Refugee Blues by WH Auden Flashcards
What must we consider the impact of when analysing poems by WH Auden?
Consider the impact of World War I and World War II
on his upbringing and eventually on his writing.
What is WH Auden’s life story?
• Auden married the German Jewish actress and writer
Erika Mann in 1935.
• This was a marriage of convenience; by marrying
Auden, Mann intended to obtain British citizenship to
escape persecution in Nazi Germany.
• Just before World War II broke out (1939), Auden
emigrated to the United States.
• He met the poet Chester Kallman, who became his
lifelong lover.
• Consider acceptance as a recurring theme in his work.
• Auden worried about the impact of his sexuality on his
attempt to fashion himself as a “public poet”
• How could he speak with authority on behalf of the
masses if he were himself a member of a minority?
What is the significance of the the poem in reference to WH Auden’s past work?
• “Refugee Blues” is the title commonly given to the first song in W. H. Auden’s ‘Twelve
Songs’.
• The fact that “Refugee Blues” was part of a cycle titled ‘Twelve Songs’ prepares us for the
rhythm of the stanzas, each ending with a refrain-like line featuring the expression ‘my
dear’.
When was the poem completed?
• The poem was completed in March 1939, while Auden was living in New York having left
the United Kingdom.
• Before the Holocaust began in full force.
• Seen as a powerful critique against countries who refused to open their doors to Jewish
refugees.
• The poem was written in 1939 and explored specifically how German refugees were
othered during the Second World War.
What is the significance of the title? (3)
- Suggests a subject matter of exile and forced migration – “Refugee”
- “Blues” music – Southern slave communities in America.
- This style of music is often described as melancholic/forlorn/mournful.
What issues does the poem raise?
It raises the issue of the discrimination against all refugees which is so much a feature of
our 21st century society where xenophobia is prevalent.
What is the setting?
The setting is a foreign country, but the specific location is never provided showing that the issue is universal.
What is the form of Blues?
Blues as a genre is characterised by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation. It was only in the first decades of the 20th century that the most common current structure
became standard: the AAB pattern (tercet).
Comment on the first two lines of each stanza.
First two lines of each stanza narrates the story – last line is a refrain.
What does the content of each rhyming line in comparison to the third line of the tercet emphasise?
Consider the content of each rhyming line in comparison to the third line of the tercet which emphasises the isolation of the speaker.
What does the form of the poem mimic?
The form of the poem mimics the blues rhythm and rhyme scheme.
What is the tone and the mood?
It creates a mournful mood and a melancholy tone.
Comment on the consistent rhyme scheme?
The consistent rhyme scheme throughout the poems demonstrates that their plight is
unchanging.
What does the form of the poem convey?
The form of the poem conveys the alienation and frustration of the experience of refugees. Just as the speaker’s life is unpredictable so the line lengths shift. Each line is end-stopped reflecting the isolation experienced by the refugees.
What is the vehicle of Auden’s indictment?
The vehicle of Auden’s indictment is his use of the music of another minority much despised and exploited by the West.
