Essay: September 1st 1939 by W H Auden (Complete Version)

The following essay will talk about one of the most famous poems written by Wystan Hugh Auden: “September 1st, 1939 whose title, which is a date, refers to what happened in that day. It talks about the beginning of the Second World War and the tragic results of that conflict. In this essay I will focus on some of the stanzas that called my attention in order to reflect on what the author felt about that event which entails several consequences for people who lived there.

The poem “September 1st ,1939” was written as a way to express Auden’s disappointment for a decade in which violence among nations affected citizens in different ways. These will be explained through a brief historical review in order to understand the poem better. On September 1st, 1939, the invasion of Poland by German-Nazi armies entailed the beginning of the Second World War. German forces led by Hitler decided to expand their territory and spread the Nazi ideology in different nations, especially in Poland, a country whose army was easily defeated. As a consequence of that conflict, many people, especially Jew people who lived in the surrounding, were tortured and killed and a large amount of houses where destroyed. People felt overwhealmed for those moments of panic because of the violent situation that affected them.

In the first days of the Second World War, the poem was written by W. H Auden as a description of the context in which the poem took place. In the first stanza Auden describes the situation as a “dishonest decade” by emphasizing his disapproval of the destruction of the places and the killing of their inhabitants after the war. Therefore, Auden depicts the landscape which had been affected by the conflict:

“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”.

The last two sentences of this stanza demonstrate Auden’s repudiation for this situation which was regarded as the cruellest in that decade: The “oduor of death” that represents people who died as a result of the conflict which was regarded as the bloodiest one ever seen in the history, because of the torture and the killing of innocent people.

The last four lines of the second stanza are even more surprising. In this part of the poem, readers can rescue a kind of message concerning to the importance for schoolchildren in learning about the unfavourable results of a conflict in where both sides harm each other:

“I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return”.

The third stanza is based on Auden’s disagreement about the concept of “Democracy” which had been wrongly interpretated by dictators in that decade. The author makes a critique on “the elderly rubbish they (dictators) talk”, which affects the real concept of Democracy. Auden expresses that dictators’ speeches are mostly based on wrong ideologies that increase suffering and pain in a nation.

Personally I think that this is a poem in which the disapproval of a context affected by the war is clearly stated. As a reader, I could focus on that historical event by reading it. By this I mean I could imagine the context of the conflict: destroyed places, oppressed people, and armies fighting for what they wanted, and so on. What most impressed me is the emphasis put by the author when they described the event.

From my point of view, the poem itself is a good one and it is also a good way to reflect on the main topics that are conveyed there, such as violence, death, suffering, conflicts, among others. The last four lines of the eight stanza made me think a lot:

“And no one exists alone;
Hunger allows no choice
To the citizen or the police;
We must love one another or die”.

I felt the emphasis that Auden put when he expressed his concerning about the way people relates to their peers. People must make love and not war, otherwise the opressor and the oppressed will face in a confict which could entail serious consequences. I also agree with what Auden said about “those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”. When I read that part of the poem think about people who face the consequences of doing wrong things against the rest. That statement can be conected with the golden rule: “Don't do to others what you don't want others do to you”. Conflicts are just made to harm people without any reason.

This poem, apart from being a critique of German army decision to invade and attack the territory where many innocent people died, it is also a way that Auden chose to convey the readers something crucial that he experienced. Since Auden lived in a context where people were forced to follow the rules of the dictators, the publication of this poem in those decades could have been a real risk, because he mostly critiqued the decision of powerful leaders which were involved in the invasion of Poland. In spite of being oppressed Auden decided to publish what he wrote in 1940, and this piece of poetry would lead the readers to reflect on a society which unfortunately opted to solve problems by violence.

To conclude, W. H Auden wrote “September 1st , 1939” as a way to express his disappointment because of what he experienced during the invasion to Poland and the Second World War in general. In the poem, Auden does not critique only the distruction of the cities and the anihilation of their inhabitants, but also critiques the way dictators ruled the nation by basing on wrong ideologies that affected the rights of the citizens. Another important point that Auden emphasizes is that violence only entails violence and nobody wins. Despite of the risk he took, Auden published his masterpiece in 1940. This poem was sent by all readers in order to reflect on the tragic situation that affected humankind in that decade.

http://www.poemdujour.com/Sept1.1939.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland_(1939)
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/523611/an_analysis_of_w_h_audens_september.html

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Essay: September 1st 1939 by W H auden (what I've written so far)

The following essay will talk about one of the most famous poems written by W H Auden: “September 1st, 1939" whose title, which is a date, refers to what happened in that day. It talks about the beginning of the Second World War and the tragic results of that conflict. In this essay I will focus on some of the stanzas that called my attention in order to reflect on what the author felt about that event which entails several consequences for people who lived there.

On September 1st, 1939, the invasion of Poland by German-Nazi armies entailed the beginning of the Second World War. German forces led by Hitler decided to expand their territory in Poland, a country whose army was easily defeated. As a consequence of that conflict, many people, especially Jew people who lived in the surrounding, were tortured and killed and a large amount of houses where destroyed.

In the first days of the Second World War, the poem was written by W. H Auden as a description of the context in which the poem took place. In the first stanza Auden describes the situation as a “dishonest decade” by emphasizing his disapproval (from) the destruction of the places and the killing of their inhabitants after the war. Therefore, Auden depicts the landscape which had been affected by the conflict:

“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”.

