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ThePoem

The Age of A nxietybeginsinfearanddoubt,butthefourprotagonists

find somecomfort in sharing theirdistress. Ineven this accidental

andtemporarycommunitytherearisesthepossibilityofwhatAuden

once called “local understanding.” Certain anxieties may be over­

comenotbythealteringofgeopoliticalconditionsbutbythecultiva­

tion of mutual sympathy—perhaps mutual love, even among those

whohoursbeforehadbeenstrangers.

The Age of AnxietyisW.H.Auden’slastbook­lengthpoem,hislon­

gest poem, and almost certainly the least­read of his major works.

(“It’sfrightfullylong,”hetoldhisfriendAlanAnsen.)Itwouldbein­

terestingtoknowwhatfractionofthosewhobeginreadingitpersist

totheend.Thepoemisstrangeandoblique;itpursuesinahighly

concentratedformmanyofAuden’slong­termfascinations.Itsmeter

imitatesmedievalalliterativeverse,whichAudenhadbeendrawnto

as an undergraduate when he attended J.R.R. Tolkien’s lectures in

Anglo­Saxonphilology,andwhichclearlyinfluencesthepoemsofhis

earlytwenties.The Age of Anxietyislargelyapsychological,orpsycho­

historical,poem,andthesewerethecategoriesinwhichAudenpre­

ferredtothinkinhisearlyadulthood(includinghisundergraduate

yearsatOxford,whenheenjoyed the roleof confidential amateur

analystforhisfriends).

ThepoemalsoembracesAuden’sinterestin,amongotherthings,

thearchetypaltheoriesofCarlGustavJung,Jewishmysticism,English

murdermysteries,andthelinguisticandculturaldifferencesbetween

EnglandandAmerica.Woventhroughitishisnearlylifelongobses­

sionwiththepoeticandmythological“greenworld”Audenvariously

calls Arcadia or Eden or simply the Good Place. Auden’s previous

longpoemhadbeencalled“TheSeaandtheMirror:ACommentary

on Shakespeare’s The Tempest,“ and Shakespeare haunts this poem

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too.(InthelatterstagesofwritingThe Age of AnxietyAudenwasteach­

ingacourseonShakespeareattheNewSchoolinManhattan.)

Butitshouldalsobenotedthatthislastlongpoemendedanerafor

Auden;histhoughtandversepursuednewdirectionsafterhecom­

pletedit.

Manyculturalcriticsoverthedecades—startingwithJacquesBar­

zuninoneoftheearliestreviews—havelaudedAudenforhisacuity

innamingtheerainwhichwelive.Butgiventhepoem’sdifficulty,few

ofthemhavemanagedtofigureoutpreciselywhyhethinksourageis

characterizedprimarilybyanxiety—orevenwhetherheisreallysay­

ingthatatall.The Age of Anxiety,then,isextraordinarilyfamousfora

booksolittleread;or,extraordinarilylittlereadforabooksofamous.

Thepurposeofthecurrenteditionistoaidthosewhowouldliketo

readthepoemratherthansagelyciteitstitle.

Auden,with hisfriendChristopherIsherwood,hadcometoAmer­

icainJanuaryof1939.InAprilofthatyearhewrotetoanAmerican

acquaintance,“Ishall,Ihope,beintheStatesforayearorso,”buthis

estimatewasquitemistaken.Hespentmore thantwoyears inNew

York, during which he met a young man named Chester Kallman,

soontobecomehislover,andreturnedtotheAnglicanChristianity

of his childhood. For a year he taught at the University of Michi­

gan,thenmadehiswaytoSwarthmoreCollegeinPennsylvania,where

hetaughtfrom1942to1945.InJulyof1944,whilestayingintheMan­

hattanapartmentofhisfriendsJamesandTaniaStern,hebeganwrit­

ingthispoem.

Attheendofthenextacademicyear,inAprilof1945,Audenjoined

the Morale Division of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. He had

beenrecommendedforthisjobbyafellowfacultymemberatSwarth­

more,andthenwasactivelyrecruitedbyaleadingofficeroftheSur­

vey. The purpose of the Survey was to understand what the Allied

bombingcampaignshaddonetoGermany;theMoraleDivisionwas

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especiallyconcernedwithpsychologicalimpact.Auden’spublicsup­

portofthewareffortandhisfluencyinGermanmadehimanideal

candidateforthiswork.HewasassignedtheequivalentrankofMajor

andtoldtobuyhimselfauniform.Inasurvivingphotographhelooks

quite trim and neat in it, a significant departure from his habitual

slovenliness.“IshouldhavegotalongquitewellintheArmy,”hetold

AlanAnsen.

