Selected Poems
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- Author：W.H. Auden
- ISBN：0571241530
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Summary
Edward Mendelson has significantly expanded his authoritative， chronological ordered edition of Auden's Selected Poems （first published in 1979）， adding twenty items to the hundred in the original edition， and broadening the focus to reflect the wealth of forms， the rhetorical and tonal range， and the variousness of content in Auden's poetry， in the confines of one volume。 In particular， there are newly included examples of Auden's mastery of light verse: the self-descriptive sequence of haiku called 'Profiles'， the barbed wartime quatrains of 'Leap Before You Look'， or 'Funeral Blues' itself。 Also included are brief notes explaining references that may have become obscure， and a revised introduction drawing on recent additions to Auden scholarship。
Reviews
Jonfaith
，
till I accomplish my corpse at last。Hot damn， I love Auden。 Going to continue this capacious jaunt for a spell。 This was a splendid cross-section and I thoroughly enjoyed it all。 The Bucolics were likely my favorite。 The biographical asides were also of interest as was the semi-successful approach to Mozart's Magic Flute。 till I accomplish my corpse at last。Hot damn， I love Auden。 Going to continue this capacious jaunt for a spell。 This was a splendid cross-section and I thoroughly enjoyed it all。 The Bucolics were likely my favorite。 The biographical asides were also of interest as was the semi-successful approach to Mozart's Magic Flute。 。。。more
Kevin Lopez
，
The wizardly Wystan Hugh （W。H。） Auden was a true master of his craft—of that mystical， mysterious magic called poetry; of infusing incorporeal， disembodied words with real weight， force， and rapturous lyricality。 His poems embody the sublime and the elegiac; the absurdity， the fragility， and the （occasional） nobility of life， love， and faith， and are possessed of a unique and melancholic humor。 Together， these attributes lend a deep pathos and a profound emotional connectivity to his ever-lyrica The wizardly Wystan Hugh （W。H。） Auden was a true master of his craft—of that mystical， mysterious magic called poetry; of infusing incorporeal， disembodied words with real weight， force， and rapturous lyricality。 His poems embody the sublime and the elegiac; the absurdity， the fragility， and the （occasional） nobility of life， love， and faith， and are possessed of a unique and melancholic humor。 Together， these attributes lend a deep pathos and a profound emotional connectivity to his ever-lyrical and lucent verse。 。。。more
Louise B
，
I have the 1979 edition of this book purchase d second hand。 I assumed ‘funeral blues’ would be included; sadly it is NOT！ Disappointed！ Edward Mendelson who edited this collection was obviously not a fan of this poem？ ☹️
J。S。 Mason
，
There is a variety of themes in W。H。 Auden's poems which is something that I like。 Aside from the variety of themes， the way in which his poetry reads is impressive as there are multiple styles in his writing。 That made it enjoyable for me。 There is a variety of themes in W。H。 Auden's poems which is something that I like。 Aside from the variety of themes， the way in which his poetry reads is impressive as there are multiple styles in his writing。 That made it enjoyable for me。 。。。more
patrascuruth
，
Relax in your darling’s arms like a stone，Remembering everything you can confess，Making the most of firelight， of hours and fuss;But joy is mine not yours—to have come so far，Whose cleverest invention was lately fur;Lizards my best once who took years to breed，Could not control the temperature of blood。To reach that shape for your face to assume，Pleasure to many and despair to some，I shifted ranges， lived epochs handicappedBy climate， wars， or what the young men kept，Modified theories on the typ Relax in your darling’s arms like a stone，Remembering everything you can confess，Making the most of firelight， of hours and fuss;But joy is mine not yours—to have come so far，Whose cleverest invention was lately fur;Lizards my best once who took years to breed，Could not control the temperature of blood。To reach that shape for your face to assume，Pleasure to many and despair to some，I shifted ranges， lived epochs handicappedBy climate， wars， or what the young men kept，Modified theories on the types of dross，Altered desire and history of dress。 。。。more
Lucio Mellace
，