The last two sentences of this stanza demonstrate Auden’s repudiation for this situation which was regarded as the cruellest in that decade.

The last four lines of the second stanza are even more surprising. In this part of the poem, readers can rescue a kind of message concerning to the importance for schoolchildren in learning about the unfavourable results of a conflict in where both sides harm each other:

“I and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return”.


The third stanza is based on Auden’s disagreement about the concept of “Democracy” which had been wrongly interpretated by dictators in that decade. The author makes a critique on “the elderly rubbish they (dictators) talk”, which affects the real concept of Democracy. Auden expresses that dictators’ speeches are mostly based on wrong ideologies that increase suffering and pain in a nation.

Personally I think that this is a poem in which the disapproval of a context affected by the war is clearly stated. As a reader, I could focus on that historical event by reading it. By this I mean I could imagine the context of the conflict: destroyed places, oppressed people, and armies fighting for what they wanted, and so on. What most impressed me is the emphasis put by the author when they described the event.

This poem, apart from being a critique of German army decision to invade and attack the territory where many innocent people died, it is also a way that Auden chose to convey the readers something crucial that he experienced. Since Auden lived in a context where people were forced to follow the rules of the dictators, the publication of this poem in those decades could have been a real risk, because he mostly critiqued the decision of powerful leaders which were involved in the invasion of Poland. In spite of being oppressed Auden decided to publish what he wrote in 1940, and this piece of poetry would lead the readers to reflect on a society which unfortunately opted to solve problems by violence.

W.H Auden and Stephen Spender

This is a comparison between two poems: "September 1, 1939" and "Two Armies" which were created by W.H Auden and Stephen Spender respectively. Both authors try to make readers reflect on what happened in times of conflict between different countries. Besides, both expressed a sad feeling as they talk about the destruction of the cities and the death of people as a result of wars. Those poems show a context affected by wars and the consequences that they have for humankind.

What called my attention is this quote from the poem "September 1, 1939" ,by Auden: “Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return”. This quote expresses that battles always entail more battles, along with destruction of life in any nation. Sometimes people do not even know what are they fighting for. They are just taught to kill others like in a Military School. Therefore, fighting among our peers does not solve anything.

“A room of one’s own” (by Virginia Woolf )

During the presentations we were analysing an interesting essay written by Virginia Woolf called “A room of one’s own”. Through this essay, Woolf describes the difficulties that women had to express themselves because they did not feel integrated in a society mostly “commanded” by men. Besides, the women who work as novelist were not taken into account in a chauvinist society. That is way there were few female writers. Woolf wanted to demonstrate that women have the same right as men. Another problem for women was that men were against women suffrage, because they considered that women did not have the right to earn money and using it without their husbands’ permission.

In my opinion, the title of the essay tells that women as writers need a space to think and be inspired when they write poems in order to publish them without limitations. Women need to be taken into account in the society.

Analysing Kubla Khan (S.T Coleridge) (Correction)

In the poem, Kubla Khan, the elements of nature are described, such as river, hills, gardens, and so on. Here, the author wanted to represent “external nature and human thoughts affection”. The mention of a savage holy and enchanted place and its relationship with the characters in the poem, is a good example of it.
The inclusion of a maid playing her instrument shows a part of the characteristics of Romanticism: the need to free men from oppression. The woman in this poem might play music as a way to get rid of bad feelings that oppressed her.
The poem is also a simple one, because each line is adaptable for readers to comprehend the main idea of the context in the poem. Most of the lines have a meaning which can be able to move readers’ feelings and affections. For that reason, each line of the poem can produce a feeling of sadness in expressions like “sunless sea”and a “lifeless ocean” It can also produce happiness in expressions like the miracle of “a sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice”.

Shelley & Frankenstein: Knowledge Comparative Framework (correction)

One of the most famous novel written by Mary Shelley is Frankenstein. Shelley wrote this novel based on researchs she made which are related to sciences, literarure, poetry etc;, plus her own context and experience. Her life was overwhelmed by financial, social and familiar problems, which she wanted to express, somehow, in the novel.
For example we saw that in the novel there’s a monster who learned by himself in a context in which he felt lonely. So did Shelley. Actually she learned about sciences, literature, etc, by herself in order to create the novel. What I impressed most about her is the fact that this woman showed her desire to acquire knowledge by reading books in times of isolation from the rest of the people. "My education was neglected, yet I was passionately fond of reading. These volumes were my study day and night" (Shelley, 2)

T. S Elliot's Poem: "Waste Land"

Elliot’s poem collection, “The Waste Land” is mostly related to nature. However, it is not a beautiful nature, but a sad one. Actually waste land means a lonely devasted land without any life. One quote that called my attention is the one from one of the poems of the collection, “ The Burial of the Death” is expressed as follows:“And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, And the dry stone no sound of water”. That sentence is closely related to death nature. Another piece of poem, “Death by Water” talks about the death of sea animals. The most common problem is polluted water in which these animals die.
The picture, which is next to Elliot’s photograph, shows two persons surrounded by garbage, which reminds us that one cause of “death nature” is pollution that is caused, in many cases, by ourselves. People can be, therefore the main cause of waste land.