The condition of Germany shocked and grieved Auden. In the

ruinedtownofDarmstadthewrotetohisfriendElizabethMayer,her­

selfGerman­born:“Ikeepwishingyouwerewithustohelpandthen

Ithink,perhapsnot,forasIwritethissentenceIfindmyselfcrying.”

ButitseemslikelythatduringhisworkfortheSurveyhealsocame

to understand more clearly the extent of the Nazis’ devastation of

GermanJewry:The Age of AnxietyisamongthefirstpoemsinEnglish,

perhaps the very first, to register the fact of the Nazis’ genocidal

murderofmillionsofJews.

WhenAudenreturnedfromEurope,hefoundthefirstofseveral

apartments inManhattaninwhichhelivedalmostuntil theendof

hislife.Butthiswasanunsettledtimeforhim.HetaughttheShake­

speareclasswithoutespeciallyenjoyingit:toafriendhewrote,“The

Shakespearecoursemakesmedespair.Ihave500studentsandsocan

do nothing but boom away.” He worked, off and on, with Bertolt

BrechtonanadaptationofThe Duchess of Malfi.Hetaughtforaterm

atBenningtonCollegeinVermont,readprodigiouslyinmanyfields,

andwrotedozensofreviewsandessaysforawiderangeofAmerican

periodicals.Alifelonghomosexual,hedecidedthatheshouldhave

anaffairwithawoman,anddidso.(Itwasinsomerespectsasuccess­

fulexperiment,thoughnotonethathechosetorepeat, andheand

Rhoda Jaffe remainedon friendly termsafterward.)Adecade later

hewouldwrite,“Attheageofthirty­seven”—hisagewhenhebegan

The Age of Anxiety—“Iwas still too young tohave any sure senseof

thedirectioninwhichIwasmoving.”Thepoemtestifies toAuden’s

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confusions.Butitalsoformulatesanintellectuallypowerfulresponse

tothem.

The poembeginswithamannamedQuantcontemplatinghisre­

flectioninamirror.Themirrorof“TheSeaandtheMirror”hadbeen

theonethatHamletsays“playing”(acting)holdsuptonature.That

wasfitting,foroneofAuden’spurposesinthatpoemwastodescribe

whatitisthatpoetryrepresents,orcanrepresent,andwhatthepur­

poseofsuchrepresentationmightbe.ButThe Age of Anxietyisparticu­

larlyconcernedwithakindofmirroringindicatedelsewhereinHam­

let,atthemomentwhentheprincetellshismother,“YougonottillI

setyouupaglass/Whereyoumayseetheinmostpartofyou.”Can

we see ourselves in any given mirror? Do reflections yield reliable

knowledge,especiallygiventhatmirrorsinvert?“Mydeuce,mydou­

ble,mydearimage,”themanmuses,“Isitlivelythere”in“thatlandof

glass”?“Doesyourselflikemine/Tasteofuntruth?Tellme,whatare

you/Hidinginyourheart”?(WhenIcallwhatIseeinthemirrormy

image or reflection, I am saying that it’s not me.) A few lines after

thesemeditations,wehearthethoughtsofanothercharacter,Malin:

“Manhasnomean;hismirrorsdistort.”

Audenthoughtoftenaboutmirrorsinthosedays.Hebegana1942

essayfortheRomanCatholicweeklyCommonwealwiththesewords:

Everychild,ashewakesintolife,findsamirrorunderneathhis

pillow.Lookinithewillandmust,elsehecannotknowwhohe

is,acreaturefallenfromgrace,andthisknowledgeisaneces­

sarypreliminarytosalvation.Yetatthemomenthelooksintohis

mirror,hefallsintomortaldanger,temptedbyguiltintoade­

spairwhichtellshimthathisisolationandabandonmentis[sic]

irrevocable.Itisimpossibletofacesuchabandonmentandlive,

butaslongashegazesintothemirrorheneednotfaceit;hehas

atleasthismirrorasanillusorycompanion....

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Andin“FortheTimeBeing,”thelongpoemthatpreceded“The

SeaandtheMirror,”Audenwritesofanultimateexistentialdisloca­

tioninthisway:

It’sasif

Wehadleftourhouseforfiveminutestomailaletter,

Andduringthattimethelivingroomhadchangedplaces

Withtheroombehindthemirroroverthefireplace...

SoasQuantobserveshisdeuce,hisdouble,hisdearimage,heisen­

dangeredbythe“dearness”;butatleastherecognizesthatitisnothis

self; he is healthily distanced, at least to some degree, from it. He

knowsthattheroominthemirrordiffersfromtheoneheinhabits.

