September 1, 1939 by W.H. Auden: Critical Appreciation.
The poem, 1st September 1939 by W.H. Auden, was occasioned by Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland on 1 September, 1939. In this poem, the poet expresses his shock at the news. In the present stanza, he expresses his view that Germany alone is not to blame for starting the Great War.September 1, 1939. W. H. Auden - 1907-1973. 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 “September 1, 1939,” Auden’s early interest in Sigmund Freud begins to combine with an emergent affirmation of Christianity. Explaining how to account for modern monsters such as Hitler, Auden.
Auden seems to exemplify this in “September 1, 1939” by creating one historical context for the poem on the surface while commenting on the treatment of the homosexual community at the time. Auden felt that only through playing with form and technique within a poem can a reader or writer be tricked into discovering new insight into a poem (Blair 153).Oliveira English 1B Midterm Exam September 1, 1939 analysis Written by W. H. Auden, the poem September 1, 1939 is a criticism of the institution of war throughout history until the outbreak of WWII, ending with a message of hope for the human race.
W.H. Auden wrote September 1, 1939 in the eve of the 30s decade when Poland was attacked by Hitler as the beginning of the Second World War. It consists of nine stanzas of eleven lines each. The poet wrote this poem to bid adieu to the 1930s and to find out the real causes of the war. This poem is written in the first person directly addressing to the reader.