Wystan Hugh Auden was born in York， England in 1907。11。 "This lunar beauty Has no history Is complete and early; If beauty later Beat my future It had a lover And is anotherthis like a dream Keeps other time And daytime is The loss of this; For time is inches And the heart's changes Where ghost has haunted Lost and wantedBut this was never A ghost's endeavor Nor finished this， Was ghost at ese; till it pass Love shall not near The sweetness here Nor sorrow take His endless look。" （p。18， #11）"O l Wystan Hugh Auden was born in York， England in 1907。11。 "This lunar beauty Has no history Is complete and early; If beauty later Beat my future It had a lover And is anotherthis like a dream Keeps other time And daytime is The loss of this; For time is inches And the heart's changes Where ghost has haunted Lost and wantedBut this was never A ghost's endeavor Nor finished this， Was ghost at ese; till it pass Love shall not near The sweetness here Nor sorrow take His endless look。" （p。18， #11）"O let not Time deceive you You cannot conquer Time。" （p。 sixty six）A character says in this collection of poems， that one cannot conquer time。 How would one attempt to conquer time？ Well， one can distract oneself however that does not mean that time itself does not exist。 It is， will be， there。Besides the two quotes and the second half of page 240 I did not find myself liking Auden's work。 It was an enjoyable read， but not one that I would return to in a long time unless its' for school。I'd recommend reading something else as an introduction to poetry。 。。。more
Kendrick
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I can appreciate Auden's writing， but I find the flow of his poems in general to not work for me I can appreciate Auden's writing， but I find the flow of his poems in general to not work for me 。。。more
Ilya Gandelman
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Apparently I'm not a big fan。 Apparently I'm not a big fan。 。。。more
Rachel
，
So this site isn't great for recording different versions of what， in fairness， is a fairly generic title: 'Selected Poems'。 Last year， I spent four months reading the Faber Selected Auden， which is massive。 （I recently found an even bigger brick， the Faber Complete Auden， that I must have bought in my teens 。。。 I might wait another few decades to tackle that one。） I absolutely LOVED that， but was daunted by the fact that it's over 500 pages and I'd annotated the hell out of it and so the review So this site isn't great for recording different versions of what， in fairness， is a fairly generic title: 'Selected Poems'。 Last year， I spent four months reading the Faber Selected Auden， which is massive。 （I recently found an even bigger brick， the Faber Complete Auden， that I must have bought in my teens 。。。 I might wait another few decades to tackle that one。） I absolutely LOVED that， but was daunted by the fact that it's over 500 pages and I'd annotated the hell out of it and so the review was possibly going to take as long as the reading。 I never brought myself to it in the end。Fast forward to this summer， and I found a （possibly） first edition of the Penguin Selected Auden in an antique/jumble shop in Crystal Palace。 Obviously I had to save it， even though the man wanted cash！ In a pandemic！ Let's just say it was a stressful two pounds。 Anyway， it was a good time， it contains some of my favourites， and I enjoyed that it was selected by Auden himself。Like a lot of people， my first introduction to Auden was in 'Four Weddings and a Funeral'。 My mother wants me to read 'Stop all the clocks' （or as it goes by in this collection， 'Two Songs for Hedli Anderson'） at her funeral and often asks me to recite it from memory。 It's probably a good thing that I like this poem; time， and many repetitions， has not dulled its lustre。 I became a real stan after that Faber collection， but I will admit that a） this is mainly because of 'O Tell me the Truth about Love' and b） I have NO idea what he's on about most of the time， particularly with that prose-poem fanfic of The Tempest that is Very Long （good！ but long！ and I didn't get most of it）。This - much smaller - selection， by a different publisher too， Goodreads， goddammit， is less overall enticing。 Possibly if I'd read this one first I would not have come away such a rock-solid Auden stan。 Yet again， the time-order component of the reading experience carries the majority of the influence。 Taller Today:"Because the Adversary put too easy questionsOn lonely roads。"Two Songs for Hedli Anderson:（Definitely the second song is unfamiliar to me！）"O last night I dreamed of you， Johnny， my lover，You'd the sun on one arm and the moon on the other，The sea it was blue and the grass it was green，Every star rattled a round tambourine;Ten thousand miles deep in a pit there I lay;But you frowned like thunder and you went away。"Victor。 A Ballad:"Victor looked up at the sunsetAs he stood there all alone;Cried: 'Are you in Heaven， Father？'But the sky said 'Address not known'。"This poem is deeply fucked up。 Do I wish Auden united his exquisite grasp of form with his appreciation for Awful Men less often？ Yes。 Does he do it with incredible skill？ Also yes。The Dead Echo:"The earth is an oyster with nothing inside it，Not to be born is the best for man;The end of toil is a bailiff's order，Throw down the mattock and dance while you can。"I'm starting to suspect old W。H。 was a bit of a cynic。In Memory of W。B。 Yeats:"Now Ireland has her madness and her weather still，For poetry makes nothing happen: it survivesIn the valley of its saying where executivesWould never want to tamper; it flows southFrom ranches of isolation and the busy griefs，Raw towns that we believe and die in; it survivesA way of happening， a mouth。"Yeah， okay， maybe， a bit。If I Could Tell You:"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。"