To start, I am going to contextualize the situation that the world was living regarding wars. In 1939, Germany launched its invasion to Poland. Poland was easily defeated because the Nazi Force, leaded by Hitler, was very strong and it was allied with the Soviet Union. This event marked the begging of the Second World War. As a result of the starting of S.W.W., a response by poets was almost unavoidable.
First, I will explain the fist stanza of the Auden’s poem; September 1st 1939.
“I sit in one of the dives
On Fifty-second Street
Uncertain and afraid
As the clever hopes expire
Of a low dishonest decade:
Waves of anger and fear
Circulate over the bright
And darkened lands of the earth,
Obsessing our private lives;
The unmentionable odour of death
Offends the September night.”
In the first five lines, the poet explained the mental and physical situation he was living. He described the place in which he was. He said he was sitting in a type of bar, with bad feelings about the future and without many encouraging possibilities to success or to get over the military situation he was living.
In the next four lines, Auden described the atmosphere that was surrounding him. First, he explained that anger and fear were the feelings that could be perceived. Also, he pointed out that shadows of suffering and pain were sensations that he could feel. These feelings were not suitable for anybody; in fact, they were the ones who maintained people scared. In the last two lines he
mentioned the odour of death and what it caused to the moment he was living. These words are tremendously descriptive, as a matter of fact, these are the words that make the reader feel and think the way the writer was feeling.
Clearly, the author of the poem was not feeling good with the events that were occurring during September 1939. He responded to the war with a strong and direct poem, in order to make people feel that what was happening was horrible and necessarily they need do something about it, at least, to reflect about the actions that governments were making.
Meanwhile Germany and Poland were holding a war, some people, such as W.H. Auden was reacting to these actions, but through a very soft and romantic way. What could be more opposite and at the same time similar to war than poetry? Wars are events that are developed in very noisy and dangerous places. On the other hand, poems are pieces of writings that are generally written in quiet places; maybe a library or a café, but they have strong and sometimes destructive intentions, these intentions can also be appreciated in wars.
As a way of complementing the analysis of poems about war, I will present another piece of writing related to war’s response. In 1916, several years before W.W.II, William Butler Yeats wrote a poem in which he exposed his point of view; regarding the military situation that Ireland was living. On April 24, 1916 British troops stood duty in Dublin, as a way of under press the country. Clearly, Ireland was not living a good moment because it was being invaded by British forces. While, all these events were taking place in Dublin and the rest of the cities, a poetic response was about to be written. W.B. Yeats wrote a poem named Easter 1916. In this piece of writing he expressed his feeling of sorrow and dissatisfaction.
“I have passed with a nod of the head
Or polite meaningless words,
Or have lingered (wait) awhile and said
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done
Of a mocking tale or a gibe (aggressive person)
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,
Being certain that they and I
But lived where motley (colored faces) is worn:
All changed, changed utterly(completely):
A terrible beauty is born”
What I could appreciate from this poem was that the author had done many things that he barely reflected on. When he explained that said meaningless words, he claimed that he was doing certain actions just because he was use to do them, that is to say, he did not did them consciously.
Also, in lines from seventh to tenth, he explained the hard relationship he established with other people. He said his companion were under the fire that a place had. It recalled the battle field in which soldiers were, and also that they were close to enemy’s weapons and bullets. In line number ten, he described the type of make up that soldiers wore. He made reference to paint the soldier must use when battling.
In this poem Yeats reflected his way of seeing regarding some war’s topics. The same thing occurred with Auden: he also gave his point of view and critic to wars. Both writers did not agree with the military moment that their countries were living, and instead of reacting physically, they preferred to do it by writing. This way, their response will last in the time and could be read and studied by other people.
I really enjoyed the way writers participated of wars. This is so admirable since they allow people like me to know about wars, but not throughout the typical way, which is by reading historical book or attending to history lessons. I did not know that poetry could get me in touch with historical facts the way these authors did.
To conclude, I want to point out is the way in which both authors dealt with the topic of wars was very intelligent and precise. Auden and Yeats chose a different way to react to wars. They decided to do by writing, instead of fighting or protesting in streets. Clearly, both of them selected a way in which their opinion could prevail in time. In some way, both poems echo each other, even though they were written in different times. What did not change was the way they responded to war.
Work Cited
Auden, Wystan Hugh September 1st 1939.
Biege, Bernd The Easter Rising of 1916 - British Revenge Leading to Stronger Nationalism.
Yeats, William Butler Easter 1916.
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