Much later in the poem Malin—who often, though not always,

speaksforAuden—willdesignate“Thepolice,/Thedress­designers,

etc.”asthose“whomanagethemirrors.”Thatis,theimagesofour­

selvesthatwetypicallyseearecontrolledbypoliticalandcommercial

forces.Onemightsaythat ideology is theconstructionandpresen­

tationofmirrors tomeetcertainpredeterminedpurposes,noneof

whichisthevalidself­understandingoftheviewer.

Thoughtheeventsofthepoemtakeplaceduringthewar,thewrit­

ingofitcontinuedoncethewarwasover,andAudenisatconsider­

ablepainstoshowthattheanxietiesexacerbatedbywartimedonot

evaporatewhenwarends.Indeed,oftenjusttheoppositehappens:in

herbookBetween Past and Future(1954)HannahArendt—whoknew

Audenwelllateinlife,thoughshefirstmethimwhenhewaswriting

this poem—describes the sense of emptiness, the loss of meaning,

experiencedbythosewhohadresistedtheNazisoncetheNaziswere

defeated.Theenemyvanquished,theanxietiesremain,andarethereby

revealedtohavetheirsourceinsomethingotherthantheimmediacy

ofwartimefears.

Audenexploresthispointcomicallyin“UnderWhichLyre:AReac­

tionaryTractfortheTimes,”theonlyotherpoemhecompletedwhile

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hewasworkingonThe Age of Anxiety.Nowthat“Areshasquitthefield”

anewconflictemerges:

LetAresdoze,thatotherwar

Isinstantlydeclaredoncemore

’Twixtthosewhofollow

PrecociousHermesalltheway

Andthosewhowithoutqualmsobey

PompousApollo....

ThesonsofHermeslovetoplay

Andonlydotheirbestwhenthey

Aretoldtheyoughtn’t;

Apollo’schildrennevershrink

Fromboringjobsbuthavetothink

Theirworkimportant.

ThefollowersofHermespursueartandculturefortheirownsakes,

orforpleasure;thefollowersofApollowishtorationalizeculture,to

systematizeitandrenderitproductiveandefficient.Audenandhis

fellowHermeticsdonotwish to rule—“Theearthwould soon,did

Hermesrun it,/Be like theBalkans”—butrather tobe leftalone.

However,thedeepApolloniansuspicionofunconstrainedandunjus­

tifiedactivitiesmaynotallowthattohappen.

Thesameconcernsarepresentedinamuchmoreseriouswayin

The Age of Anxiety.Malinagain:

Butthenewbarbarianisnouncouth

Desert­dweller;hedoesnotemerge

Fromfirforests;factoriesbredhim;

Corporatecompanies,collegetowns

Motheredhismind,andmanyjournals

Backedhisbeliefs.

The“newbarbarian”isalsothemanagerofourmirrors;whichmeans

thatthough“Areshasleftthefield”wecannottakeourease,because

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we cannot be confident that we know ourselves sufficiently well to

discernthemanagers’manipulations.AsathirdcharacterinThe Age

of Anxiety,Rosetta,says,“Liesandlethargiespolicetheworld/Inits

periodsofpeace.”Moreover,shelaments,

...lifeafterlifelapsesoutof

Itsessentialselfandsinksinto

Onepress­applaudedpublicuntruth

And,massedtoitsmusic,allmarchinstep

Ledbythatliar,thelukewarmSpirit

OftheEscalator

—theSpiritofoftheEscalatorbeingthatApolloniandemi­deitywho

personifiesirresistibleProgress,themoveeverupward.Ourcultural

world is increasingly dominated by Apollo: his voice emerges even

fromthejukeboxthatwehearofteninthispoem.Thatsamevoiceis

evokedin“UnderWhichLyre”:

His[Apollo’s]radioHomersalldaylong

Inover­Whitmanatedsong

Thatdoesnotscan,

Withadjectiveslaidendtoend,

Extolthedoughnutandcommend

TheCommonMan.

(ThemomentinthepoemwhenQuantpointsafingerattheradioand

therebysilencesitwassurely,forAuden,awish­fulfillmentdream.)In

suchanenvironment—withourmirrorsdistortedbyinternalandex­

ternalforcesalike—howcanwehopetofindwhatHamletproposed

toshowGertrude,aglassinwhichwecanseetheinmostpartofour­

selves?