Caliban to the Audience:"We want no Ariel here， breaking down our picket fences in the name of fraternity， seducing our wives in the name of romance， and robbing us of our sacred pecuniary deposits in the name of justice。""[。。。] of observing some fresh detail in the complex process by which the heady wine of amusement is distilled from the grape of composition。""Religion and culture seem to be represented by a catholic belief that something is lacking which much be found， but as to what that something is， the keys of heaven， the missing heir， genius， the smells of childhood， or a sense of humour， why it is lacking， whether it has been deliberately stolen， or accidentally lost or just hidden for a lark， and who is responsible， our ancestors， ourselves， the social structure， or mysterious wicked powers， there are as many faiths as there are searchers， and clues can be found behind every clock， under every stone， and in every hollow tree to support all of them。"One Circumlocution:"Poems which make us cry direct us toOurselves at our least apt， least kind， least true，Where a blank I loves blankly a blank You？"Precious Five:"A tight arthritic pawWaving about in praiseOf those homeric daysIs impious and obscene:Grow， hands， into those livingHands by which true hands should beBy making and by givingTo hands you cannot see。"A Permanent Way:"And what could be greater fun，Once one has chosen and paid，Than the inexpensive delightOf a choice one might have made。"Woods:"This great society is going smash;They cannot fool us with how fast they go，How much they cost each other and the gods！A culture is no better than its woods。"Fact。Mountains:"What？ Five minutes？ For an uncatlikeCreature who has gone wrong，Five minutes on even the nicest mountainIs awfully long。"IT ME。Vespers:"In my Eden a person who dislikes Bellini has the good manners notto get born; In his New Jerusalem a person who dislikes work will be very sorry he was born。In my Eden we have a few beam-engines， saddle-tank locomotives， overshot waterwheels and other beautiful pieces of obsolete machinery to play with: In his New Jerusalem even chefs will be cucumber-cool machine minders。"I know which one I'd like to live in 。。。 and which one I do。"On whose immolation （call him Abel， Remus， whom you will， it is one Sin Offering） arcadias， utopias， our dear old bag of a democracy， are alike founded:For without a cement of blood （it must be human， it must be innocent） no secular wall will safely stand。"Talk about a 2020 MOOD。Favourites: The Three Companions; One Evening; Roman Wall Blues; A New Age; Epitaph on a Tyrant; Alonso to Ferdinand; The Managers; A Household。 。。。more
Alan
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4。4 stars。 Almost 5， I was very tempted。 This was very good。 Now I can say that I have read something from Auden。
Luke Lyman
，
the poems he wrote surrounding the WWII years？ made my brain nut。 favorite stanza:“What reverence is rightly paidTo a divinity so oddHe lets the Adam whom he made Perform the Acts of God？”the one about poop is good too
Jared
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Auden's poems hold onto you and don't let go。 Auden's poems hold onto you and don't let go。 。。。more
Hannah Moran
，
It’s been a long time since I read a poetry book for a non-academic purpose， but I have to admit， a lot of my appreciation for Auden’s poetry is rooted in the structure of it。 He was described in the intro as “the first poet writing in English who felt at home in the twentieth century”， and while your feelings on that might differ， you can’t deny Auden’s place among the great modernist writers。 It can be a bit high-minded and long-winded for some （do those multi-movement works REALLY need to be It’s been a long time since I read a poetry book for a non-academic purpose， but I have to admit， a lot of my appreciation for Auden’s poetry is rooted in the structure of it。 He was described in the intro as “the first poet writing in English who felt at home in the twentieth century”， and while your feelings on that might differ， you can’t deny Auden’s place among the great modernist writers。 It can be a bit high-minded and long-winded for some （do those multi-movement works REALLY need to be that long？？？）， but personally， this anthology makes me want to go out and buy one of the volumes that was published in his lifetime， and that’s one of the highest compliments I can pay someone。 。。。more
Rachel
，
