Poetry Assignment.docx

STYLISTIC AND THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF TWO POEMS, OF W.H AUDEN By Raina Tabbasum March 23

POETRY

OUTLINE: 

INTRODUCTION - Understanding modernism - Modernism and W.H Auden - Auden’s poetry and the works selected

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MUSEE DES BEAUX ARTS - Basic intro. - Stylistic devices and techniques - Themes and motifs

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THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN Basic intro. Stylistic devices and techniques Themes and motifs

2019

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CONSLUSION

The modern era was a time period of industrialization, wars and social decline. The conditions of society and man in the modern era were greatly affected by the destruction and perplexity that prevailed in this time period. As a result man lost faith and discovered darkness not only in his surroundings but also within his own self. Due to this reason Susan Stanford Friedman believes that, “Modernism…is the one art that responds to the scenario of our chaos” (1). Although the modern era began right after the 16th century with the scientific discoveries, however modernism as a literary movement gained momentum in the late 19th century with the end of the Victorian era and lasted till 20th century. Symbols, imagery, irony, internalization, subjectivity and selfconsciousness in writing techniques were used extensively by modern writers. The themes that remained dominant throughout modern literature were politicization, chaos, sexual emancipation, individualism, social evils, time, death, anxiety, industrialization, scientific advancements, the horrors of world wars, and the decline of civilization. ……………………………………………………………………………………

Much of Auden's work reflects the themes and conventions of the modernist movement. Born in 1907, Wystan Hugh Auden grew up in the tumultuous early years of the 20th century. Auden’s early interest in science earned him a scholarship to Oxford University, where his fascination with poetry led him to change his field of study to English. While at Oxford, Auden became familiar with modernist poetry, including that of T. S. Eliot. Inspired by Elliot, he became immediately impatient to take Elliot's poetic revolution further, linking it to the social upheaval he had lived in. The conditions of England were terrible. Auden believed that the, "the England of 1925 when I went to Oxford was The Waste Land in character" (2). Motivated by the poetic

styles and techniques of T.S Elliot he confided in his tutor, Nevill Coghill that: “I've been reading Eliot. I now see the way I want to write.” (2) Auden’s poems are an evidence of the period of political turmoil, war, humanity’s shift from rational thought, and the moral problems faced by humankind on the verge of another world war. It is probably due to this reason that Auden characterized the 1930's as “the age of anxiety.” Travelling through Europe and experiencing different cultures shaped his political and philosophical views hence providing various themes to his poetry. Auden a devout Christian, through his poetry explored the connection between religious and secular thought. He struck a chord in readers with his timely treatment of the moral and political issues. Harold Bloom in New Republic declares that, “Auden [was] accepted as not only a great poet but also a Christian humanist …the age require[d] such a figure.” ……………………………………………………………………………………

One common characteristic of modernist poetry was the attempt to break free from strict poetic forms. Like many modernist writers, Auden produced poetry that abandoned many of the conventions that existed in poetry of the 19th century, such as strict meter and rhyme patterns. His work is noted for its stylistic and technical achievements, its engagement with moral and political issues, and its variety of tone, form and content. This did not, however, prevent Auden from uniquely using traditional aesthetics and poetic forms as well; Auden’s works contains topics that span from ancient religion and science to politics and psychology. The central themes of his poetry are love, politics and citizenship, religion and morals, and the relationship between unique human beings and the anonymous, impersonal world of nature. Keeping these facts in

view this study will focus on the various modernist themes and styles used in the poems, "Musee des Beaux Arts" and “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H Auden respectively. 1: Definitional Excursions: The Meanings of Modern/Modernity/Modernism, Friedman, Vol. 8, No. 3 (PDF) http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/wh-auden-biography-famous-poems.html 2: Remembering Bryden's bill: modernism from Eliot to Auden, by Stan Smith (jstor) (PDF) http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/w-h-auden http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/524417.W_H_Auden

