W.H Audens poetry Flashcards
What is Audens ‘Lullaby’ entered around?
Lullaby describes the love that one speaker has for his imperfect “beloved” and how that love will be enough to contentful until their final deaths.
The poem begins with the speaker asking that his “love” lay down in his arms and find peace. The two will spend this time together, amongst one another’s faults and flaws, and be truly happy.
It will not matter if the world is not perfect, or if there have been lies and mistakes in the past.
Explain the key poetic/structural techniques Auden utilises within ‘Lullaby’
The piece follows an imperfect rhyme scheme that is made up of both half and full rhymes. The pattern changes within each stanza. A reader should be able to look through and pick out the moments of half or slant rhyme easily,Once one reads the entire piece and realises that it is one about the imperfection of human beings, the mixed-up non-patterns make sense. Auden has matched his rhymes to his subject matter.
In the first stanza of this piece the speaker begins by making a request of his “love.” This person, who is clearly very important to the speaker, is not given any greater description than being the object of his passionate affection.
The following lines describe the entire world, and the process of living and dying, in a few sweeping phrases. He speaks of how “Time” and one’s “fevers,” passions or troubles, “burn away” one’s childish beauty throughout the process of ageing. As one grows and learns more about the true state of the world, their questioning becomes jaded. The “thoughtful[ness]” which once existed runs out.
In the second stanza, the speaker describes what it is like to be in love, and be part of a couple. Together, he and his lover pass beyond the “bounds” of their “Soul and body.” They have the ability to move past the intrinsic faults of humankind and be part of something larger.
He tells his “love” that he envisions a life that is “Soft” and moves around their “dreaming head” without causing any great disturbance. The days of his lover’s life should evoke “welcome” and “bless[ings]” of goodness. The “mortal world” the two reside in should be enough for both of them. Its intrinsic flaws should not keep one from living a full and wonderfully happy life. Even more so when they are part of a couple as the speaker is.
In the final lines, he commits to caring for his beloved in every way one can be cared for. There will be no moments this person is not “fed” nor times that “insults” will be truly impactful. The speaker’s lover will be “Watched by every human love.” It is clear he does not care for powers beyond the secular. God plays no role in the life the speaker is describing. He will be the sole caretaker of his lover.
What is Audens ‘Musee des Beaux Arts’ entered around?
Musee des Beaux Arts’ by W.H. Auden describes, through the use of one specific artwork, the impact of suffering on humankind. The poem begins with the speaker stating that the “Old Masters” who were responsible for the art he was looking at, knew struggle well. Through their paintings, they were able to portray suffering in a way that most people never see it.
It goes on in the background while others sit, eat, and go about their normal lives. He continues on to say that suffering can take many forms and even revolve around the same event, such as the birth of a child.
In the final lines of the first stanza, the speaker mentions martyrs and how their sacrifice is never properly appreciated. It fades into the background and is overtaken by the mundane world.
Explain the key structural devices Auden utilises within ‘Musee des Beaux Arts’
The poem begins with the speaker stating that the “Old Masters” were “never wrong” about suffering. They understood its ins and out very well. The master painters to whom the speaker, who is likely Auden himself, refers were able to depict the “human position” which can be seen in suffering. They made real the struggles and passions of humakind
In the next part of the stanza, the speaker goes into the conflicting emotions which exist around one event, such as the birth of a child. There are those who feel it is “miraculous,” then there are the children who do not “specially want it to happen.” They are not looking forward to the birth of another sibling
The final lines of the first stanza describe the speaker’s outlook on the importance of suffering and how it is, or is not, remembered. For a moment one’s sacrifice might be remembered, but before long it fades into history. It “run[s] its course.” It will waste away in a corner where more mundane happenings have taken precedence— a dog living its life and a horse scratching “its innocent behind.”
The second stanza of ‘Musee des Beaux Arts,’ which contains eight lines, speaks on the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus.
The disaster which the speaker is describing is that of Icarus falling from the sky into the ocean. A splash, and pair of white legs, can be seen in the water in the bottom right-hand corner of the immediate scene. There might be someone in the scene who heard the “splash” or the “cry,” such as the “ploughman” but he does not react if that is the case. He continues his work, that being the most important part of his life.
The final lines of ‘Musee des Beaux Arts’ describe the “delicate” ship which can be seen in the green water of the painting. The speaker thinks that it certainly saw something, such as a boy falling into the ocean, but chose to do nothing about it. There is something of greater importance to the sailors—somewhere they are more interested in going than to investigate a splash. Everyone is calm, carrying on with their lives as if nothing happened.
What is Audens ‘The Shield of Achilles’ centered around?
The Shield of Achilles’, makes an imaginary description of what Thetis noticed on the shield of her son + sheds light on the episode in which Achilles’ mother Thetis overlooks the making of the shield by Hephaestus.
According to Greek mythology, Thetis was a sea-goddess. She was the mother of Achilles, the greatest of the Greek heroes in the Trojan War. At her request, Hephaestus, the armor-maker of gods, made armor, and a shield for Achilles.
He also engraved images on the shield. In this poem, the poet talks about the images or scenes depicted on the shield by the skillful hands of Hephaestus.
How does Auden structure ‘The Shield of Achilles’
This ekphrastic poem consists of a total of nine stanzas. Each stanza does not contain a specific line-length or pattern. Along with that, there is not any specific rhyme scheme in this poem. Most of the lines do not rhyme at all. Hence, it is in free verse.
However, there are some instances where one can find the use of rhyming. It is important to focus specifically on the structure of the stanzas. The stanzas containing short lines depict what Thetis wished to see on the shield of her son
It contains an allusion to Homer’s epic poem “Iliad”. In this poem, the poet refers to the shield-making by Hephaestus. While he was working on it, Thetis looked over his shoulder. Auden uses metaphors in “untamed seas.” Here, the poet compares the sea to a wild creature. There is synecdoche in the phrase “shining metal.” Thereafter, one can find a use of simile in the last line of the first stanza.
This stanza does not only contain the mentioned devices but also contain the use of alliteration in the phrase, “His hands had.” In the second stanza, the poet uses a repetition of the word “million”. This repetition is called palilogy.
