Auden's Approach to Views in His Poetry
Auden approaches many views in his poetry. There are however around
five main underlying views that Auden approaches in almost all of his
poems. There is the constant view that humans have been de-humanised
and reduced to numbers. Suffering and its place in the world is
constantly looked upon, reminding us of the time when Auden was
writing. The Spanish civil war, the rise of both communism and fascism
and the Second World War would have influenced greatly Auden's views
in his poems. There is also the view that war has turned into a cycle,
with yet more wars starting as others stop. Auden seems particularly
worried of the moral attitude people have to the 20th century. People
seem to be more interested in destroying the world and its inhabitants
and making the slaves to the 'greater cause'. However there is also
the sense that the poet believes that poetry is a force in the world,
and that its power to affect people comes from its very human
qualities.
In the 'Memory of W.B.Yates', Auden is looking very much at the role
of suffering in the world, and the role other peoples suffering has
upon other individuals. In 'Memory', there is a very detached
acceptance of death. The word 'death' is repeated to add the effect
but there is still the overlying view of complete ignorance of peoples
suffering by others. And with 'the wolves ran on through the evergreen
forest' Auden is again emphasising that the rest of the world goes on.
However, Yates himself is a poet, and Auden then goes on to say that
although Yates is dead, his memory lives on in the poems he wrote, and
his still faithful readers 'h...
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...ntrolled mass that the state in 'Sheild' and 'Citizen', want them to
be. Auden is frightened that the common man will be forgotten just as
Christ and Icarus, and to some extent Yates was. I believe that Auden
is attempting to say that the individual is just as important as the
society, but that we should be careful to remember the individual,
instead of just looking to oneself to see how society is reflected and
also we should think as individuals, rather than as a common
consensus. This I believe is one of the most important points that
Auden makes in his poems, and in this modern society which still
contains authorities which feel oppression is the answer to many
problems in society, Auden's views support the views of a vast
majority of people who believe in the individual, and recognise its
correct place in society.
This is the poem that Jim Northrup wrote about war. I am going to Explicate the poem and
Tim O’Brien states in his novel The Things They Carried, “The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque. But in truth war is also beauty. For all its horror, you can’t help but gape at the awful majesty of combat” (77). This profound statement captures not only his perspective of war from his experience in Vietnam but a collective truth about war across the ages. It is not called the art of combat without reason: this truth transcends time and can be found in the art produced and poetry written during the years of World War I. George Trakl creates beautiful images of the war in his poem “Grodek” but juxtaposes them with the harsh realities of war. Paul Nash, a World War I artist, invokes similar images in his paintings We are Making a New World and The Ypres Salient at Night. Guilaume Apollinaire’s writes about the beautiful atrocity that is war in his poem “Gala.”
middle of paper ... ... He says “War is hell, but that’s not the half of it, because war is also mystery and terror and adventure and courage and discovery and holiness and pity and despair and longing and love. War is nasty; war is fun. War is a drudgery.
...ntation in 20th century war poetry undoubtedly shapes its type and purpose, be it for nationalistic propaganda or to prompt a global paradigm shift, the purpose can be seen to stem largely from the author’s involvement in combat or war life. Authors such as Owen Seaman, who have no first hand experience of the content of their poems, create patriotic propaganda in an attempt to keep young men enlisting, and others such as Rupert Brooke who exemplify blind optimism and nationalistic intentions in a romanticised view of what it would be to die.
Although there were still poets who wrote of the glories of fighting, poets such as Wilfred Owen, who fought and in the end was killed during the First World War, began to write realistically, showing war in a true light, removing any romanticism. In the poems I am going to look at, we can see a clear divide between the poetry of the pre 1900's and that of the post 1900's. A good example of this pre 1900 approach to war is "Before Agincourt" from William Shakespeare's play "King Henry the Fifth. " This is a speech written in blank verse, which is appropriate for such a significant subject.
other hand, John Mc Crae was in the 2nd wave of poets. He viewed war
...his life. The battle was very intense and the poem gives a great description of the
War and its ramifications for those who are unfortunately entangled in it, is an issue that has fueled both political discussion and literary exploration throughout the previous century. Underived, authentic accounts of the experience and effects of war, from those who have served in it, can be especially enlightening for the majority of society who have had the fortune of not being intimately familiar with war. Through the examination of poems and stories written by soldiers, who were inspired by their involvement in conflict, one can obtain a greater understanding of this gruesome aspect of life, without having to directly experience it. Similarly, soldier turned poet, Bruce Weigl, has contributed his perspective on war through his literary
The state of nature will result in a state of war. Besides being nasty, brutish, and short, he also describes the state of war as being solitary and constantly threatening. Although this condition...
fascinated by wars. For example, in "A Farewell to Arms", he focused on how war had
The physical effects of war overwhelm the naïve causing pain and suffering. Initially, war entangles the lives of youth, destroying the innocence that they experience as an aspect of their life. The girl “glid[ing] gracefully down the path” (1) and the boy “rid[ing] eagerly down the road” (9) have their enjoyable realities striped by the harshness of war. Likewise, war enters women’s lives creating turmoil. The woman who works “deftly in the fields” ( ) no longer is able to experience the offerings of life. The “wire cuts,” ( ) pushing her away from the normal flow of life. In addition, man undergoes tragic obstacles as a result of war. “A man walks nobly and alone” ( ) before the horrible effects of war set in on his life causing disruptions. War enters the life of man destroying the bond man shares with his beloved environment ( ).
As a poet, Wilfred Owens wants to show the effects of warfare from the viewpoint of a soldier during a War. Owens uses his own experience as a fighter to capture the reader’s attention and get across his point. He often uses graphic imagery and words to depict his thoughts about war. Wilfred Owens, poems, “Dulce et Decorum est” and “Anthem for doomed youth” talk blatantly about the effects of warfare on the soldiers, their loved ones, and those who make an ultimate sacrifice by making a statement about the efficacy of war.
World War one and two. Both these wars stole many young men’s lives from them. Stole sons from their mothers. Stole brothers from their sister but also stole many innocent lives in the process. An estimated 60 million lives lost and for what? For land, for power, wealth. War is brutal, gruesome, costly and pointless. What good could possibly come from a war? The truth is without these wars, the world of literature wouldn’t be the same. These wars bought rise to names such as Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, and Edward Thomas. Among all that death, destruction, and calamity; somehow great poets were born.
To draw into the poet’s world, the poet must draw relations between them, including the reader, making them feel what the poet feels, thinking what the poet thinks. Wilfred Owen does this very creatively and very effectively, in both of his poems, Dulce et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori and Anthem of Doomed Youth, who is seen as an idol to many people today, as a great war poet, who expresses his ideas that makes the reader feel involved in the moment, feeling everything that he does. His poems describe the horror of war, and the consequences of it, which is not beneficial for either side. He feels sorrow and anger towards the war and its victims, making the reader also feel the same.
The process of mourning will be different for ever individual, the emotions that are felt during this time can range from hate to love. W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues” describes the day of someone who is mourning a loved one and experiences feelings such as denial and depression. Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could Not Stop for Death” on the other hand describes the events someone feels as they being to accept death. There are many similarities between these pieces of writings such as the poet’s use of metaphors, imagery, tone and structure. Although these two poems express death in opposite ways they have a common theme which states that death is a part of life. Both of these poems express the different ways that people deal with death; Auden’s poem depicts dark emotions while Dickinson’s tone suggests understanding and acceptance of death.