Three Voices in “As I Walked Out One Evening” by W.H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden was born in York, England on February 21, 1907. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford after his family moved to Birmingham during his early childhood. He later attended Oxford University where his gift as a poet was immediately realized. In 1930, at the age of twenty three, Auden's second collection of poetry aptly titled, Poems, was published, thus establishing him as a leading voice of a new generation (“W.H. Auden”). Auden's technical virtuosity and extraordinary ability to write poems in nearly every verse form attributes to his esteem as a writer. He notably incorporated aspects of popular culture, including regional dialects and speech, and current events into many of his works. His poems often included literal or metaphorical elements of a journey or quest. Auden mimicked the writing styles of other notable poets such as W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, and Henry James (“W.H. Auden”). Written in 1937 and published in his collection of poetry, Another Time, in 1940, “As I Walked Out One Evening” is a reflection on love and the mercilessness of time. The poem is a variation of the ballad form and consists of fifteen rhymed quatrains, which are four line stanzas of any kind, rhymed, metered, or otherwise (McLaughlin). It is told in three voices: the euphoric lover, the critical clocks, and the narrator. Each voice represents a different attitude towards love and time (Springer). The lover's song illustrates time as something that can be ignored and overcome—no more than a passing annoyance of which to remain oblivious. The song embodies romantic idealism and attributes to a perceived existence outside of time: “I'll love you dear, I'll... ... middle of paper ... ...ning." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th ed. Boston: Pearson, n.d. 1064-065. Print. BoomTown. "As I Walked Out One Evening Analysis." Review. Web log post. CCHS British Poetry Project. Blogger, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Kaiti. "As I Walked Out One Evening." Review. Web log post. Nerdfighters. N.p., 27 May 2009. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. McLaughlin, Damon. "Quatrain." Quatrain. N.p., 23 Aug. 1999. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Springer, Mike. "W.H. Auden Recites His 1937 Poem, "As I Walked Out One Evening"" Open Culture. N.p., 03 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. Summers, Claude J. "Auden, W.H." Glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Glbtq, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. "WH Auden." BBC History. BBC, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014. "W.H. Auden." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Source #3: Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 9th. New York: Pearson Longman, 2005.
"Unit 2: Reading & Writing About Short Fiction." ENGL200: Composition and Literature. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. 49-219. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Updlike, John. "A&P." Literature. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 12th Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education (US), 2012. 17-21. Print
Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999.
Robert Frost is very successful poet from the 20th century, as well as a four time Pulitzer Prize winner. Robert Frost work was originally published in England and later would be published in the US. He was also considered one of the most popular and respected poets of his century. Robert Frost created countless of poems and plays, many of them containing similar themes. Some of the most popular themes found in his poems encompass isolation, death and everyday life.
American Literature. 6th Edition. Vol. A. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2003. 783-791
Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 5th ed. of the book. Boston: Heinle, 2004.
There have been many American poets throughout the centuries, but none compared to Robert Frost and Jane Kenyon. Jane Kenyon and Robert Frost can make the simplest thing, such as picking a pear, into something darker. Often Jane Kenyon and Robert Frost compose themes of nature, loneliness and death into their poetry. Both poets evoke feelings and stimulate the reader’s sensory reactions. Jane Kenyon’s Poem Let Evening Come (1990) and Robert Frost’s Poem Desert Places (1936) may have been written in different eras, but both poets collaborate nature, spirituality and emotional solitariness in their poems.
... In Teaching Short Fiction 9.2 (2009): 102-108. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
Carruth, Hayden. "Saturday at the Border." The Making of a Poem: a Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. By Mark Strand and Eavan Boland. New York: Norton, 2001. 15. Print.
Poetry is a creative art form that allows a critical thinking connection between the creator and the audience of each poem. The reader must think critically and in depth about the subject matter and meaning of what each poet is presenting with their body of work. On the other hand, the poet must be able to present their body of work with a unique writing style that encodes a deeper message than what appears on the surface. Most would say that poetry is read for its witty internal messages, but the reader must be able to accurately decipher the message the poet is presenting to fully understand the poet’s allusions. I believe that all poetry is inspired by memorable life events that have been experienced by an individual whether good or bad. If this is true, then much of the subject matter and meaning of poetry can be deciphered by identifying the key elements in each poem such as tones, moods, similes, metaphors, writing styles, and most importantly knowing the facts of the creator’s personal life experiences. In this essay, I will use the identifying techniques listed above to decipher the poem, “Out, Out-” by Robert Frost, to determine if Mr. Frost’s personal experiences with
Robert Frost, an infamous poet best known for his original poetic technique, displays a reoccurring idea or theme of loneliness and isolation throughout many of his published works. The ways in which Frost represents and symbolizes ideas of solitude and desolation in poems are somehow slightly or very different. Loneliness and isolation are illustrated through Frost’s use of the dark night as well as depression in “Acquainted With the Night”, the objects the speaker encounters in “Waiting”, and the sense of abandonment and death in “Ghost House.”
Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia, D. (2010). Literature an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama and
Robert Herrick’s poem “Corinna’s going a Maying” at its surface is a love poem from a young man to his lover asking her to come with him to celebrate the festival and activities that surround the famous May Day. But on a deeper examination of the poem’s core is a lesson about exploring and experiencing our days before they fly by “as fast away as do’s the Sunne”(61). Within the last stanza (lines 57-70) the apprehension towards time is used to persuade Corinna to experience life before it begins “decaying” like time always does (69).
Andrew Marvell in his poem describes a young man convincing his fair mistress to release herself to living in the here and now. He does this by splitting the poem up into three radically different stanzas. The first takes ample time to describe great feelings of love for a young lady, and how he wishes he could show it. The idea of time is developed early but not fully. The second stanza is then used to show how time is rapidly progressing in ways such as the fading of beauty and death. The third stanza presses the question to the young mistress; will she give herself to the young man and to life? Although each stanza uses different images, they all convey the same theme of living life to the fullest and not letting time pass is seen throughout. Marvell uses imagery, symbolism, and wonderful descriptions throughout the poem. Each stanza is effective and flows easily. Rhyming couplets are seen at the ends of every line, which helps the poem read smoothly.