CITATION FOR INTRODUCTION

The poem, "Musee des Beaux Arts" written in 1938, is a poem that explores how people respond to tragedy and the struggles that they go through in life. The poetic genre used is, Ekphrastic Poetry, which is a writing that comments upon another art form. The first stanza develops general observation because Auden is stating that significant events tend to happen in obscurity while most humans are pre-occupied in their own affairs. The second stanza applies Auden’s general thesis to the specific Breughel's Icarus. The poet notes that, though the fall of Icarus is very significant, Brueghel, like the characters in his painting, treats it as a minor background detail. Auden reflects on how inattentive most people are to the sufferings of others, he focuses rendition of his theme by using The Fall of Icarus. Hence like his inspiration Elliot, Auden too describes the passivity and indifference of modern society by using religious and mythical references. By placing the modern notions within the traditional events he is able to depict the selfish disregard of the “waste landers” of 20th century. W. H. Auden uses different literary devices in the poem. The title itself is a reference to a piece of art depicting cultural and religious myths. “Musee des Beaux Arts” is French for 'Museum of

Fine Arts' which is located in Brussels, an institution Auden visited in 1938. The speaker of the poem is absent from the poem as there are no references to what he is thinking. In fact, the only way that one knows anything at all about him is the fact that the poem's title gives the information of his location which is the 'Museum of Fine Arts'. The word "I" is never once used in the poem, hence the speaker is more like a voice in the minds of readers. His voice appears to be very much like a conscience. Since, he doesn't let on that he's a real person with trifling thoughts, his voice appears more authoritative and whole. ……………………………………………………………………………………

Auden often used recondite and archaic words in his poetry, but in this poem he deliberately restricts himself to a very plain vocabulary. The effect of commonplace phrases is to emphasize the banality of suffering. Auden uses language that has to do with children because they are more absorbed in activities that distract them from what is going on around them. For example, instead of saying especially, Auden says “specially.”The poet’s tone is nonchalant, as if to echo the carefree way in which most people ignore the tribulations of others. Passion and reverence are out of place in the kingdom of the blasé. This poem is formed through two unequal stanzas, the first of 15 lines and the second Stanza of 8. "Musee des Beaux Arts" is a poem written in free verse. This means that the poem is "free" of meter, regular rhythm. This poem has varying line lengths and an irregular rhyme pattern. The rhyme scheme of 1st stanza is ABCADEDBFGFGE and 2nd stanza is AABCDDBC. Based on the stanzas, Auden's poem is distinguished into two parts which relate to one another much like the octave and sestet of a sonnet. Thus, like a sonnet, the poem is marked by a definite break or turn in thought. The first thirteen lines of the poem introduce the poem's theme and discuss it in

general term, while the second half of the poem develops and illustrates the general idea with a specific example.

“Musee Des Beaux Arts,” is French for museum of fine arts, foreshadowing the usage of imagery in Auden’s poem. The whole second half of the poem is imagery itself because Auden is describing a specific painting. The image depicts a boy drowning, crying out for help; however the farmer that sees the boy does not save him. The boy in the picture continues to drown until a boat passes by to save him. Visual imagery like white legs, the green water and the expansive delicate ship and auditory imagery like the forsaken cry have been employed. Since the poet follows a more direct approach to writing. Very few instances of figurative language are found in the poem. However personification has been employed in the last few lines of the second stanza: "and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen/ something amazing" The ship doesn't truly, have eyes but is given human characteristics. Even though Auden keeps his language simple and straightforward, he does build up a fairly elaborate network of references and allusions to places, people, and things happening behind the scenes. Auden applies both Christian and Greek allusions in Musee des Beaux Arts for both plot progression and the formation of irony in the poem. The initial use of allusion in the poem is the phrase “The Old Masters” a term used to refer broadly to European painters and artists prior to the nineteenth century. Auden reminisces on the fact that the early painters “about suffering they were never wrong” giving the inference that their art acted as a succinct reflection of the misery facing humanity. The second allusion is the “miraculous birth” used to draw a parallelism in the poem with the Christian account of Christ’s birth. The writer notes that the birth was eagerly awaited as imagery to humanity’s consistent yearning for a miracle that would offer

permanent redemption from the bondage of torment. But the people in the modern era are unconcerned of this. Other Biblical allusions used are the “dreadful martyrdom” that submit to the persecutions that Christians faced upon the demise of Christ. Interestingly, Breughel has two paintings referred to as the Numbering at Bethlehem and the Massacre of Innocents to reflect the martyrdom. Auden’s imagery of martyrdom is used to evidence the fact that major cases of human affliction have been overcome by events that have marked loss. The allusion of Icarus is used to amplify the ignorance that slowly kills the human community in its endeavors and the indifference that is accorded to such practices. The application of allusions aids the writer in dealing with grave issues within the society in a manner that does not create abhorrence to the readers Additionally, the device is used to amplify the irony that exists between the current situation and what ought to be of the same. ……………………………………………………………………………………

