Consider Auden as a Modern Poet

Answer

Consider Auden as a modern poet. [2020, 2016]  ✪✪✪ 

W. H. Auden (1907–1973) is one of the greatest modern poets. His poetry reflects the spirit of the twentieth century. Full of war, science, fear, and doubt. He writes about man’s loneliness in a mechanical world. His poems like “The Shield of Achilles,” “Lullaby,” “In Memory of W. B. Yeats,” and “Musée des Beaux Arts” show true modern life.

Modern Realism and the Harsh World: Auden’s poetry shows the ugly truth of modern civilization. In “The Shield of Achilles,” he contrasts the old heroic world with the cruel modern world. The goddess Thetis looks for beauty but finds horror. He writes,

“She looked over his shoulder

For vines and olive trees,

………………………

But there on the shining metal

His hands had put instead.”

Here, Hephaestos makes a shield full of violence and death. No glory, no joy, only pain and emptiness. This shows the broken world after war, a perfect image of the twentieth century.

Loss of Faith and Love: Modern life has lost faith and purity. In “Lullaby,” Auden shows love as human, not divine. He joins body and soul equally. He says,

“Soul and body have no bounds.”

Love is not spiritual or eternal. It is physical and temporary. He calls the lover “Mortal” and “Guilty”. This modern view accepts human weakness. There is no romantic dream, only human truth.

Poetry in a World of War and Politics: Auden lived in the age of world wars. His poems carry that pain. In “In Memory of W. B. Yeats,” he writes after Yeats’s death in 1939, the year of World War II. He says,

“In the nightmare of the dark

All the dogs of Europe bark.”

Here, Europe becomes a place of fear and hatred. He speaks of “the seas of pity” that are “locked and frozen.” This is the modern world. It is full