Auden

Auden is probably my favorite poet so far. I like that he uses various themes and that his poems are all very different. Some of the themes he writes about include politics, love, personal issues, and social problems. My favorite poem is “The Unknown Citizen.” It can apply even in today’s society. Allowing the government too much control is dangerous. Individuals are losing their identities in the world because of new technology. We are all just numbers. Auden does not use a name in this poem. He describes this person in ways that the government would approve. I don’t think this was written about a specific person. It can apply to anyone. The government does not care who we are or what we do as long as we follow the rules.

The other poem I enjoyed is “As I Walked Out One Evening.” This is an example of how different each of his poems are from one another. Time will conquer us all eventually. Auden does not believe that love lasts forever. The narrator says to his lover that their love will last until impossible things occur. (Oceans drying up) The lovers separate in the end. The love that they once had was beautiful, and it is now destroyed. Time is personified in this poem. Time has been around forever and knows that love does not last. Time has seen it happen. Time watches the mistakes that lovers make over and over again.