ThemodelsofpsychoanalysisdevisedbyFreudandhissuccessors

promisesuchamirror.EarlyinhiscareerAudenwasdeeplyFreudian

inhisthinking,andwhenFreuddiedin1939Audenwroteamemo­

rial poem that is largely an encomium, with reservations emerging

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onlynearthepoem’send:“Ifoftenhewaswrongand,attimes,ab­

surd,”neverthelesshehasbecome“awholeclimateofopinion.”But

soonthereafterAuden’sskepticismwouldbecomemoreovert:inhis

1942Commonwealessayhewrote,

Psychoanalysis, likeallpagan scientia, says, “Come,mygood

man,nowonder you feelguilty. Youhaveadistortingmirror,

andthatisindeedaverywickedthingtohave.Butcheerup.For

atriflingconsiderationIshallbedelightedtostraightenitout

foryou.There.Look.Aperfectimage.Theevilofdistortionis

exorcised.Nowyouhavenothingtorepentofanylonger.Now

youareoneoftheilluminedandelect.Thatwillbetenthou­

sanddollars,please.

Andimmediatelycomesevendevils,andthelaststateofthat

manisworsethanthefirst.

Thisisaseverecritique,comingfromsomeoneforwhomFreudhad

beensocentralafigure.AnditisstrangetoseeAudentreatingpsy­

choanalysissoskeptically,sinceattheverytimehewrotethosewords

hewasdrawingregularly—especiallyinhisverse—ontheworkofCarl

GustavJung.

ButwhileAudenmadeuseofwhathefoundinJunghewasnever

devotedtohim,ashehadbeendevotedtoFreud.Freudwasforthe

youngAudenprimarily,supremely,ahealer—intheelegyheisfirst

referredtoas“thisdoctor”—andthenateacher:hetaughtthepres­

entself“howrichlifehadbeenandhowsilly,”andtherebyenabled

that self tobecome“life­forgivenandmorehumble.”WhenAuden

cametoquestionFreud’sstatureashealerandteacheralike,henever

grantedJungthehonorhehadgrantedFreud.Instead,hediscovered

inJungarichconceptualvocabularythatcouldbeappliedtomanyof

Auden’s own key concerns. Jung’s account of myth and archetype

wouldprovideawayforAudentotalkaboutthepowerofpoetryand

story for the restofhis life.Throughout thedecadeof the forties,

Auden would draw heavily on Jung’s model of psychological types;

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andthiswouldbeJung’sprimarycontribution—andthatofmodern

psychology—toThe Age of Anxiety.

In1921JungpublishedPsychologische Typen(PsychologicalTypes),

inwhichhecreatedaseriesofbinarycategories.Heopposedtheex­

travert,forwhomsocialinteractionisasourceofenergy,totheintro­

vert,wholosesenergythroughsocialinteraction.Heclaimedthatsome

ofusperceivetheworldprimarilythroughsensation,othersthrough

intuition;andthatsomeofusmakeourethicaljudgmentsprimarily

throughthinking,othersthroughfeeling.(Thesedistinctionsbecame

widelyknownwhentheywereadaptedfortheMyers­BriggsTypeIndi­

catortestsadministeredinmanyworkplaces.)Auden,an inveterate

maker of charts and diagrams, was powerfully drawn to such sche­

maticcategories.Theintrovert/extravertdichotomydoesn’tshowup

ofteninhiswork,buttherestofJung’stypologymakesitsfirstappear­

ancein“FortheTimeBeing”inthesectioncalled“TheFourFacul­

ties.”Therethefacultiesintroducethemselvesinthisway:

IntuitionAsadwarfinthedarkof

HisbellyIrest;

Feeling Anymph,Iinhabit

Theheartinhisbreast;

SensationAgiant,atthegatesof

HisbodyIstand;

Thought Hisdreamingbrainis

Myfairyland.

SoIntuitionabidesinthebelly—whencewegetour“gutinstinct”—

whileFeeling’straditionalhomeistheheart;Sensationdependson

thefivesenses,whileThought trusts theworkingsof thebrain.(In

Jung’saccount,eachofthesecanbeexperiencedinanintrovertedor

extravertedmode.Audenleavesoutthatcomplication.)

TheFourFacultiesreallyhavenothingtodowithwhathappensin

“FortheTimeBeing”:itappearsthatAudenwassimplyfascinatedby

thisschemaandwasdeterminedtoshoehornitin.(Laterinlifehe

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questionedhisownjudgment:in1963hewroteinthemarginofthis

passageinacopyof“FortheTimeBeing,”“Bosh,straightfromJung.”)

ButThe Age of Anxietycontainsamuchmoreseriousandthorough­

goingattempttoappropriatetheJungiantypesandsettheminmean­

ingfulinterrelation.

Thateachofthepoem’scharactersrepresentsoneoftheFaculties

isclear.QuantisIntuition;Malin,Thought;Rosetta,Feeling;Emble,

Sensation.Theirnamesindicatetheconnectionsmoreorlessclearly.

