Category Archives: auden

Eros and Violence: On Auden’s “Jumbled in the common box…”

“Jum­bled in the com­mon box…“ W.H. Auden Jum­bled in the com­mon box Of their dark stu­pid­ity, Orchid, swan, and Cae­sar lie; Time that tires of every­one Has cor­roded all the locks, Thrown away the key for fun. In its cleft the tor­rent mocks Prophets who in days gone by Made a profit on each cry, Per­sona …

April 30, 2008 – 1:18 am | By ashok | Posted in auden, poetry | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Is It Possible To Insist On A More Thoughtful Politics?

What is below are merely notes. I have a few ideas and this is a grop­ing for a quick and dirty solu­tion to the ques­tion. I am more than will­ing to take all of this back and advance some­thing more sub­tle later. Cer­tainty, fidelity On the stroke of mid­night pass Like vibra­tions of a bell, And …

November 27, 2007 – 4:19 pm | By ashok | Posted in auden, poetry, politics | Comments (6)

The Distance of Love: On Auden’s “Are You There?”

Orig­inially pub­lished 2006-06-07. Are You There? W.H. Auden Each lover has some the­ory of his own About the dif­fer­ence between the ache Of being with his love, and being alone: Why what, when dream­ing, is dear flesh and bone That really stirs the senses, when awake, Appears a sim­u­lacrum of his own. Nar­cis­sus dis­be­lieves in the unknown; …

May 31, 2007 – 3:04 pm | By ashok | Posted in auden, poetry | Tagged , | Comments (0)

A Thought on Auden’s “The More Loving One”

The More Lov­ing One W.H. Auden Look­ing up at the stars, I know quite well That, for all they care, I can go to hell, But on earth indif­fer­ence is the least We have to dread from man or beast. How should we like it were stars to burn With a pas­sion for us we could …

May 31, 2007 – 2:50 pm | By ashok | Posted in auden, poetry | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Tyrannical Ambition: On Auden’s “Epitaph On A Tyrant”

Orig­i­nally com­posed and pub­lished 2005-12-23. Epi­taph On A Tyrant W.H. Auden Per­fec­tion, of a kind, was what he was after, And the poetry he invented was easy to under­stand; He knew human folly like the back of his hand, And was greatly inter­ested in armies and fleets; When he laughed, respectable sen­a­tors burst with laugh­ter, …

May 31, 2007 – 2:44 pm | By ashok | Posted in auden, poetry | Tagged , | Comments (6)