W.H. Auden was a visionary writer, portraying myriad themes ranging from the political, social, ethical, moral and individual perspectives of his time and prior to the Modernist period. His work often encapsulates the existential fears of a...

Virginia Woolf’s critique of 1930s poetry as being too often an exercise in didacticism is perhaps warranted from an overall perspective. The overwhelming import of the fascist threat that rose in Franco’s Spain, however, holds a unique place in...

“His effort to examine poetry with a coroner’s or detective’s clinical eye conceives of poetry as engaged with history and society”

Loris Mirella (on W.H. Auden), “Realigning Modernism”

Auden’s poems “Spain, 1937”, “Sonnet XVI”, and “1st September...

W.H Auden’s poetry investigates a decent society as it is oppressed by political ideology and then by war. The prevailing political motivation of a fraught time period and the destructive impact of war are also illustrated in the Australian...

There is a long standing tradition within literature of art within the text holding symbolic meaning. Through either referring or depicting art the author is able to convey, and often consolidate, the ideas of the artist whom they are referring...

As poets responding to the turmoil of war, authors Wilfred Owen and W.H. Auden both explore the causes and consequences of rejection. The two men in particular emphasise the psychological impact that war has on human beings who are unjustly cast...

In ‘Musee des Beaux Arts’, W.H Auden explores human responses towards tragedy across the cultures through the setting details of paintings within the ‘Musee des Beaux Arts’. Whilst the poem might be read as an ode to human resilience in the face...

Both ‘Their Lonely Betters’ and ‘Resolution and Independence’ convey the feelings of how, along with how great the gift of speech is in allowing us to be unique and communicate with one another, we should appreciate nature for what it is, for...

“The Geography of the House” by W. H. Auden is a scatological poem written in a strict form and with a serious tone. The poem resembles the mock-heroic genre of the 18th century in that it deals with a trivial subject matter in a neatly organized...

The ability of a text to channel a cogent political viewpoint is exemplified within ‘The Unknown Citizen” (1939), in which Auden sympathises with those impacted by political acts of the 20th century manifested within political ideologies fronted...

The Greek minstrel Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, is one of the most popular works of literature in history, and for good reason. In it, and its companion poem, The Odyssey, the happenings of the legendary Trojan War as well as certain events...

Throughout history, regardless of changing contexts, individuals have employed various forms of art to effect political change and expose corruptions within society. W.H Auden’s selection of poems including “Spain” (1937) and “In Memory of W.B....

‘O what is that sound’ is a poem written in the form of a ballad, containing two narrators; one questioning, the other answering. The reader assumes, perhaps falsely, that the first voice is the wife, and the second, the husband. A writer...

According to Auden's essay "The Guilty Vicarage," the typical formula for a detective story is the "occurrence of a murder; then, many are suspected, all but one suspect, who happens to be the murderer, are eliminated; finally the murderer is...

Since the end of World War II there has been an unwritten rule in the discourse of American politics. Though unwritten and mostly unspoken, this rule has been for the most part so widely respected and adhered to that over the decades has arisen a...