[x]
Could not find that book.
My rating:
add to my books
Loading...
Selected Poems
by
W.H. Auden
This significantly expanded edition of W. H. Auden's "Selected Poems "adds twenty poems to the hundred in the original edition, broadening its focus to better reflect the enormous wealth of form, rhetoric, tone, and content in Auden's work. Newly included are such favorites as "Funeral Blues" and other works that represent Auden's lighter, comic side, g...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
February 13th 2007
by Vintage
(first published 1959)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
2,424)
Lovely stuff. One of my favorites is a poem he wrote for Sigmund Freud after his death - it's long, so here's a bit of it:
"In Memory of Sigmund Freud
When there are so many we shall have to mourn,
when grief has been made so public, and exposed
to the critique of a whole epoch
the frailty of our conscience and anguish,
of whom shall we speak? For every day they die
among us, those who were doing us some good,
who knew it was never e...more
"In Memory of Sigmund Freud
When there are so many we shall have to mourn,
when grief has been made so public, and exposed
to the critique of a whole epoch
the frailty of our conscience and anguish,
of whom shall we speak? For every day they die
among us, those who were doing us some good,
who knew it was never e...more
view all 4 comments
This reference volume to Auden's entire published catalogue (to date) deserves its four stars simply for the scale of the enterprise and Fuller's obvious devotion to Auden's poetry and person. The inherent danger in a reference volume such as this is to let it do the interpretative legwork of reading for you. However, as Fuller states in his introduction;
“The responsibility behind the terms I have set myself cannot always be carried through with conviction: there are limits to one ma...more
In his introduction, Fuller asks;
“What is it we feel we require from an Auden Poem? Something political, perhaps, something understated, but dramatic. And accurately coloured with deceptively simple moral observations and quietly charged implications.”
Maybe. But as this collection of sixty of Auden’s poems (Fuller selecting at least one poem from each year of his mature writing life) is my first significant excursion into Auden’s poetry, I came with few real expectations. I re...more
I don't think this is exactly the edition I read, although mine (the Everyman Pocket Poet edition, which wasn’t listed on Goodreads) is also edited by Edward Mendelson. My favorites from this volume are A Thanksgiving (I was delighted to see that he attributes his faith to Kierkegaard, Williams, and Lewis), Archaeology, The History of Truth, The Shield of Achilles, First Things First, The Fall of Rome, In Memory of W.B. Yeats, Funeral Blues, and At Last the Secret is Out.
After read...more
After read...more
I have a much older edition of Auden's Selected Poems, when his Funeral Blues poem was still part of Two Songs for Hedli Anderson. I love Auden. More and more over the years actually. He's not as quotable as Frost. Or as monumental as Yeats and TS Elliot. He's more like a longtime friend who's not always steady on his feet, occassionally overreaching, a bit heartbroken, a bit bitter, a bit sweet, a whole lot of queen (LOL). If I could meet any poet from the past, I'd choose Auden.
I didn't come to Auden with many preconceptions, so I really didn't know what to expect when I began reading this volume of his poems. Sure, sure, i'd heard "funeral blues", and i had some vague understanding of him as leaning towards the left in the thirties. But his style? His way of writing? Not much.
In his introduction, Mendelson says that Auden was the first poet at home in the twentieth century, and I didn't really understand what this meant until i got to the famous ...more
In his introduction, Mendelson says that Auden was the first poet at home in the twentieth century, and I didn't really understand what this meant until i got to the famous ...more
I have had a hard bound copy of this volume for many years. I contains fragments and restorations of many unknown or unpublished poems. There are moments here where your hear soars.
The life of man is never quite completed;
The daring and the chatter will go on:
But, as an artist feels his power gone,
These walk the earth and know themselves defeated.
Some could not bear nor break the young and mourn for
The wounded myths that on...more
The life of man is never quite completed;
The daring and the chatter will go on:
But, as an artist feels his power gone,
These walk the earth and know themselves defeated.
Some could not bear nor break the young and mourn for
The wounded myths that on...more
I'm re-reading Auden's poems out of this volume.
"What does the song hope for? And the moved hands/A little way from the birds, the shy, the delightful?"
Auden's verse is magnificent; he writes his villanelles and sonnets without a trace of the "unctious urbanity" that those forms are seen, by many readers today, to represent. He knows what he's doing, yet doesn't wantonly careen into that indecipherable "academic" enclave of poetry that find...more
"What does the song hope for? And the moved hands/A little way from the birds, the shy, the delightful?"
