Essays

Analytical Essay: W.H. Auden

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NataliaGibson

Dr.Nester

ENC 1102-2

22October 2017

AnalyticalEssay: W.H. Auden

No twopeople are truly alike. In any society or community, people generallyfall into one of two basic roles. Some are leaders, and many arefollowers. The followers are content enough just listening to the wayleaders guide them, and the leaders are those that are drawn topower. So pervasive is the idea of power, of the desire for power,that even many creative writers will focus on the issues it poses.For instance, W.H. Auden's poem "Stop all the clocks, cut off thetelephone" delves into the specific concept that power isunfulfilling.

Audenuses his poem to demonstrate that power that is inactive, that is notexercised, is unfulfilling. Exercising power, unfortunately, is notsomething that is without major effect on other things and people.Power is only truly recognized when it is pushed to other people andthings. Great power often affects the masses, and can alter muchof the world. The speaker of Auden's poem is clearly in mourning atthe beginning of the piece, and attempts to feel better by assertingtheir power over smaller things, such as in lines three and fourwhere the speaker says: "[s]ilencethe pianos and with muffled drum / Bring out the coffin, let themourners come." However,Auden uses the third stanza to show that the speaker is stillsuffering a lost love by saying "I thought love would last forever:I was wrong" (12) and in the fourth stanza works to gain morecontrol as the speaker makes impossible demands to change theunchangeable when saying things such as "The stars are not wantednow: Put out every one; / Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;"(13, 14). The speaker insists that the world must be rid of stars,the sun, and the moon,in other words, demanding to get rid of natural constants,showing a desire for ultimate power, which would be theability to change anything at will.

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Thespeaker's demands would not only affect one person, and rarely doespower only affect one in general. Power seems to have a rippleaffect, and is most often something that will harm others. Poweralone is neither good nor bad. It is all about the people who hold

thepower. That being said, power is also corruptible, so, inevitably,nearly all power will be

followedby exercising the power, and will end with someone, or many people,getting hurt. Auden writes in lines 15 and 16: "Pour away the oceanand sweep up the wood; / For nothing now can ever come to any good."Here the speaker is ready to be rid of the world, dooming everyoneshould this command come to pass, all because the speaker is in pain.Often, this is a problem that power presents, the issue of powerblinding the one who wields it to the damage that will be caused toother people when not handled carefully. Not only that, but powerbrings out a gluttony in people that is hard to put back. Aninsatiable feeling that it is never quite enough anymore, because thefirst rush of power creates this exciting feeling, and from thatmoment on, the person holding the power just craves more, hoping toobtain the same level of excitement as in that first rush.

However,this excitement of power comes with unrealistic expectations. Peoplemistakenly believe that achieving power will bring about freedom andhappiness, but power is far more complex than that. Power does nottruly lead to satisfaction for most people. It cannot be had withouta large amount of responsibility. This responsibility is what peopledo not often think of when consumed by the desire to obtain power.The speaker in Auden's poem says things such as "Putcrepe bows round the white necks of thepublic doves, / Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves"(8, 9) which shows that the only responsibility that the speakerfeels is towards this lost love. In the reality of Auden'spoem, the speaker has far more responsibility to consider. Thespeaker makes demands for things that are beyond the control ofhumankind, and that shows that the speaker would need to take moreconsideration of the rest of the people, and of the earth, ratherthan just destroy things as he or she seems to feel the urge to do.

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Inhis poem "Stop all the clocks," Auden shows clearly the issues ofhaving power but not being fulfilled by it. Power is not the onlydesire that goes unfulfilled. Even more people experience lack offulfillment of happiness – that most desired of all of life'spromises, and only one of many things that is sought after, and yet,in the end, rarely ever fully achievable.

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WorksCited

Updike,John. "A & P." The Norton Introduction to Literature, editedby Kelly J Mays. 12th ed., W.W. Norton, 2017, pp. 956-57