I have trouble reviewing poetry， so this won't be super in depth: Selected Poems， by simple virtue of its scope， contains a lot of poems I liked and a lot I disliked。 I largely didn't care for Auden's early work but found it interesting from a historical perspective: poetry used to be so much more structured than it is now， and longer poetry was more acceptable。 Even when I disliked a poem， I could respect what he was doing。 The strict structure let him build in ways that I don't see often in co I have trouble reviewing poetry， so this won't be super in depth: Selected Poems， by simple virtue of its scope， contains a lot of poems I liked and a lot I disliked。 I largely didn't care for Auden's early work but found it interesting from a historical perspective: poetry used to be so much more structured than it is now， and longer poetry was more acceptable。 Even when I disliked a poem， I could respect what he was doing。 The strict structure let him build in ways that I don't see often in contemporary poetry。I liked the late 40s through 50s era of his work best， both in topics and use of language。 I found the early stuff a little too strictly structured， so that the language was often confusing。 The 40s and 50s were a little less strict， and I liked the subjects。 His later stuff was fine， structurally， but I liked fewer of the topics。 。。。more
Jeannie L
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"In Times of War" "In Times of War" 。。。more
Aya
，
I love the writing style of Auden but I dont like the selection of poems in this volume
Lili VI
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Lire de la poésie en anglais était peut être un peu trop optimiste。。。
Gail
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Some of these poems eluded me but some were sublime and beautiful so I will keep this on my poetry shelf to delve into on occasion。
Boro
，
Reading more poetry was a resolution this year。 Was hooked on Auden since Funeral Blues but the gay sass is very absorbing。
Jamie Dougherty
，
He's clearly talented and there are a couple bangers but mostly I think I just don't like Auden so much？ ¯\_（ツ）_/¯。 Maybe someday。 He does have a talent for using words in new ways （often adjectives as verbs or anthropomorphic adjectives）。 Favorite: September 1， 1939 （duh） He's clearly talented and there are a couple bangers but mostly I think I just don't like Auden so much？ ¯\_（ツ）_/¯。 Maybe someday。 He does have a talent for using words in new ways （often adjectives as verbs or anthropomorphic adjectives）。 Favorite: September 1， 1939 （duh） 。。。more
Kari Trenten
，
Drawing on a variety of forms which evoke the fantastic， the terrifying， the seductive， the random， and the every day， Auden winds poetry into every shape and pattern he can， sometimes mesmerizing the reader with catchy rhythms， sometimes taking her off-guard with news ones。 It was an intriguing collection， sometimes describing the events happening around Auden， sometimes the people， often changing tracks， going in surprising directions with both the imagery and the feelings。 Faerie tale creatur Drawing on a variety of forms which evoke the fantastic， the terrifying， the seductive， the random， and the every day， Auden winds poetry into every shape and pattern he can， sometimes mesmerizing the reader with catchy rhythms， sometimes taking her off-guard with news ones。 It was an intriguing collection， sometimes describing the events happening around Auden， sometimes the people， often changing tracks， going in surprising directions with both the imagery and the feelings。 Faerie tale creatures and mythic heroes popped into some poems while others described bowel movements。 （One of the latter was dedicated to Christopher Isherwood。） A distinct voice comes through the varying patterns of poesy， drawing them together， even if the twists and turns the lines take （or even the shape they take） confuse and bewilder。 All in all， this was a striking， interesting collection of poems， allowing the poet’s presence to manifest in a variety of forms。 。。。more
Eric Cartier
，
I - I can't believe that was it。 That was the work of this celebrated poet， and those were the poems he chose for this edition？ Work in a jumble of styles with no indication of when the poems were written？ For me， the experience of reading Auden was the exact opposite of reading Marianne Moore， another lauded poet whose name I knew （and whose work I thought I should know） but had never read。 Moore dazzled me continuously， establishing intimacy from a distance， brilliantly displaying and sharing I - I can't believe that was it。 That was the work of this celebrated poet， and those were the poems he chose for this edition？ Work in a jumble of styles with no indication of when the poems were written？ For me， the experience of reading Auden was the exact opposite of reading Marianne Moore， another lauded poet whose name I knew （and whose work I thought I should know） but had never read。 Moore dazzled me continuously， establishing intimacy from a distance， brilliantly displaying and sharing her superior intelligence and humor。 The chronological arrangement of her Complete Poems showed how her style expanded， contracted， and developed over time， too。 Despite the apparently haphazard sequencing， Auden's book bored me more often than not， and I winced at many of his rhymes。 He and I simply didn't connect。 And the dozen or so poems I did admire were spaced out just so that I slogged through the whole collection for weeks in search of others that similarly sparked my interest。 Alas。 At least I can go forth knowing I'll never praise or condemn him unread。 Auden isn't for me is all。 。。。more
Jamie Rose
，