Auden's verse is magnificent; he writes his villanelles and sonnets without a trace of the "unctious urbanity" that those forms are seen, by many readers today, to represent. He knows what he's doing, yet doesn't wantonly careen into that indecipherable "academic" enclave of poetry that find...more
I must confess that this was only a quick dip into a small selection of Auden's poetry, so I cannot comment on the entire volume of his work. However, what little of this stunning selection I have read dazzled me and I will almost certainly continue to read more of his work.
The poems that I have read here are September 1st 1939, Miss Gee, O What is that Sound and O Where are you going? I have only analysed this small selection, as I currently supporting a student with her AS level w...more
The poems that I have read here are September 1st 1939, Miss Gee, O What is that Sound and O Where are you going? I have only analysed this small selection, as I currently supporting a student with her AS level w...more
reading auden takes such emotional energy for me. he has such a terrific talent, and a completely unique cadence among the modern poets. what hurts is the knowledge that -- too soon -- he left his art. after publishing "September 1, 1939" which drove thousand of spaniards to a grisly grave, auden wrote that his greatest wish was to never again write a single word of consequence. unfortunately for us all, he succeeded.
September 1, 1939
I sit in one of the dive...more
September 1, 1939
I sit in one of the dive...more
Baiocco
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who like short poems, people who like the poem just transcribed
Shelves:
poetry
These weren't great, but they were better than most because they were short. I don't understand what it means to be political anymore, and if it's anything like what I think its means, i don't want any part of it. And what a political poet is I have no clue, but Auden usually gets that rap when he isn't being dismissed as being just another lyrical Romanticist gay poet. But what gay poet isn't Romantic? Anyway, here is far and away my favorite poem in this collection and definitely the only ...more
Hands down, my all-time favorite poet. Powerful, memorable, and technically one of the most skilled poets of the past 100 years. One of the only significant poets of the 20th century whose goal was *not* to make us think about *his* experiences as a lens to revisit our own. What I like most about Auden is how he invites us to think about our lives without acting as a guide. Also, he was one of the last truly great poet/critics. Start with: The Shield of Achilles, Musee Des Beaux Arts.
I bought this book just for the inscription:
For Heather...
Because poetry can heal the soul.
With love,
Jason
(Dec. 2001)
I've spent many an hour wondering about Jason and Heather, whether poetry did in fact heal her soul, and why a gift given with love ended up on the discount clearance rack at Hastings.
I'm not so hot on Auden's brand of rhyming poetry. It just doesn't speak to me. Neruda, Whitman, Wordsworth -- these are the poets of my soul.
For Heather...
Because poetry can heal the soul.
With love,
Jason
(Dec. 2001)
I've spent many an hour wondering about Jason and Heather, whether poetry did in fact heal her soul, and why a gift given with love ended up on the discount clearance rack at Hastings.
I'm not so hot on Auden's brand of rhyming poetry. It just doesn't speak to me. Neruda, Whitman, Wordsworth -- these are the poets of my soul.
I am sad to say I did not much connect with Auden's poetry. Most of the time I felt I was just reading words strung meaninglessly together ... I'm sure there was a meaning I just could neither see nor feel it.
There were a few poems I liked but there were none that made me think: "Yes, yes! Oh, yes!!!" (Which is often the reaction my favourite poets get out of me. Hehe.)
His extensive vocabulary was impressive, though. I found many new words to add to my list!
There were a few poems I liked but there were none that made me think: "Yes, yes! Oh, yes!!!" (Which is often the reaction my favourite poets get out of me. Hehe.)
His extensive vocabulary was impressive, though. I found many new words to add to my list!
A slice of Auden:
Vintage
I
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
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public
doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my ...more
Vintage
I
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
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public
doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my ...more
Auden can be beautiful, delightful, ponderous, and haunting. About 70% of the collection in the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets edition [hand-sized, 256 pages] is easily accessible and enjoyable without contextualizing aids. I understand the publisher's concerns about book size and "pocketability," but I wish this edition included the poems' individual publication dates, if not a brief biographical timeline. Surely this would have only required another five or ten pages?
A comprehensive collection & a great introduction to the poetry of W.H. Auden. I read this book after seeing it listed on a recommended reading list from my English A Level teacher but it was a real surprise & a real gem. Auden takes the traditional forms of poetry & makes them his own which makes his work really accessible, especially because he tends to take a realistic look at life's great events while still maintaining some Romance & drama. There were so many lines which I underlined simply ...more
Auden is one of my favorite modern poets, and poet in general as well. He writes beautifully about things in the here and now (his here and now, which is the 1930s and 40s mostly). For those afraid of poetry, his language isn't difficult at all. Highly recommended.
