In Memory of W.B. Yeats Summary

Introduction

W.H. Auden's poem "In Memory of W. B. Yeats" was written in 1939 when William Butler Yeats, the famous Irish poet and dramatist died. "In Memory of W. B. Yeats" was written by W. H. Auden in February 1939, as World War II was about to break out in Europe. Despite the fact that the war wouldn't start until Germany invaded Poland in September, the oncoming calamity loomed large throughout the poem. The perceived inability of Britain and France to stave off Hitler's incursions into Czechoslovakia in 1938 defined the general attitude in Europe. This setting makes Auden's poem stand out as a deviation from conventional elegies. It explores the enormous geography of the famed poet's life and work, even daring to provide critique, rather than just lamenting Yeats's passing or thinking back on fond recollections.

Because of the impending prospect of world war, the poem has an urgent tone. The insightful comment made by Auden emphasises how people have a propensity to become mired in their own daily routines, blind to the events taking place around them, and apathetic to the suffering of others. Even though Auden rejects poetry's ability to have a political impact, he recognises that it may effectively capture and represent the world, bringing together people who have similar issues, worries, and fears.

In Auden's poem, it is made clear that Yeats' lasting influence was not a result of his socially or politically motivated goals, but rather from the profound profundity and exquisite beauty of his writing.

About The Author

Wystan Hugh Auden, better known by his pen name W.H. Auden, was a celebrated British-American poet, playwright, and essayist. He was a prominent poet of the 20th century and was born on February 21, 1907, in York, England. Themes covered by Auden's writings included love, politics, religion, and the state of the human race.

Auden's poetry was renowned for its breadth, technical mastery, and depth of thought. He experimented with several literary forms and genres, finding both classical and modernist inspirations as his sources of inspiration.

Throughout his career, Auden demonstrated a great social conscience and used poetry to communicate his political opinions. He was a political activist who was particularly engaged during the Spanish Civil War and World War II. His poetry frequently expressed his worries about authoritarianism, the degradation of personal freedoms, and societal power dynamics.

W.H. Auden is well known for his writings "Funeral Blues," "September 1, 1939," "The Age of Anxiety," and "The Shield of Achilles." He wrote poetry that combined lyrical beauty, intellectual rigour, and profound understanding of the human condition.

During his lifetime, Auden's contributions to literature were highly acknowledged, and he was given several honours, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1948. And On September 29, 1973, in Vienna, Austria, W.H. Auden passed dead.

Detailed Summary

Part I

W. B. Yeats passed away in the winter, when everything was frozen and it was difficult to see the statues in the snow, according to the opening section of the poem by Auden. Yeats was ill, but life went on in Ireland as usual despite the weather. Yeats passed away, yet his poetry remained unaffected by this; they existed independently of him.

Then, Auden explains how Yeats's passing changed him into the figure his fans had imagined him to be. Yeats the poet became whatever his readers and admirers believed him to be after Yeats the man had passed away. This implies that readers, who build poets' legacies based on their own interpretations, grant them a kind of "immortality".

The influence of Yeats's work is global, and readers frequently derive new meanings from his poems that Yeats himself would not have understood. Auden makes mention of the notion that a writer's work is valued and significant not just according to the author's goals but also according to the readers and how they interpret it.

According to Auden, the living inevitably reinterpret and modify the meaning of a poet's words to fit our own circumstances and feelings.

The first portion of the poem ends with Auden acknowledging that life will go on the following day and that only a "few thousand" people will recall Yeats's dying day as a mildly remarkable occurrence. In doing so, he reflects the surprising origins of Auden's most well-known poem, which came from satire rather than true grieving. He avoids emotive public mourning on purpose. The significance of Yeats' passing is minimised by Auden, who contrasts it with an average day rather than a momentous occasion that fundamentally changes everything.

Part II

In the second portion of "In Memory of W. B. Yeats," Auden addresses Yeats directly and acknowledges their common folly as people. In a ten-line, rhymed stanza, Auden switches the emphasis from Yeats to consider poetry in a more general sense.

The famous quote from Auden in this part is, "Poetry makes nothing happen." This is sometimes taken to be a recognition of poetry's limitations to effect social and political change. In a past interview, Auden admitted that not a single Jew was saved by his poems during the Holocaust.

But is it actually that easy? Should one expect poetry to have a real-world effect? Did Yeats' own poems or Wilfred Owen's war poetry have similar effects? A more complex and perplexing argument is revealed when we consider the adage "poetry makes nothing happen" in the context of the complete verse.

Because "poetry makes nothing happen," Auden says in the line before, "Ireland has her madness and her weather still." Who in their right mind would think that a poem could change the weather?

This idea is purposefully ludicrous because Auden subtly criticises poetry's inability to affect change. However, contrary to popular belief, it is not only a cry of helplessness and despair.

