"Even the greatest of that long line of scholars and poets who have held this chair before me-when I recall the names of some, I am filled with fear and trembling-must have asked themselves: What is a Professor of Poetry? How can Poetry be professed?"
I can imagine one possible answer, though unfortunately it is not the right one. I should be feeling less uneasy at this moment than I do, if the duties of the Professor of Poetry were to produce, as occasion should demand, an epithalamium for the nuptials of a Reader in Romance Languages, an elegy on a deceased Canon of Christ Church, a May-day Masque for Somerville or an election ballad for his successor. I should at least be working in the medium to which I am accustomed."
In this way Auden introduces his essay and makes his point very clear. He highlights what are not the duties of a professor of poetry. Holding an official position is not all about glorifying certain office holders of a nation. It is much more than that. The professors of poetry before him have done what Auden mentions in the beginning of the essay. He stands firm against such senseless work. Later he discloses his intention as a critic and discursively presents a critical overview of some famous poetic works.
"It is impossible, I believe, for any poet, while he is writing a poem, to observe with complete accuracy what is going on, to define with any certainty how much of the final result is due to subconscious activity over which he has no control, and how much is due to conscious artifice. All one can say with certainty is negative. A poem does not compose itself in the poet’s mind as a child grows in its mother’s womb; some degree of conscious participation by the poet is necessary, some element of craft is always present. On the other hand, the writing of poetry is not, like carpentry, simply a craft; a carpenter can decide to build a table according to certain specifications and know before he begins that the result will be exactly what he intended, but no poet can know what his poem is going to be like until he has written it. "
In this critical analysis of Virginia Woolf's work, this quotation can be seen as a digression. It discusses about the process of writing a poem. Writing poetry is not all about the end result, it is the process itself which gives enjoyment to the writer. Here Auden touches some of the deeper aspects of writing. According to him poetry is not like the craft of a carpenter. A carpenter knows what he is going to make. In poetry it is just impossible because poetry is solely a mental process.
"It is astonishing how many young people of both sexes, when asked what they want to do in life, give neither a sensible answer like “I want to be a lawyer, an innkeeper, a farmer" nor a romantic answer like “I want to be an explorer, a racing motorist, a missionary, President of the United States.” A surprisingly large number say “I want to be a writer," and by writing they mean “creative” - writing. Even if they say “I want to be a journalist,” this is because they are under the illusion that in that profession they will be able to create; even if their genuine desire is to make money, they will select some highly paid subliterary pursuit like Advertising."
Such kind of beginning is a trademark of W.H. Auden. In a satirical vein he introduces the mindset of the youths of Victorian era. Auden's remark makes it clear that the youth of his time was lacking sensibility. A large number among them want to be a creative writer without knowing what a writer actually does. This passage actually depicts the hollowness of the youth. The last line makes it clear. It is not writing which interests them. All they want is money.
