Post by Admin on Oct 4, 2016 18:54:20 GMT
Background:
This poem was written by W.H Auden in the reaction to the death of a very close friend. The poem is extremely popular and famous. It is often used at funerals and was most famously used in the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral”.
One of the characters recited the poem at the funeral of his friend.
Theme:
Theme of death, the poet describes his reaction to the death of his very close friend. The poet feels that his life is not worth living anymore because of his friends death.
“The stars are not wanted now, put out everyone. For nothing now can come to any good”
The poet wants everything in the world to stop. He orders in the opening stanza that;
“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone”, “Prevent the dog from barking”
The poet is stunned and deeply shocked by his death. It’s clear that he was very close to his friend.
“He was my North, my South, my East and West”
He is very emotional when he says:
“I thought love would last forever, I was wrong”
Death is viewed very negatively in this poem and the poem suggests that there is no life for those who remain, after the person has died.
“Pack up the moon, and dismantle the sun”
I find the image of death very depressing in this poem, because the poet suggests that there is no hope.
Tone/Mood:
In the first two stanzas, the poet orders that life should stop. He demands that the clocks, telephone, piano be stopped, so that the coffin and the mourners can come. The poet is very upset and angry in those stanzas.
“Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky, the message He Is Dead”
The third stanza of the poem conveys a different tone. The poet is emotionally upset and reveals how deeply he loved his friend.
“He was my North, my South, my East and West”
The tone also reveals the poets bitterness. He thought love would last forever but
“I was wrong”
The poet is in a hopeless and depressed mood in the final stanza. He paints a picture of the world where there are no stars, moon, sun, sea, or land - where there is NOTHING. His despair and deep depression is seen in the final line.
“for nothing now can come to any good”
Structure:
The poet comprises 4 stanzas with four lines in each one. This combined with the regular end of line rhyme gives the poem a steady rhythm and even structure.
End of Line Rhyme:
The end of line 1 & 2, line 3 & 4 rhyme in every stanza.
Telephone/bone, Drum/come, Overheard/dead, Doves/gloves, West/rest, Song/wrong, One/sun, Wood/good.
I like the rhyme scheme in this poem, and it makes the poem easy to read aloud.
Visual Imagery:
The poet uses some very striking visual images.
“pack up the moon”, “dismantle the sun”, “policemen wear black cotton gloves”
Aural Imagery:
The imagery in this poem not only appeals to the eye but also to the ear. In stanza one there are many wonderful aural images.
“clocks”, “telephone”, “dog barking”, “ silence the piano”, “muffled drum”
Metaphors:
The poem is also remarkable for its use of striking metaphors. Stanza 3 is most notable, the poet uses series of metaphors to describe the depth of his love for his dead friend.
He describes his friend as “my working week and my Sunday rest”. I think he is suggesting here that he spent all his time with his friend.
He also describes him as “my North, my South, my East and West”. This is a very unusual metaphor, again highlighting how much his friend meant to him.
“My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song”
This poem was written by W.H Auden in the reaction to the death of a very close friend. The poem is extremely popular and famous. It is often used at funerals and was most famously used in the movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral”.
One of the characters recited the poem at the funeral of his friend.
Theme:
Theme of death, the poet describes his reaction to the death of his very close friend. The poet feels that his life is not worth living anymore because of his friends death.
“The stars are not wanted now, put out everyone. For nothing now can come to any good”
The poet wants everything in the world to stop. He orders in the opening stanza that;
“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone”, “Prevent the dog from barking”
The poet is stunned and deeply shocked by his death. It’s clear that he was very close to his friend.
“He was my North, my South, my East and West”
He is very emotional when he says:
“I thought love would last forever, I was wrong”
Death is viewed very negatively in this poem and the poem suggests that there is no life for those who remain, after the person has died.
“Pack up the moon, and dismantle the sun”
I find the image of death very depressing in this poem, because the poet suggests that there is no hope.
Tone/Mood:
In the first two stanzas, the poet orders that life should stop. He demands that the clocks, telephone, piano be stopped, so that the coffin and the mourners can come. The poet is very upset and angry in those stanzas.
“Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky, the message He Is Dead”
The third stanza of the poem conveys a different tone. The poet is emotionally upset and reveals how deeply he loved his friend.
“He was my North, my South, my East and West”
The tone also reveals the poets bitterness. He thought love would last forever but
“I was wrong”
The poet is in a hopeless and depressed mood in the final stanza. He paints a picture of the world where there are no stars, moon, sun, sea, or land - where there is NOTHING. His despair and deep depression is seen in the final line.
“for nothing now can come to any good”
Structure:
The poet comprises 4 stanzas with four lines in each one. This combined with the regular end of line rhyme gives the poem a steady rhythm and even structure.
End of Line Rhyme:
The end of line 1 & 2, line 3 & 4 rhyme in every stanza.
Telephone/bone, Drum/come, Overheard/dead, Doves/gloves, West/rest, Song/wrong, One/sun, Wood/good.
I like the rhyme scheme in this poem, and it makes the poem easy to read aloud.
Visual Imagery:
The poet uses some very striking visual images.
“pack up the moon”, “dismantle the sun”, “policemen wear black cotton gloves”
Aural Imagery:
The imagery in this poem not only appeals to the eye but also to the ear. In stanza one there are many wonderful aural images.
“clocks”, “telephone”, “dog barking”, “ silence the piano”, “muffled drum”
Metaphors:
The poem is also remarkable for its use of striking metaphors. Stanza 3 is most notable, the poet uses series of metaphors to describe the depth of his love for his dead friend.
He describes his friend as “my working week and my Sunday rest”. I think he is suggesting here that he spent all his time with his friend.
He also describes him as “my North, my South, my East and West”. This is a very unusual metaphor, again highlighting how much his friend meant to him.
“My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song”