Funeral Blues - W H Auden Flashcards
How is the structure of the poem related to the theme of grief?
The structured form of the poem contrasts with the chaotic and irrational emotions of grief, with each stanza acting as a step further into the speaker’s grief-struck madness.
How does the poem’s structure represent the speaker’s emotional journey?
The stanzas act like stairs, leading the speaker deeper into grief and irrationality, with each stanza revealing a deeper level of emotional disturbance.
What is the significance of the poem’s rhyme scheme?
The consistent AABB rhyme scheme reflects the speaker’s attempt at order amidst emotional chaos, which highlights the contrast between grief and rationality.
What is the speaker’s first demand in the poem and what does it suggest about their emotional state?
The speaker demands to “stop all the clocks,” indicating a desire to escape the pressure of time and the slow passage of time during grief.
How does the speaker’s request to “cut off the telephone” reflect their grief?
The speaker wishes to avoid communication and the disturbance of external noise, indicating a desire for solitude and peace in their mourning.
What is the significance of the speaker wanting to “Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone”?
This demand reflects the speaker’s desire to control and silence even nature, symbolizing how grief makes them want to suppress everything, even life’s natural sounds.
How does the wish to “silence the pianos” contribute to the poem’s mood?
By silencing the pianos, an instrument often associated with joy, the speaker shows that grief overwhelms all positive emotions, and they are not willing to participate in life’s pleasures during this time.
What is the significance of the phrase “muffled drum” in the context of the poem?
The phrase “muffled drum” represents the sound of a funeral, where the speaker desires the sound of the drum to be subdued, reflecting their wish to grieve in silence and without external distractions.
What do the “coffin” and “mourners” symbolize in the first stanza?
The coffin and mourners reveal that the speaker is mourning the death of someone close to them, which is the cause of their grief and fractured mental state.
What does the phrase “Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead” suggest about the speaker’s emotional state?
The phrase reflects the speaker’s desire for everything, even inanimate objects like aeroplanes, to mourn the death of their loved one, illustrating their overwhelming grief.
How does the use of the word “moaning” in the second stanza contribute to the tone of the poem?
The word “moaning” evokes a sound of mourning, reinforcing the sadness and sorrow that the speaker is experiencing after the death of their loved one.
What is the symbolic meaning of the speaker wanting to “put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves”?
Crêpe bows on doves, symbols of peace, reflect the speaker’s desire for peace and calm in the midst of their grief, and to memorialize the lost loved one in a symbolically peaceful manner.
How does the speaker’s request for “traffic policemen to wear black cotton gloves” connect to the theme of mourning?
The request for black gloves ties into the tradition of wearing black for mourning, symbolizing the speaker’s wish for everyone, including the most ordinary figures like traffic policemen, to acknowledge and participate in their mourning process.
What does the speaker’s request for black gloves for traffic policemen symbolize in relation to their own life?
It symbolizes the speaker’s wish for life to return to normal and for their loved one to be restored to their life, as traffic policemen maintain order in the flow of life.
What do the phrases “He was my North, my South, my East and West” signify about the speaker’s relationship with the deceased?
These phrases symbolize how the deceased was the speaker’s guiding force and direction in life, suggesting the immense importance and centrality of the deceased in the speaker’s world.
How does the metaphor “My working week and my Sunday rest” emphasize the speaker’s feelings of loss?
The metaphor highlights how the deceased was a constant presence in the speaker’s life, integrated into both their work and leisure, showing the pervasive nature of their love and the depth of their loss.
What is the significance of the speaker describing the deceased as their “midnight” and “noon”?
These contrasts suggest that the deceased was present in both the speaker’s darkest and brightest moments, further underscoring the deep, all-encompassing love and connection the speaker felt for them.
How do the phrases “talk” and “song” in the third stanza reflect the speaker’s relationship with the deceased?
These metaphors illustrate that the deceased was not just a passive presence, but an active influence on the speaker’s personality (talk) and energy (song), indicating how integral they were to the speaker’s sense of self.
What is the emotional impact of the speaker’s final statement, “I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong”?
This line captures the speaker’s disillusionment and sorrow, adding a sense of finality to the grief, as they come to terms with the fact that love, despite its enduring strength, could not prevent death.
What does the speaker mean when they say, “the stars are not wanted now”?
The phrase reflects the speaker’s emotional apathy and despair, showing that in their grief, nothing in the world seems meaningful or important anymore.
How does the speaker’s request to “put out every one” of the stars further emphasize their state of mind?
The request highlights the speaker’s desire for complete disengagement from life, as if even the stars, which are symbols of hope and beauty, have lost their significance in their grief-stricken state.
What is the symbolic meaning of the speaker wanting to “Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun”?
This reflects the speaker’s wish to stop time and prevent life from moving forward. It shows their desire to remain in a state of mourning, unable or unwilling to face the passage of time.
Why does the speaker ask for the ocean to be “poured away” and the “wood” to be swept up?
These requests symbolize how the speaker has lost interest in the natural beauty and life around them. The elements that once brought joy now seem irrelevant and distracting to the speaker, who is consumed by their grief.
How does the line “nothing now can ever come to any good” convey the speaker’s emotional state?
This line expresses the speaker’s utter hopelessness, capturing the intense sorrow of someone who feels that life has lost its meaning and that nothing will improve following the loss.
