The Relevance of W.h. Auden’s Poetry in The Modern World

Prompt Examples for the "W.H. Auden Poetry" Essays

• Audens's Insight on Poetry's Impact
  Explore W.H. Auden's perspective on the role of poetry in his quote, "For poetry makes nothing happen." Discuss how his poetry serves as a vehicle to inspire reflection and action in readers. Provide examples from his works to support your argument.
• The Influence of Auden's Poetry on Society
  Analyze how W.H. Auden's poetry addresses societal issues and encourages readers to be critical consumers. Use specific poems, such as 'Refugee Blues' and 'The Unknown Citizen,' to illustrate how his works shed light on injustice and conformity in society.
• The Relevance of Auden's Poetry Across Generations
  Discuss the enduring relevance of Auden's poetry by examining how his themes and messages continue to resonate with contemporary audiences. Highlight specific instances where Auden's insights on society, conformity, and marginalization are applicable in today's world.
• Auden's Poetry as a Catalyst for Change
  Examine how W.H. Auden's poetry, despite not directly causing change, serves as a catalyst for inspiring social awareness and transformation. Explore the ways in which his poems encourage readers to question societal norms and take action against injustice.
• The Multifaceted Impact of Auden's Poetry
  Explore the idea that Auden's poetry not only reflects the complexities of society but also has the power to challenge and change perceptions. Provide examples of how Auden's poems like 'Refugee Blues' and 'The Unknown Citizen' shed light on societal issues that persist today.

W.H. Auden Poetry Essay Example

English-American poet of the twentieth century, Wystan Hugh Auden, states in one of his earlier poems ‘In memory of WB Yeats’ (1939), “For poetry makes nothing happen”. This quote deters the test of time and as the visionary voice of poets serves as a beacon, it inspires audiences to reflect on the complexities of life and all raw emotions which come with over many future generations. Elucidating the nuanced difficulties associated with society is relevant to all era’s and Auden’s attempt to inspire readers to be critical consumers and act on his insight which reveal injustice and marginalisation is evident in his 1939 work ‘Refugee Blues’ and the cruel faceless bureaucracy in ‘The Unknown Citizen’. Thus, leading to my opinion that poetry is relevant and survives, as like in Auden’s time, poetry has not changed world issues.

Poetry itself does not make something happen, though, Auden’s subliminal power to inspire his audience to perceive with his views on the inflicting change among society. ‘The Unknown Citizen’ illustrates a society of brainwashed souls conforming to a general standard set by a faceless bureaucracy, “saint” a metaphoric term used to describe the unknown man in line four is not to be taken literally. This displays the praise brought upon conformity as well as the making of a totalitarianism state where personal values and identity are tarnished. My visual representation illustrates a person evolving into a barcode representing the inadvertent result of conformality controlled by faceless the man above who is slightly faded to reflect the totalitarian government’s ambiguity. Irony and satirical context throughout the entirety of the poem depicts a one-sided nature of society and government through the ‘perfect citizen’. The last two lines of the poem “Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd: Had anything been wrong, we should certainly have heard” is juxtaposition in regards to the overall tone of the poem which

‘Refugee Blues’ emphasises the contrast between the beauty of the natural world and the nefariousness which governments impose on citizens. “They had no politicians and sang at their ease, they weren’t the human race” emphasises on Hitler’s anti-Semitic policy which curbed German Jew’s, the nationality and religion of the narrator, freedom. The contrasting treatment of animals enhances isolation and marginalisation and

A powerful line, “if we let them in, they will steal our daily bread’, particularly relevant as although this poem is more than 75 years old, the speakers struggle of marginalisation and being an outcast resonates with refugees today and how there are still wealthy countries who actively fighting to exclude them in the fear their ‘bread’ will be stolen. As seen in my digital poster, a light source seen at the top of the Empire State Building contrasted with the dark figure sitting below fading in the smoke represents the hierarchy of privileged New Yorkers and non-Jews who are ignorant towards the wellbeing of Jewish refugees as they fade into the darkness, while the birds soaring freely above at a similar height as the building represents the unjust society in which animals are being treated at a higher standard as compared to humans.

Auden’s poetry serves a purpose, and although it cannot influence the actions of people like a bureaucratic government can, he is the voice which is the catalyst for change upon many future generations ahead thus causing poetry to be relevant in our lives today. As Auden suggests “for poetry makes nothing happen”, he also states it turns nothing into something as it is “a way of happening, a mouth”, as quoted from the same poem. Thus, aligning to a significant extent with my view of the relevance of Auden’s poetry in particular in our current lives.