Malinisthemoststraightforward:malin,infamiliarFrenchusage,means

“shrewd”or“knowing.”Quantsuggestsaquantum—anindivisibleunit—

and thus the Intuitive’s tendency to grasp ideas and situations as

wholes.Emblecallsforth“emblem,”andintheseventeenthcentury

especially“emblembooks”presentedcomplexideas inasinglepic­

ture—thatis,theymadeunderstandingpossiblethroughsight,oneof

thesenses.Rosettamayrefertotheroseanditsassociationwithlove

andthereforetheheart,thesiteoffeeling.(In“TheFourFaculties”

Feelingisa“nymph,”theonlyspecificallyfemalefigure;thatdiffer­

enceismadeexplicitinThe Age of Anxiety.)

In“FortheTimeBeing”theFourFacultiessay,

Wewhoarefour

Wereoncebutone,

Beforehisactof

Rebellion...

That is, the biblical Adam in the Garden of Eden, before the Fall,

perceivedandjudgedwithallhisfacultiesequally:eachofthemfunc­

tioned perfectly, and each worked harmoniously with the others—

theyformedasingleapparatusofunderstanding.

But“hisactof/Rebellion”changedallthat:thefacultiesseparated

andbecamecompetitivewithoneanother. InonepersonThought

hypertrophies while Intuition atrophies; in another the opposite is

true.Since,astheoldNew England Primerencapsulatedthetheology

thatAudenheldatthistime,“InAdam’sFall/Wesinnedall,”noone

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livesinwhomthefacultiesareintegratedandbalanced.Or,toputthe

point in Malin’s terms, “Man has no mean; his mirrors distort.” If

Freudiananalysisisasham,andJungoffersmerelyheuristicdescrip­

tions of our condition, is there any way, then, to undo the conse­

quencesoftheFall—toreintegratetheFaculties,toperfectourmir­

rors—andtherebytoassuageouranxiety?

ForAuden ,thisis,ashewrotein1941inanelegyforHenryJames,

“ourpredicament”:

Thatcatastrophicsituationwhichneither

Victorynordefeatcanannul;tobe

Deafyetdeterminedtosing,

TobelameandblindyetburningfortheGreatGoodPlace,

Toberadicallycorruptyetmournfullyattracted

BytheRealDistinguishedThing.

Oneway toconfront thispredicament is to seeka return toan in­

nocentpast;anotheristopressforwardtoaperfectedfuture.Auden

called these opposing inclinations Arcadian and Utopian, and dis­

cerned in thema strict temperamentaldivide. (Thatdivideplays a

roleas fundamental tohis thoughtas is Jung’sdistinctionbetween

introvertsandextravertstothelatter’sbeliefs,whichmayexplainwhy

Auden doesn’t seem particularly interested in that aspect of Jung’s

typology.)

Audenconsistently identifiedhimselfwith theArcadians,andhe

couldbewitheringaboutUtopianism.Hiscritiqueofthefollowersof

Apolloin“UnderWhichLyre”—again,theonlyotherpoemhecom­

pletedwhilewritingThe Age of Anxiety—islargelyacritiqueofUtopia­

nismwrittenwithasenseoftheoccasiononwhichAudenwouldfirst

readitaloud,ataHarvardPhiBetaKappaceremonyduringthe1946

commencementceremonies.OneofthedominantfiguresofAmeri­

canculture at that timewas JamesBryantConant,Harvard’spresi­

dent,whowasstrivingtomodernizetheuniversityandtransformit

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into a researchpowerhouse focusedon scienceand technology. In

the process he emphasized the humanities, especially the classics,

farlessthanHarvardhaddonethroughmuchofitshistory.Auden

toldAlanAnsen,“WhenIwasdeliveringmyPhiBetaKappapoemin

Cambridge, I met Conant for about five minutes. ‘This is the real

enemy,’Ithoughttomyself.AndI’msurehehadthesameimpression

aboutme.”ToAudenConantwas the“newbarbarian”—bred from

“factories . . . Corporate companies, college towns”—whom Malin

fears.

GivenAuden’spositionontheArcadian/Utopianaxis, then, it is

perhapssurprisingthatThe Age of Anxiety is lessconcernedwiththe

socialdangersproducedbytheUtopianthanwiththepersonaltemp­

tationsfacingtheArcadian.Butthishadbeentruein“TheSeaand

theMirror”too:ArcadianismmayhavecontributedmuchtoAuden’s

mirror,butheknew that ithad itsownwayofwarping reflections.