The first poetry collection I've enjoyed in its entirety， certainly for a very long time， and offering several standout poems I know I'll be returning to in whole or in part again and again。 The first poetry collection I've enjoyed in its entirety， certainly for a very long time， and offering several standout poems I know I'll be returning to in whole or in part again and again。 。。。more
Sylvia Clare
，
you can clearly see is influence on Bob Dylan's work and some of the poems i really related to but others i found too obscure for me to enjoy - he is not a pleasure read so much as a study read but very well worth the effort you can clearly see is influence on Bob Dylan's work and some of the poems i really related to but others i found too obscure for me to enjoy - he is not a pleasure read so much as a study read but very well worth the effort 。。。more
E。 Merrill Brouder
，
An honest survey of Auden's work， this collection is less for those looking to find all of Auden's best or most famous– but rather for disciples or academics who want to watch the development of Auden's style。 An honest survey of Auden's work， this collection is less for those looking to find all of Auden's best or most famous– but rather for disciples or academics who want to watch the development of Auden's style。 。。。more
Phil
，
Really enjoyed many of these poems， although I often needed help getting at the marrow。Alan Jacobs is a tremendous help:https://www。firstthings。com/article/2。。。https://www。firstthings。com/article/1。。。https://www。nytimes。com/2018/08/08/op。。。Believe it or not， I found this book in the little 'pay what you want' pile by the door of my local grocery store in little-town Quebec。 Brilliant！ Really enjoyed many of these poems， although I often needed help getting at the marrow。Alan Jacobs is a tremendous help:https://www。firstthings。com/article/2。。。https://www。firstthings。com/article/1。。。https://www。nytimes。com/2018/08/08/op。。。Believe it or not， I found this book in the little 'pay what you want' pile by the door of my local grocery store in little-town Quebec。 Brilliant！ 。。。more
Mark
，
This is a really rich collection of poems， so many of which can't be absorbed in one reading。 Auden has taught me that I can like a poem without fully understanding it， and that it's ok for poetry to be mysterious and opaque。 This anthology includes absolute stunners such as 'Musée des Beaux Arts' and 'September 1， 1939'， wonderfully melancholy love lyrics， and delightful later gems such as 'Thanksgiving for a Habitat'。 I like a poet that can write as artfully about toilets and living rooms as t This is a really rich collection of poems， so many of which can't be absorbed in one reading。 Auden has taught me that I can like a poem without fully understanding it， and that it's ok for poetry to be mysterious and opaque。 This anthology includes absolute stunners such as 'Musée des Beaux Arts' and 'September 1， 1939'， wonderfully melancholy love lyrics， and delightful later gems such as 'Thanksgiving for a Habitat'。 I like a poet that can write as artfully about toilets and living rooms as they can about war and love。 。。。more
DeadWeight
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He's trash。 He's trash。 。。。more
Peter Landau
，
For years I bought books obsessively， because of the cover， a review read somewhere， personal recommendations and to collect the works of classic authors， such as W。 H。 Auden。 My plan was to read them， of course， but I’m a slow reader and my buying fast outpaced my ability to read。 In my mind， I was preparing like a fallout shelter， not for disaster but time。 I picked up SELECTED POEMS to take with me on a trip， because time is elusive。 My plan was really just an expression of another misguided For years I bought books obsessively， because of the cover， a review read somewhere， personal recommendations and to collect the works of classic authors， such as W。 H。 Auden。 My plan was to read them， of course， but I’m a slow reader and my buying fast outpaced my ability to read。 In my mind， I was preparing like a fallout shelter， not for disaster but time。 I picked up SELECTED POEMS to take with me on a trip， because time is elusive。 My plan was really just an expression of another misguided attempt to wrangle the chaos of life。 I’ve since pulled back on the purchases and upped the reading rate due to old age and the need to manage my weight by using a treadmill。 What does this have to do with poetry？ I don’t know， though this review could be read as a prose poem。 Nothing like the talent expressed in each of Auden’s beautiful works， rich in language and image。 I don’t get much of it but glimpses of meaning caught me at odd moments。 Those were mostly appreciated in the later poems that spoke of aging and bowels， conditions I can immediately relate to。 。。。more
Jacob Gane
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Auden。 Did you write a poem savoring the joys of your morning poops？。。。。 Yes。 Yes you did。 And I love you for it。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Selected Poems
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Selected Poems&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Selected Poems&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0