Poems (Auden)
Encyclopedia
Poems is the title of three separate collections of the early poetry of W. H. Auden
. Auden refused to title his early work because he wanted the reader to confront the poetry itself. Consequently, his first book was called simply Poems when it was printed by his friend and fellow poet Stephen Spender
in 1928; he used the same title for the very different book published by Faber & Faber in 1930 (second edition 1933), and by Random House in 1934 (which also included The Orators
and The Dance of Death).
The privately-printed 1928 edition of Poems was produced in an edition of "about 45 copies" as its limitation page obscurely states. It is one of the great rarities of twentieth century literature.
The 1930 commercially published edition of Poems appeared from Faber and Faber in 1930, having been accepted by T. S. Eliot
; it was printed in an edition of 1000 copies. Only a small number of the poems in the 1928 version survived into the 1930 volume. Written in a gnomic
, seemingly obscure style, the poems and the play included with them, Paid on Both Sides, were extraordinarily influential. The compression of their style, their presentation of a personality "frustrate and vexed" that could be seen as a metaphor for the zeitgeist
of a country—plainly England, struck a wholly new, modernist note. Not allusive like Eliot's The Waste Land
(1922), the numbered poems in the volume as well as the play were as difficult and rich as that work but, unlike it, seemed to come from a person speaking in a private but significant code. This impression derives from the density of rhetorical device, but some of it also comes from the author's stoic, detached attitude toward his own intense emotional life. Some of these mannerisms were copied in the work of Spender and C. Day-Lewis. For this reason critics dubbed these contemporary writers, who also saw England in parlous condition, as "the Auden generation."
In 1933, when Poems was reprinted, Auden replaced seven of the poems in the 1930 edition with poems that he had written during the year 1930 after completing the 1930 version of the book. Auden revised or dropped many of the poems in the 1933 edition for the collections and selections that he prepared in the 1940s and afterwards.
The 1934 edition published by Random House was Auden's first published book in the United States. The publisher included all three of the books that Auden had published in the UK in this volume.
For a few readers and critics, e. g., Randall Jarrell
, the 1930 and 1933 versions remain Auden's greatest achievement.
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
. Auden refused to title his early work because he wanted the reader to confront the poetry itself. Consequently, his first book was called simply Poems when it was printed by his friend and fellow poet Stephen Spender
Stephen Spender
Sir Stephen Harold Spender CBE was an English poet, novelist and essayist who concentrated on themes of social injustice and the class struggle in his work...
in 1928; he used the same title for the very different book published by Faber & Faber in 1930 (second edition 1933), and by Random House in 1934 (which also included The Orators
The Orators
The Orators: An English Study is a long poem in prose and verse written by W. H. Auden, first published in 1932. It is regarded as a major contribution to modernist poetry in English....
and The Dance of Death).
The privately-printed 1928 edition of Poems was produced in an edition of "about 45 copies" as its limitation page obscurely states. It is one of the great rarities of twentieth century literature.
The 1930 commercially published edition of Poems appeared from Faber and Faber in 1930, having been accepted by T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
; it was printed in an edition of 1000 copies. Only a small number of the poems in the 1928 version survived into the 1930 volume. Written in a gnomic
Gnomic
A gnomic aspect , sometimes called a neutral, generic or universal aspect or tense, is a grammatical aspect that expresses general truths or aphorisms—such as birds fly, sugar is sweet, a mother can always tell...
, seemingly obscure style, the poems and the play included with them, Paid on Both Sides, were extraordinarily influential. The compression of their style, their presentation of a personality "frustrate and vexed" that could be seen as a metaphor for the zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
of a country—plainly England, struck a wholly new, modernist note. Not allusive like Eliot's The Waste Land
The Waste Land
The Waste Land[A] is a 434-line[B] modernist poem by T. S. Eliot published in 1922. It has been called "one of the most important poems of the 20th century." Despite the poem's obscurity—its shifts between satire and prophecy, its abrupt and unannounced changes of speaker, location and time, its...
(1922), the numbered poems in the volume as well as the play were as difficult and rich as that work but, unlike it, seemed to come from a person speaking in a private but significant code. This impression derives from the density of rhetorical device, but some of it also comes from the author's stoic, detached attitude toward his own intense emotional life. Some of these mannerisms were copied in the work of Spender and C. Day-Lewis. For this reason critics dubbed these contemporary writers, who also saw England in parlous condition, as "the Auden generation."
In 1933, when Poems was reprinted, Auden replaced seven of the poems in the 1930 edition with poems that he had written during the year 1930 after completing the 1930 version of the book. Auden revised or dropped many of the poems in the 1933 edition for the collections and selections that he prepared in the 1940s and afterwards.
The 1934 edition published by Random House was Auden's first published book in the United States. The publisher included all three of the books that Auden had published in the UK in this volume.
For a few readers and critics, e. g., Randall Jarrell
Randall Jarrell
Randall Jarrell was an American poet, literary critic, children's author, essayist, and novelist. He was the 11th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a role which now holds the title of US Poet Laureate.-Life:Jarrell was a native of Nashville, Tennessee...
, the 1930 and 1933 versions remain Auden's greatest achievement.