RosettaisthechiefArcadianofThe Age of Anxiety:hermemorycon­

stantlydrawsherback toherEnglishupbringing—or, rather, toan

idealizedandthereforedistortedimageofthatupbringing.Indeed,

nostalgicreminiscenceforalostEnglishlandscape(“FromSeager’s

Folly/Webeheldwhatwasours”)istheburdenofherfirstspeech,

andofseveralothers.Butbytheendofthepoemshehascometo

realizethefalsenessofthosememories:sheisawarethatherGod

...won’tpretendto

ForgethowIbegan,norgrantbelief

InthemythicalscenesImakeup

Ofahomeliketheirs,theInnocentPlacewhere

HisLawcan’tlook,theleavesaresothick.

Rosetta is Jewish; her God is the God of Israel; and her last great

speechrepeatedlyreferstoIsrael’shistoryofexile,captivity,andwil­

derness wandering—of homelessness, of being unable to return to

thesceneofpastcomfortandsecurity.(Andofcoursethishistoryhad

justreacheditsterrifyingnadirintheNazis’destructionofEurope’s

Jews,towhichRosettarefersquitedirectly,inoneofthemostmoving

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passagesinthewholepoem.)ThatthegatesofEdenareguardedby

angelswithflamingswords;thatthereisreallynoplacetohidefrom

Godwhatwehavedone; that“theInnocentPlace” is forever lost—

theseareherrealizationsasherpartinthepoemdrawstoaclose.

In the prose prologue to the poem Auden tells us that Rosetta’s

“favorite day­dream” was one in which she “conjured up, detail by

detail,oneofthoselandscapesfamiliartoallreadersofEnglishdetec­

tivestories,thoselovelyinnocentcountrysidesinhabitedbycharming

eccentricswithindependentmeansandamusinghobbiestowhom,

untilthesuddenintrusionofahorridcorpseontothetenniscourtor

intothegreenhouse,workandlawandguiltarejustliterarywords.”

Audenwasagreatloverofdetectivestories—“ifIhaveanyworktodo,

Imustbecarefulnottogetholdofadetectivestory,foronceIbegin

one,IcannotworkorsleeptillIhavefinishedit”—andconsidered

thatheandhisfellowaddictssharedadistinctivetrait:“Isuspectthat

thetypicalreaderofdetectivestoriesis,likemyself,apersonwhosuf­

fersfromasenseofsin.”ForAudentheclassicdetectivestoryisapar­

ableoftheFallandofourhopesforbeingrestoredtoastateofin­

nocence.Thephrase“stateofgrace”recursinAuden’streatmentof

thesubject:theprimaryconceitofthedetectivestoryisthatthewhole

societyinwhichittakesplaceisinnocentuntilanactofmurder“pre­

cipitatesacrisis”bydestroyingthat innocence.Thisbrings lawinto

play,“andforatimeallmustliveinitsshadow,tillthefallenoneis

identified.Withhisarrest,innocenceisrestored,andthelawretires

forever.”(Afterlisteningtoaradioreportontheprogressofthewar,

Malin’sfirstthoughtis:“Acrimehasoccurred,accusingall.”)

Onecanseefromthisdescription—quotedfromanessayAuden

wroteduringthecompositionofThe Age of Anxiety,andwhichinter­

prets Rosetta’s daydream—that the detective story is a distinctively

Arcadian form of wish­fulfillment dream. The Arcadian wants to

seehisorheridealsocietyashavingbeenperfectandinnocent;and

(stillmore)wantstobelievethatthatoriginalstatecanbeperfectly

restored,canbecomeagainjustwhatitwas.Insomeoftheearliest

draftsofthepoem(theonesinwhichthecharactersareidentified

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simplyasCivilian,Doctor,Girl,andMerchantSeaman) thepoem’s

narrativewasconceivedofasadetectivestory.Abriefoutlinereads,

Themurder

Thestoriesofthesuspects

Theexposureoftheirlies(contradictionandfreshevidence)

Thediscoveryofthemurderer.

Thenotionwasabandonedbut still echoes in thepoem in various

ways—not just in Rosetta’s fantasy, but also in the great lament or

“Dirge”ofPartFourinwhichthecharactersdreamofagreatfather

figure—“some Gilgamesh or Napoleon, some Solon or Sherlock

Holmes”—who can embody the Law, enforce its strictures, and

therebyrestorethesocietytoitsprimalinnocence.

