WH Auden (3) First Coming Down

Modern Poetry (ENGL 310) with Langdon Hammer [at Yale University]

This lecture presents the early poetry of WH Auden. In "From the Very First Coming Down," Auden's relationship to the reader is considered, as well as the role of economy, truth, and morality in his poetics. The political Auden is examined in "Spain" and "September 1, 1939," along with his later practice of revising controversial poems. Finally, his interest in traditional forms, his vision of love, and his characteristic perspectivism, are explored in "This Lunar Beauty" and "As I Walked Out One Evening."

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Wystan Hugh Auden
04:57 - Chapter 2. The Early W. H. Auden
12:08 - Chapter 3. W. H. Auden Poem: "From the Very First Coming Down"
20:39 - Chapter 4. W. H. Auden Poem: "Spain"
24:09 - Chapter 5. W. H. Auden Poem: "September 1, 1939"
30:58 - Chapter 6. W. H. Auden Poems: "This Lunar Beauty" and "Lullaby"
36:31 - Chapter 7. W. H. Auden Poem: "As I Walked Out One Evening"