So much to say about Auden.
It's a pleasure to read a poet who's range of style and subject nearly the entire galaxy of poetry, from little haikus and ironic stand-alone couplets, to lengthy meditations on religion and literature and history, to wonderful little pastoral poems. His breathed new life into old forms at a time when modernist poets were abandoning older teachings. They sound great when read aloud or to oneself.
Don't forget to get this in addition to his W H Auden Collected Poems...more
It's a pleasure to read a poet who's range of style and subject nearly the entire galaxy of poetry, from little haikus and ironic stand-alone couplets, to lengthy meditations on religion and literature and history, to wonderful little pastoral poems. His breathed new life into old forms at a time when modernist poets were abandoning older teachings. They sound great when read aloud or to oneself.
Don't forget to get this in addition to his W H Auden Collected Poems...more
Like many modern poets, Auden's works are undervalued. While he can write about any subject and make it memorable, it is his poems about grief and loss that always seem the strongest. A favorite to pick up and re-read at times.
You know that old man who lived alone in your neighborhood when you were a kid? The one who pretended to be a bitter, cantankerous grouch but was secretly a huge sweetheart - a friend to kids, dogs, cats, weird bugs, lemonade and summer evenings - and who carried himself in a way that strongly suggested a decades-old, epic personal tragedy? That's Auden.
Poetry has always been a bit of a foreign language to me - something I'm trying to change - and so I'm not sure what makes Auden see...more
Poetry has always been a bit of a foreign language to me - something I'm trying to change - and so I'm not sure what makes Auden see...more
One of my favorites:
AUTUMN SONG
Now the leaves are falling fast,
Nurse's flowers will not last,
Nurses to their graves are gone,
But the prams go rolling on.
Whispering neighbors left and right
Daunt us from our true delight,
Able hands are forced to freeze
Derelict on lonely knees.
Close behind us on our track,
Dead in hundreds cry Alack,
Arms raised stiffly to reprove
In false attitudes of love.
...more
AUTUMN SONG
Now the leaves are falling fast,
Nurse's flowers will not last,
Nurses to their graves are gone,
But the prams go rolling on.
Whispering neighbors left and right
Daunt us from our true delight,
Able hands are forced to freeze
Derelict on lonely knees.
Close behind us on our track,
Dead in hundreds cry Alack,
Arms raised stiffly to reprove
In false attitudes of love.
...more
I didn't read the entire book, and a lot of his work went over my head, but I memorized over 250 lines of his poetry. I am very proud of this. And I'm weighing that to count as reading the whole book. For example, the two concluding stanzas of "As I Walked Out One Evening":
Stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbor
With your crooked heart.
It was late, late in the evening
The lovers they we...more
Stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbor
With your crooked heart.
It was late, late in the evening
The lovers they we...more
Not the actual volume I read, but I was charmed by these simple classic poems. Not a fan of much poetry, but this poet has caught my fancy.
He is in my pantheon. A brilliant poet who nevertheless is accessible and understandable. And to have written one poem in your life as good as "In Memory of W.B. Yeats" would be enough to ensure access to heaven. It ends with this wonderful appeal to all poets:
Follow, poet, follow right
To the bottom of the night,
With your unconstraining voice
Still persuade us to rejoice;
With the farming of a verse
Make a vineyard of the curse,
...more
Follow, poet, follow right
To the bottom of the night,
With your unconstraining voice
Still persuade us to rejoice;
With the farming of a verse
Make a vineyard of the curse,
...more
Auden is a poet I always forget I love then I hear a snippet of his work and wish I knew it better!
i really loved it....he has some poems that move you to tears...
my favourite is Funeral Blues
my favourite is Funeral Blues
I could not get "into" most of his poems. Well, maybe I could have if I had tried harder. An interesting observation maybe half way through was I could often see "crossword puzzle clues" in what he wrote: a phrase he might use to describe something, instead of the name of the thing itself. I have no doubt that what he wrote was very correct -- if I had taken as much time to read the poem as he must have taken to write it, I would understand it. I actually think someone who li...more
Early poems are not very enjoyable, but it gets better as you move along.
My absolute favorite poet and poetry book!
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Readers Also Enjoyed
Wystan Hugh Auden who signed his works W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet, born in England, later an American citizen, regarded by many as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. His work is noted for its stylistic and technical achievements, its engagement with moral and political issues, and its variety of tone, form and content. The central themes of his poetry are love, politics ...more
More about W.H. Auden...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“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 wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.”
—
227 people liked it
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.”
“Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.”
—
13 people liked it
More quotes…
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.”