Theseare,forthepoetandhischaractersalike,enormouslytempt­

ingfantasies.Theircentralitytothepoemaccountsforitsdedication

toJohnBetjeman,apoetdeeplysensitivetotheArcadianappealof

certainEnglishplacesandlandscapes,and,foroneknownasa“light”

poet,capableofdeceptivelypowerfulpresentationsofhisidealworlds

andtheemotionstheypromptedinhim.(Betjemanwasamasterof

“topophilia,”loveofplace,Audenbelieved,whichrequiresadegree

of“visualimagination”thatAudenfelthelacked.“Itisoneofmycon­

stantregretsthatIamtooshortsighted,toomuchofaThinkingType,

toattemptthissortofpoetry.”Yetthereismuchtopophilicversein

The Age of Anxiety.)

Equally important, the times and places dear to Betjeman were

deartoAudentoo:theysharedaloveofVictorianawhenthatperiod

ofEnglishhistorywasscornedbyalmostalltheirpeers.“Betjemanis

reallytheonlypersonwhoreallyunderstandsmanyofthethingsthat

areimportanttome....That’sreallymyworld—bicyclesandharmo­

niums.”And,headded,“That’swhyhegot”thededicationofThe Age

of Anxiety.

PrimarilythroughRosetta’sreminiscences,Audenclearlyandpow­

erfullypresentstheappealofthisVictorianEden—butequallyclearly

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andpowerfullyidentifiesitasafantasy:nottrulyhistorical,andnota

legitimatewayofresolving“ourpredicament.”(“Betjemanisreallya

minorpoet,ofcourse,”hetoldAnsen,andthatjudgmentisrooted

inAuden’sperceptionthatBetjemanfailedtoseethattheworldhe

sovividlyimaginedinhisversewas,ifpartlyreal,alsopartlyanostal­

gicfantasy.)Thisiscleareveninthecharacters’owndescriptionsof

whattheywant,asinRosetta’sself­mockingwish:“mayourluckfind

the/RegressiveroadtoGrandmother’sHouse.”TheArcadiantemp­

tationisintheendjustasdeceptiveastheUtopianoneofthe“new

barbarians.”

Auden hadlargelytraditionalviewsaboutwomen,soitisnotsur­

prisingthathewouldassociatethewomanofthispartywithFeeling,

withtheheart.ButitissurprisingthatheassociatesRosettasoclosely

withhimself.A fewyearsbeforewriting thispoemhehadtoldSte­

phenSpender thathewasapronounced“Thinking­Intuitive type,”

whichshouldrelegateFeelingtoaclearlysubordinateplace;andyet

theconnectionsbetweenAudenandRosettaareobvious,andgowell

beyondtheirsharedArcadianpassionfordetectivestories.Sheseems

tohavegrownupinBirmingham,asdidAuden;thelandscapesshe

idealizesare largelyassociatedwith thePennine rangeofnorthern

England,whichAudenoftenidentifiedashisEden.Moreover,partly

asaresultofhisexperimentalheterosexualaffairwithRhodaJaffe—

whowasJewishandwhoinotherrespectslikelyservedasamodelfor

Rosetta—AudenwasreadingdeeplyinJewishthoughtinthisperiod

andtoldfriendsthathewascontemplatingconvertingtoJudaism.

ButAudenremainedaChristian,andifsomeofhisinterestsand

traits are refracted through Rosetta, others are manifest in Malin.

ThoughMalin’souterlifeseemstohavebeenbasedonthatofJohn

Thompson, a Canadian medical intelligence officer whom Auden

metduringthewarandwithwhomhebecamefriends,Audenhimself

wasalsointerestedinscienceandmedicine—hisfatherwasaphysician,

andhisearlyinterestswerealmostwhollyscientificandtechnical.He

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hadevengoneuptoOxfordplanningtoreadinthesciences.Malin

isalsotheoneChristianamongthefourcharactersofthepoem,and

neartheendAudengiveshimalongmeditativereflectionontheGod

ofJesusChristthatechoesRosetta’spreceding,still longer,anddis­

tinctivelyJewishmeditation;thetwosoliloquiesaretheclearlymatch­

ingbookendsofthepoem’sconcludingpages.

(In his long poems of the forties Auden becomes less and less

straightforwardaboutexpressinghisChristianbeliefs.“FortheTime

Being” is openly biblical and deeply theological; “The Sea and the

Mirror,”thoughitsprimesubjectistherelationshipbetweenChristi­

anityandArt,neverdirectlymentionsGod;andThe Age of Anxietyis

virtuallywithoutreligiousreferenceuntilitsclosingpages.Inlaterlife

hewouldoftensay,“Orthodoxyisreticence,”butevenashewaswork­

ingonThe Age of Anxietyhewroteinanintroductiontoacollectionof

Betjeman’spoemsthatin“thisseason,themanofgoodwillwillwear

hisheartuphissleeve,notonit.”)

