4.9: W.H. Auden's "Funeral Blues"
- Page ID
- 194047
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Photograph by Howard Coster. Licensed under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0, © National Portrait Gallery, London.
Directions
Here, you will find W.H. Auden's "Funeral Blues"
The poems are on a docx. file. I recommend either printing it our or annotating the digital copy on your computer, or taking notes on the story on a separate piece of paper.
Author's Bio:
While reading the poem, keep these questions/ideas in mind:
- While reading this poem, reflect on what type of theme or message that jumps out to you?
- List the themes
- Then, begin to note and list the different use of poetic and literary devices in the poem
- What about these devices makes you feel this way?
- What does the poem mean to you??
- This poem is a elegy? It is a type of poem that mourns someone who passed away? Did this poem's metaphors remind you of grief?
- How did the use of rhyme contribute/not contribute to the overall theme of the piece?
- Did you like the poem? Why or why not?
Essay Topic
As a reminder, your essay topic is:
Do a close read of the poem. What is one overall theme/message that you see in the text? What are the literary/poetic devices that you see that are enhancing said theme/message?