Various themes have been derived from the poem but the main theme is universal apathy, a universal unconcern of things going on in human life. Through the use of literary art Auden presents such themes of life and humanity in the poem, the themes include: suffering, indifference, passivity, human choices and art. The theme of suffering is quite significant. The first noun in “Musée des Beaux Arts” is “suffering,” which is the cause of tragedy and pain. However despite this importance to suffering, the poem depicts how human beings are unconcerned about the sufferings of others. Auden attempts to showcase the consequences of such unfeeling behavior through the imagery of his poem. Throughout, Auden observes how individual suffering is ignored by the rest of the world. Most people continue with their everyday lives without paying any attention to

extraordinary events going on, the kind that poets and painters usually depict. “About suffering they were never wrong, /The Old Masters; (1-2)” The theme that is the cause of this individual suffering is man’s indifference to man. Through the poem Auden describes how: People eat and drink, dogs continue to act like dogs, and children continue to play, despite the fact that a scene of great tragedy may be occurring amongst them. “…and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen/Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky, /had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on”. Hence, the poet shows the dilemma of the 20th century where instead of helping others, people turn away when they see others in need of support.

This lack of concern and indifference towards human suffering gives rise to the theme of unsupportive passivity. The poet addresses the idleness that modern people feel with regard to the suffering of others. Children may not be expected to understand the “human condition” in a tragic situation but, adults who bury their heads despite the difficulties of other people are a representation of the heartless and unacceptable coldness that prevails in society. To add to his theme, Auden points out that man’s lack of support for each other is not a new issue. Humanity has been indifferent since ancient Greek times to the time of Christ to the world today. Disasters, tragedies and sufferings are a part of life; they happen any time. Yet not reacting and feeling this tragedy as it ought to be felt is a terrible thing as it takes man toward nothingness and isolation.

The theme of human choices is also quite predominant. Every individual has to choose his own path in life. In Brueghel's painting Auden refers how Icarus chooses to fly too high. Men choose to keep their eyes down while he drowns. Brueghel chooses to depict all of this in a painting.

Hence, humanity’s indifference towards the pain and suffering of others is the choice that the modern society is making. And it is this choice which Auden hopes to deconstruct. Art and culture can also be considered an essential theme of the poem, highlighting the importance of Art in Auden's discovery. It is through the reference and use of art that Auden is able to convey all the themes and messages in his poem. The reference to the painting in Brussels connects the poem to the human culture from the Grecian myths to the modern philosophies. For Auden, art becomes a way to express political and social viewpoints that people might not be willing to listen to otherwise. Hence the aim of the poem is to explore the human society and culture through art. http://www.accurateessays.com/samples/the-use-of-allusions-by-w-h-auden-in-musee-des-beaux-arts/ http://www.enotes.com/topics/musee-des-beaux-arts/in-depth#in-depth-forms-and-devices https://prezi.com/ups2wgwgjavo/wh-auden-musee-de-beaux-arts-and-ekphrastic-poetry/ http://www.shmoop.com/musee-des-beaux-arts http://www.eliteskills.com/analysis_poet http://www.shmoop.com/musee-des-beaux-arts/themes.html CITATION FOR MUSEE DES BEAUX ARTS http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_theme_of_auden's_musee_des_beaux_arts http://poetrypages.lemon8.nl/life/musee/museebeauxarts.htm http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-theme-audens-musee-des-beaux-arts-154265

“The Unknown citizen” by W.H Auden was written in 1939. The poem is a satire of standardization at the expense of individualism. Hence the genre of the poem, “The Unknown Citizen” is considered to be a satiric elegy. Elegy is a poetic genre that is often melancholic and is dedicated to the dead. However being a satirical elegy the tone of the poet is more ironic than sad but despite the irony the poem is a dedication to a dead citizen. The words described in the poem are written on a statue or monument dedicated to "The Unknown Citizen". The poet criticizes the life of a modern man as the praises meant for the unknown person are nothing more

than a standard seal of approval by government. This weak praise shows the insignificance of the citizens in the modern society. ……………………………………………………………………………………

From the very beginning writer has used symbolism in the poem. The title can be seen as a kind of symbol; instead of naming the person he is called “The Unknown Citizen”. It symbolizes how the society he lives in doesn’t need his name but a number, “JS/07/M/38/” to refer to him. The use of allegory or extended comparison with figures outside the poem can also be spotted in the title. “The Unknown Citizen” also recalls the idea of “The Unknown Soldier” of a battle. An unknown soldier is the one whose remains cannot be found or identified. Same is the situation of modern man, once he dies, no one remembers him for his actual internal self.

