War, Poetic Technique, and Applicability of Meaning in ‘O what is that sound’ Anonymous College

‘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 preoccupied with times of war, W. H Auden is able to to evoke an unsettling atmosphere focused toward the fear of impending war/death. Specifically, one may link the setting of the poem to the persecution of intellectuals by the Bolsheviks, or of minorities by the Nazis. The ambiguous nature of the dialogue galvanises this atmosphere to the point at which the reader is fearful for the lives of the narrators: ‘Why are you kneeling?’. As well as being ambiguous, the dialogue gives rise to an undiluted vulnerability seeping from certainly the first voice, if not both narrators. They observe the ‘soldiers coming’ undertaking their ‘usual manoeuvres’ but are powerless to prevent them approaching. Perhaps Auden is illustrating the way in which the tyranny of the majority can sneak up on you void of warning - where once all problems seemed miles away, in reality, they are just around the corner. On a more literal level, Auden is bringing to light the way in which conflict can destroy relationships (‘...