spread everywhere.  

Using Greek mythology, Auden sets Apollo against Hermes. Both gods represent ideas of men. Apollo is about law and order, an authoritarian and establishment type, and Hermes is more creative and artistic. The conflict is between the education or propaganda of commercialism (in the universities) and the creative freedom of art (truth).

Apollo pushes knowledge, what the universities are now teaching, including the commercial side of art, manufactured passionless art -- propaganda. But Hermes knows that true art (literature, poetry, music, etc.) rejects mediocrity and propaganda and commercialism.  

Auden saw the changes post WWII in America, particularly at the higher institutions of learning, and this was his warning to the West. 

THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN

The Unknown Citizen is about the perfect model citizen who lived the way he was expected to live, according to society. He served the greater good, worked satisfactorily in the factory, paid his union dues, read the paper, responding to ads as expected (and this was before Google!), paid his insurance, owned all the popular gadgets, and reserved the right opinions at the right times. He had five kids and never complained about their education.  

BUT

"Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd:

Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard." 

There was no individuality about him. He blended with the masses. Had he been anything else, complaints would have been made, and it would have been known, and this little elegy would have never been written. 

Other poems by Auden, read but not reviewed:

~ COMPLINE

~ PROSPERO TO ARIEL

~ A WALK AFTER DARK 

* * * 

This is the FINAL poet from TWEM poetry section that I am going to read. The remaining poets are called Modernists. There is a suggested list of poets to read from, but I am going to stop here on my WEM poetry journey. 

Next up and final section is the plays, which I will begin in January 2025. If you would like to join me, there is a group at GoodReads HERE.