“The Unknown Citizen” doesn’t have a standard verse formation due to lack of uniformity. The poem switches between different rhyme schemes. All the rhyme scheme remains simple as not to distract and take away from the meaning. The poem begins with a rhyme scheme of ABAB, continuing both rhyming couple and other structures that often rhyme though not constantly. Throughout the poem the author uses rhyme scheme, for example, in the second stanza he uses a rhyme at the end of almost every sentence. In the end of lines 6 and 7 he uses "retired" and "fired" to create a rhyme scheme. He also uses the words "views" and "dues" in lines 9 and 10 to represent the usage of rhyme scheme in the poem. There are no breaks in this poem but connections between verses are made through the rhyme, despite the metrical irregularity. The poet ends the poem with a rhyming couplet. The free flow of the poem parallels the idea of an easy, free flowing life of a man whose life was average.

Auden begins his poem with a very satirical epigraph, serving simultaneously as an epitaph. “To JS/07 M 378 This Marble Monument is erected by the state”. Epigraph is a literary convention which is in form of phrase, quotation or lines in the beginning of the poem often introducing the main theme of the poem. The epigraph of “The Unknown Citizen” tells us that the poem is in a dramatic from. The words on the marble monument are written down by the government or state. The alphanumeric combination refers to the identity of ‘the unknown citizen’. The epigraph to "The Unknown Citizen" is a parody of the symbolic ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers’ which is a reference and allusion to the First World War when this term was first introduced with the burial of the unidentified soldiers of war. Auden has cleverly used verbal irony in the entire poem. Auden ridicules the life of modern man. Starting from the title when he compares this man with unknown soldiers and till the end when he asks a question: Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: / Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard. The imagery used throughout the poem paints a picture of a man who is a “perfect citizen”. Auden builds an imagery of a man that served the state in every aspect of his life and was rewarded to show other people the benefit of doing the same. The poem starts by pointing out that there is “no official complaint” against the man and that “in the modern sense of an old fashioned word, he was a saint”. The poet has used the figurative language by employing a metaphor, comparing the Unknown citizen to “a saint”. Here in the poem this person is not called a saint because of his religious devotion, but because of his devotion towards government. By describing the "average citizen" through the eyes of various government organizations, the

poem criticizes standardization and the modern state's relationship with its citizens. The manipulative "State" in Auden's poem celebrates "The Unknown Citizen" as the ideal citizen. ……………………………………………………………………………………

The title of the poem itself suggests the central theme and motif of the poem that is loss of identity. The unknown citizen is a person having no self or identity. An unknown citizen is a common man whose life is so conventional that he cannot distinguish himself from his fellow citizens. He is just a common man who is obedient to rules and laws of the government. He remains unknown among millions of people because he does not raise his voice. He is a silent being who says yes to government without questioning. He does not voice his opinions. Auden relates this to the concept of the Unknown Soldier, whose physical remains, or the dead body is not identifiable. The epigraph of the poem starts with the identity of the unknown citizen: “JS/07 M 378’’. This shows how he has no identity even his name is”unknown”, predicting the identity crises of a modern man. There is no name of written on his monument instead there is a statistic number written which clearly shows that a person might as well be a statistic number. There is no meaning in the combination of numbers and figures which could suggest the meaninglessness and worthlessness of the citizen’s life.

