Funeral Blues by W.H Auden
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
5
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
10
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
15
Funeral Blues by W.H Auden
Unpacking the Poem - Exercise #1: Auden
Apply the “Reading a Poem” handout and the glossary of poetic devices
to the following poem. Remember to use written reflection after reading the
piece once, then again after delving further into its analysis.
Some guiding questions:
Sound
#1.
What rhythms (patterns of beats, meter) are present in the poem? What
units are repeated? What effect does this have on the reader?
#2.
What patterns in the sounds of words do you hear (rhyme, assonance,
consonance, alliteration)? What might these patterns suggest?
Sense
#5.
What words stand out as archaic (old, out of date) or strange to you?
#6.
What motifs are present in the poem? What ideas/themes might they
suggest?
#6.
What are some potential themes for this piece? (Use either
induction/deduction to determine and show your process work).