W H Auden’s (1907-1973) poetry deals with religious, social, and political issues. He was so much worried about contemporary society. He tried to heal the human heart with a powerful weapon simply known as poetry. Finally, Auden did that. He was able to cure the illness of modern man.
More Notes: W. H. Auden
Auden’s poetic career is divided into two phases. In the first phase of Auden’s poetic career, he tried to solve the psychological and political problems of humans. At that time, he solved the problems of mankind by applying the theories of Karl Marx and Freud. Actually, Auden’s primary ideology of writing poetry was based on the philosophy of Karl Marx and Freud. So, both of them were the idol of Auden, at the very outset of Auden’s poetic career.
In the second phase of Auden’s poetic career, he tried to find solutions in the light of Christian religious faith. He shows his interest in humans and his destiny. He always shows his sympathetic attitude towards the common run of mankind. From a religious viewpoint, Auden reveals universal love. He insisted on man’s submission to God’s will. Auden shows his interest in any kind of problem of mankind that’s maybe political, psychological, physical, or social. For all the problems, Auden suggests universal love and religious belief as a remedy.
But he never gives up. He never feels frustrated in case of human concern. He was very optimistic from this viewpoint. His optimistic view of human life on earth and universal love is found in the following lines,
“Noons of dryness see you fed
By the involuntary powers,
Nights of insult let you pass
Watched by every human love”