Another important theme of the poem is the theme of manipulation. Auden has written this poem in a voice of a fictional government bureaucrat who manipulates the ideas and beliefs in favour of the government. He is a person of office whose decisions affects people whom he has never even met. Auden criticizes the forerunners of the democratic government which creates a myth of a ‘perfect citizen’. The masses work hard to get this title of a perfect citizen. A perfect

citizen is defined by the state as submissive man. “The Press are convinced that he bought a paper every day / And that his reactions to advertisements were normal in every way.” These lines show he is working for the government and not objecting on anything. There is no ‘official complaint’ against him. Thus, he becomes a perfect citizen. The government has no concern with the citizens rather it works for its own gain’s and profits. The unknown citizen runs government revenue by spending money on expensive things. Monuments and public celebrations are always political. The manipulative bureaucracy works for the benefit of the government. It is most concerned with the hurdles coming in the way of the government. In accordance to this, the government has created this expansive marble monument to the blandest person in the country, the one least likely to mess things for those in power. The myth of a ‘perfect citizen’ is inscribed in the monument, which tells nothing about the man to whom it is dedicated. It is political because it tries to convince the imaginary reader to be more like the unknown citizen.

Patriotism is also another predominant theme as it is in the name of nation that the citizens are being manipulated. Auden strongly criticizes the unknown citizen’s conformity and questions the stance of "my country - right or wrong". He holds the opinion that such slogans are not merely mind-numbing, but such slogans are dangerous for the progress of the country. Auden labels this as an unpatriotic act. He believes that these slogans promote an ideology which ensures the enslavement of masses, while the state functions unchallenged, creating an imbalance between right and wrong. In the line ‘in everything he did he served the Greater Community’; the poem implies that the interest of greater community clashes with the individual identity. The poem probes questions as to who decides what the interests of the Greater Community are. The poem raises serious

questions on suppression of individuality in the name of patriotism. It states that patriotism at the cost of individuality causes negative impact on the society. In order to be part of the Greater Community and achieve superfluous harmony, one has to sacrifice self and conform to the ideas of the State. The Unknown Citizen never voices opinions that are different to those around him, thus, he is declared a patriotic by the state and achieves a false status of ‘sainthood’ at the cost of individuality. A similar idea is presented by Huxley in his Brave New World; where he describes the modern idea of community in the words: ‘everyone belongs to everyone else.’ Auden believes that only by thinking, and putting forward ideas and arguments for the sake of creating goodness, can a citizen truly serve his State and become a true patriot. He is of the opinion that by not voicing opinions and silently generating revenues for the government; the unknown citizen is doing a great disservice to the State.

The theme of passivity in the poem is also quite important. The theme of passivity is interlinked with all the other themes. The features of passivity can be seen in the character of the unknown citizen who is doing things without questioning. The lines, “He wasn’t a scab or odd in his views shows his passivity”. He has been called a modern-day ‘saint’ by the state, but no one knows just what he has done that is so worthy of praise. His most potentially heroic deed is serving in the army during a war but the point is he did what every other citizen had done. So, basically he is hero because he is a subservient man. On the whole, the unknown citizen belonged to the faceless masses, from his consumer habits to his of love of having ‘a drink’. The poem attacks on the conformity of the modern society. www.shmoop.com › Poetry › The Unknown Citizen › Literary Devices www.enotes.com/...help/what-type-irony-used-unknown-citizen-425387 www.gradesaver.com/w-h-auden-poems/.../summary-the-unknown-citizen www.essaybyexample.com/free-essay.../essay-Auden-Unknown-Citizen www.123helpme.com/search.asp?text=citizen www.shmoop.com › Poetry › The Unknown Citizen › Themes www.gradesaver.com/w-h-auden-poems/study-guide/summary-the-unknown-citizen www.enotes.com/topics/unknown-citizen

CITATION FOR THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN

In the early 1930s W.H. Auden was acclaimed prematurely by some as the foremost poet then writing in English, on the disputable ground that his poetry was more relevant to contemporary social and political realities than that of T.S. Eliot and William Butler Yeats, who previously had shared the summit. By the time of Eliot’s death in 1965, however, a convincing case could be made for the assertion that Auden was indeed Eliot’s successor, as Eliot had inherited sole claim to supremacy when Yeats died in 1939. Auden was, as a poet, far more copious and varied than Eliot and far more uneven. He tried to interpret the times, to diagnose the ills of society and deal with intellectual and moral problems of public concern. Although similar to much modernist art in its themes and concerns, his poems are distinct in their use of a narrator who is both dramatic and emotionally detached; through using a narrator who is able to reveal the personal anxiety of those living during in the 20th century while at the same time grappling with the larger ideas that were being explored by artists and intellectuals, Auden provided an important voice for modernism. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/42514/W-H-Auden/469

CITATION FOR CONCLUSION

THE END