In fact, poetry "survives" in a variety of ways and settings, says Auden. The fact that it is a "way of happening" in and of itself may not actively bring about change. Poetry occurs alongside and reflects the world it exists in; it is not a force that causes history to occur. Rather, poetry is an essential component of history and life.

Part III

Regular quatrains in trochaic tetrameter catalectic, distinguished by the truncation of the final half of the fourth foot, make up the concluding portion of "In Memory of W. B. Yeats." The rhyme scheme is in the aabb format. A song-like beat and incantatory quality are produced by the trochaic meter. The tone in this part is more formal and regimented.

Auden addresses Yeats' burial before turning his attention once more to the poet's spirit. He begs Yeats to use his literary output as a "fountain" to uplift and urge the living to rejoice and heal. In the concluding couplet, Auden orders Yeats?who is now largely known as a poet rather than a man?to instruct the free people?the living?on how to laud and celebrate during their brief sojourn in this world, which is frequently referred to as the "prison of his days." Auden maintains a perfect control throughout "In Memory of W.B. Yeats" that keeps the poem from veering into sentimentality or too emotional statements. When Auden refers to Yeats' death day as a "dark cold day," it is not just a figure of speech or a romanticized picture; it is a true assessment.

Of course, this does not rule out the possibility that Auden saw Yeats's dying as symbolically "cold" and "dark" on a more profound, metaphysical level. The description, however, also fits with the universally acknowledged, objective reality: it was certainly a chilly, dark day.

Summary

William Butler Yeats passed suddenly in the dead of winter, amid abandoned airports, frozen brooks, and snow-covered sculptures. The thermometer readings showed the icy temperature, proving that the day of his death was truly "dark" and "cold."

Yeats' poetry were maintained by mourners, ensuring that his literary legacy was unaffected by his physical passing while the natural world lived on. But Yeats himself suffered from physical and mental degeneration, leaving only his fans to appreciate the fruits of his labour. He continues to exist through his dispersed poetry, which reaches cities and readers and critics who are unfamiliar with him and who alter his life and poems according to their own perspectives. Only a chosen few thousand will recall the day of his death as anything special as the rest of civilisation advances.

Yeats is portrayed in the poem's second half as a person who can relate to us and is "silly like us." His agony, which was a result of the unrest in Ireland, served as the inspiration for the poetry that endures and expresses tenacity in an isolating environment.

The poet begs the Earth to accept Yeats as a distinguished visitor in the concluding section. There is where his body is lying, empty of any poetic life. The poet is determined to enter the darkness despite the clamor of Europe's conflicting voices and humanity's intellectual shortcomings. The poet exhorts others to have joy in life despite the darker sides of human nature. Even inside the walls of one's own "prison," one's poetry can serve as a source of healing via "curse" and "distress." It has the ability to transcend human constraints and teach the free person how to rejoice and glorify life.

Analysis

The essence of a potent elegy for a popular figure is captured in W. H. Auden's 1940 poem "In Memory of W. B. Yeats," which was composed in remembrance of the poet's passing in 1939. The Second World War and Auden's personal move to New York serve as the backdrop for the poem, which explores Yeats' life and career while stressing his distinctive stance as a poet.

Yeats, who was born in Ireland in 1856, adhered steadfastly to the classic English poetic form while adopting some Ezra Pound-influenced modernity. He had a strong sense of pessimism, was politically active, and was permeated with mysticism. But his poems also displayed a great beauty and an exultant enjoyment of the natural world. Given the importance of Yeats, Auden's poem radiates a sense of urgency that is probably inspired by the impending world war.

The poem develops in three parts, investigating the essence of a great poet's craft and its applicability in the face of both grave catastrophes and the challenges of daily life. The opening segment laments Yeats' passing by depicting it as a chilly and gloomy day. The surroundings serve as a metaphor for the decline in activity and vigour that occurs with death. The poetry continue despite civilization's continued indifference. The "peasant river" and the presence of wolves outside of the boundaries of fashionable society preserve poetry's essence. Although the author can no longer speak for himself, his poetry live on even though they are sometimes misinterpreted and altered by others.

The second portion briefly considers Yeats' poetry's creative force. It implies that the poet was motivated by the suffering brought on by "Mad Ireland." Yeats, like other poets and humanity as a whole, possessed a talent that was above and above flaws in character, bodily decline, and misunderstandings. Poetry endures as a voice that rises from the depths of unadulterated, unquestionable human experiences.

In the last section, trochaic verse is used to return to a more recognisable format. It highlights Yeats' final resting place, international strife, and misinterpretations of his work. Yeats' poetry, however, continues to be important despite everything. Like Yeats, the true poet explores the essence of primal humanity, where an unrestrained voice can inspire others to celebrate life.

Even though the human curse and the death spectre still exist, especially during times of war, the poet has the power to turn this curse into a vineyard that produces a healing fountain. This fountain promises freedom from the restrictions of mortal life. Despite the difficulties, a poet like Yeats can inspire people to honour that persistent spark of life, which manifests itself in their own poetry.