preview

Research Paper On Wysn Hugh Auden

Best Essays

Yarrows 1

Yarrows 1

For years, authors and readers alike have been drawn to poetry for more reasons than its beauty. Wystan Hugh Auden, more commonly known as W.H. Auden, saw poetry as a way to incorporate his personal opinions into his innermost poetic thoughts. His poetry became more focused on common social issues after moving to America. His words spoke of the cultural and social injustices that his adopted country faced. Although he was from England, W. H. Auden?s poetry, inspired by his political views and Christian values, was more thoroughly oriented on the values and cultures of America. Auden was born in York, England, on February 21, 19071. His family was that of an average one, with his father, a ?prominent physician with an extensive knowledge of mythology and folklore, and his mother, a strict Anglican, both exerted strong influences on Auden?s poetry.? 2 With his parents being as they were, Auden felt strong connections to politics, history, and science .3 Some critics have suggested that ?Auden?s unusual writing style germinated in the social climate of his childhood.? 4 His childhood was fairly normal, and he did not start to become too political until his later years. It is said that ?he lost his [religious] faith at fifteen, and replaced [it with] the ?magical excitement? of …show more content…

He felt they played a major role in disrupting the cultures in America. He saw the corrupt centrality of money, and how society was being taught to look down on those with less means. In the poem ?Refugee Blues,? he says ?Say this city has ten million souls,/ Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:/ Yet there?s no place for us, my dear, yet there?s no place for us.?26 He felt that this social concept was the downfall of America, saying, ?Once we had a country and we thought it fair,/ Look in the atlas and you?ll find it there:? We cannot go there now my dear, we cannot go there

Get Access