Auden as a poet is known to have experienced a cultural renaissance through is expatriation from England to America. Pointless - you don't need to explicitly come out and say this. It is here that his poetry evoked a greater understanding of the world and of the human condition, brought about by the contrast of cultures. Lit is about ANALYSIS - this is almost history. In particularly, Auden explores the ideas of humanity and love in the backdrop of escalating political tension and impending war. At this point, you haven't even mentioned any of the passages. The marker is thinking pre-prepared. In ‘September 1, 1939’ it is clear that Auden is pessimistic about the times and the apathy of individuals in times of conflict. Finally you bring in one of the passages (I'm assuming it is one, anyway), but even then, you don't even touch on the language. That's a whole paragraph effectively wasted. From now on, anything that is summary will be highlighted in blue.
Few words better illustrate you're being asked to analyse, not evaluate/review... Auden’s nihilistic view of society than the opening lines of the “low dishonest decade”, which indicates Auden’s sadness at the state of affairs. Finally language analysis, but you haven't explained WHY this indicates Auden's sadness. As somebody who doesn't know the poem, I should be able to understand what this means. Although the primary concern of the time is the German occupation of Poland, Auden uses this as a springboard to criticise the neutrality of America in the situation. In the presence of the “unmentionable odour of death” both the individuals and the government are apathetic and live in “an euphoric dream”, easily criticising the “international wrong” but not taking action. This is English style embedded quoting - not language engagement. Auden further highlights his cynicism and scorn to politics and reduces it to nothing more than “elderly rubbish” spoken to an “apathetic grave”, which not only highlights his anti-governmental stance but his belief in the futility of democracy itself, brought about by a strong grounding in Marx. Auden uses the capitalization of such words as ‘Democracy’, ‘Collective Man’ and ‘State’ to mock the self-importance and egocentricity of the capitalist machine. The personification of "blind skyscrapers" is particularly powerful, as it evokes a metonymy for urban, industrialised society YES THIS IS GOOD and implies 20th century society’s flawed vision of its own progress. The phrase also personifies the skyscrapers and points at the folly of the belief that they signify the prowess of modern man.
Above all, Auden sees the situation as history repeating itself and highlights the nature of human condition. He begins at the story of “Luther [which] until now/ has driven a culture mad”, and how in many ways Luther is emblematic of German Nationalism. The “psychopathic god” is in Freud’s view a creation of an imago, and is utilised by Auden as a function of Hitler’s psychosis, having been brought up at Linz without a father. Perhaps the moral of the poem is encapsulated by the lines “Those to whom evil is done/ Do evil in return”, particularly in light of Hitler’s upbringing and the Treaty of Versailles which created economic disasters in the 20s for Germany, and thus led to the invasion. Stanza 3 evokes a far more sombre tone, highlighting the contradictory nature of democracy through the life of the Athenian historian Thucydides. Auden portrays to the audience the insidious nature of power through the lines “Exiled Thucydides knew/All that a speech can say” How? and how power can be gained by artful rhetoric. By doing this, Auden questions how a ‘democratic’ society can have a leader, when its establishment is based on equality. He then portrays the “habit-forming pain” as a result of tyranny, which “we must suffer...all again” in present the face of evil personified by Germany. I'm on the third paragraph, and there's been almost nothing on language or interpretation.
Auden does not lay his blame exclusively on authority. New York’s neutrality in the situation is only made possible by its constituents who “cling to the average day” and are “lost in a haunted wood” of their own apathy. The comparison of the citizens as “children afraid of the night” is emphasised by the unintelligent and repetitive rambling of "the lights must never go out/The music must always play" and this echoes the naive attitude that people adopt in the "cell of themselves". It is at this point he lays the blame on ‘we’ as individuals and advises “lest we should see where we are”. The allusion to Nijinsky and his homoerotic relationship with Diaghilev is a fitting testament to the egoism of human life. Diaghilev, like the apathetic citizens, does not want “universal love/But to be loved alone”. The flaw in human nature is placed in a religious context with the “error bred in the bone” or the ‘original sin’, whereby Adam and Eve craved to become more powerful than God. Auden further ponders that “there is no such thing as the state” as in Auden’s opinion, humans are bound not by the “lie of authority” but by the demands of human necessity. And thus Auden gives a grave aphorism on the human condition and on mutual interdependence that “we must love one another or die”. Even though he, like all humans has flaws and is composed of “eros and of dust”, he appeals to a greater force that he can “show an affirming flame” in the midst of disaster and thus gives the poem a message of hope amidst the imminent world war. The first Lit-esque paragraph (still without much analysis, however), but this is too much embedded quoting - the Lit markers will hate it.
‘September 1, 1939’ is a sombre sentiment on the nature of the human condition. Auden uses the invasion of Poland as an allegory for the destructive genesis of evil and the apathy of individuals, particularly by utilising the backdrop of New York. Auden's moves from a description of these present and historical failures to a tone of possible transformation, and in spite of his despondency, he has a burgeoning shoot of hope that love will endure and reunite humans in the midst of disaster.
12/20. Reread the Literature criteria and make sure you actually address what they're asking for.
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