W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden
Wystan Hugh Audenwas an English poet, who later became an American citizen. He is best known for love poems such as "Funeral Blues," poems on political and social themes such as "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles," poems on cultural and psychological themes such as The Age of Anxiety, and poems on religious themes such as "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae." He was born in York, grew up in and near Birmingham in a professional middle-class...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth21 February 1907
funny-life helping-others earth
We are all here on earth to help others.
past men history
Man is a history-making creature, who can neither repeat his past, nor leave it behind.
parades ends novel
There are not many English novels which deserve to be called great: Parade's End is one of them.
firsts innocence remember
Few can remember clearly when innocence came to a sudden end, the moment at which we ask for the first time: Am I loved?
time conquer deceiving
O let not Time deceive you, You cannot conquer Time.
believe long size
Lovers have lived so long with giants and elves, they won't believe again in their own size.
art science technology
Without art, we should have no notion of the sacred; without science, we should always worship false gods.
ideas catholic religion
The only reason the Protestants and Catholics have given up the idea of universal domination is because they've realised they can't get away with it.
poetry adjectives
Adjectives are the potbelly of poetry.
answers world tests
Thou shalt not answer questionnaires Or quizzes upon world affairs, Nor with compliance Take any test. Thou shalt not sit with statisticians nor commit A social science.
self feelings doubt
The basic stimulus to the intelligence is doubt, a feeling that the meaning of an experience is not self-evident.
memories faces steps
Shall memory restore The steps and the shore, The face and the meeting place;
artist results craftsman
A craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished it.
dream moon blue
But once in a while the odd thing happens Once in a while the dream comes true And the whole pattern of life is altered Once in a while, the moon turns blue