AsforQuantandEmble,Audensuggeststhattheirinnermostlives

arelargelyclosedtohim.ThepoemleavesEmblepassedoutonRo­

setta’sbed,thefirstofthefourtofallsilent.Giventhesmallrolethat

Sensation played in Auden’s psychological makeup, this cannot be

surprising;butQuant,asAuden’sfellowIntuitive,mightbeexpected

toplayasignificantroleattheend.Yetwithabriefcommentonhis

stumbleatthedoorofhishouse,ina“camp”idiomAudenenjoyed—

“Why,MissME,what’sthematter?”—“heopenedhisfrontdoorand

disappeared.”ThusAudengivesoverthesubstanceoftheclosingsec­

tionstoThinkingandFeeling.

Sotwospeakatlength;onedisappearswithajoke;oneisuncon­

scious.TheFourFacultiesdonotbecome,again,One;theyremain

separateanddisproportionate.Itmightnotbeimmediatelyobvious

whythepoembringsthemtogetheratall.

In fact , though, the fourhaveembarkedona jointquest—more

thanonequest,perhaps.Itwouldbehelpfulatthispointtohavean

overviewofthestructureofthepoem.Ithassixparts:

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PartOne:Prologue

PartTwo:TheSevenAges

PartThree:TheSevenStages

PartFour:TheDirge

PartFive:TheMasque

PartSix:Epilogue

ThePrologueintroducesustothecharactersandintroducesthemto

eachother.AtRosetta’ssuggestion,theymovefromthebartoabooth

sothattheymight“Consider...theincessantNowof/Thetraveler

throughtime.”Whatdoesitmeantobeahumanbeinglivingtempo­

rally?ThisquestionleadstoPartTwo,TheSevenAges.

The reference, of course, is to the famous speech by Jaques in

Shakespeare’sAs You Like It.Malin,theclearleaderhere,introduces

eachAgeinlanguagethatechoesandrevisesthatofJaques:“Atfirst,

theinfant,/Mewlingandpukinginthenurse’sarms”becomes“Be­

holdtheinfant,helplessincradleand/Righteousstill”;attheend,

Jaques’s“secondchildishnessandmereoblivion,/Sans teeth, sans

eyes,sanstaste,sanseverything”isrevisedthus:

Hislastchapterhaslittletosay.

Hegrowsbackwardwithgraduallossof

Musculartoneandmentalquickness...

ButwhileJaquesdelivershispictureofhumandevelopmentandde­

clineasamonologue,Malin’sintroductionsoftheAges—mostofwhich

are longer than Jacques’s whole speech—generate responses from

eachof theothercharacters,whofind inMalin’sword­picturesop­

portunitiesfordisagreementoralterationoraddition,inregistersof

fearorexcitementordespair.Auden’sversionof theSevenAges is

thoroughlypolyphonicand is themeansbywhich thesecharacters

firstbegintoemergeasdistincttypes.(Themeansofcharacterization

here,andthroughoutmuchofthepoem,arenotthoseofthenovelist

butratherthoseofthetaxonomicpsychologist,andthisisanancient

tradition:morethantwothousandyearsbeforeJung,Theophrastus

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wroteOn Moral Characters,thefirstextantsetof“charactersketches”:

theFaultfinder, theTalkativeMan, theSlanderer.Similarmodesof

characterization are common in medieval poetry and drama, from

Prudentius’s Psychomachia to Everyman. Auden’s practice here is far

closertoTheophrastusorEverymanthantoTolstoy.)

Astheymeditateontheirtourofeachhumanbeing’spersonalhis­

tory,thefourrealizethattheyhavefurtherexplorationtodotogether.

ItisQuantwho,afteranotherglimpseofhisimageinthebar’smirror,

decrees thatRosetta (“peregrinenymph”)mustbe theone to lead

theminthisquestforunderstanding:

Oshowustheroute

Intohopeandhealth;giveeachtherequired

Passtoappeasethesuperiorarchons;

Beourgoodguide.

Andsotheyenter,together,akindofdreamvision.ThisisPartThree,

theSevenStages,whichAudenintroducesinthisway:“Soitwasnow

as they sought that stateofprehistorichappinesswhich,byhuman

beings,canonlybeimaginedintermsofalandscapebearingasym­

bolicresemblancetothehumanbody.”

Alreadytherearedifficulties.Isitreallytruethata“stateofprehis­

toric happiness”—that Arcadian vision once more—“can only be

imaginedintermsofalandscapebearingasymbolicresemblanceto

thehumanbody”?Ifso,why?Noexplanationsareforthcoming.And

asthereaderjoinsthecharactersinmovingthroughthislandscape,it

isoftenimpossibletounderstandhowwhattheyseerelatestothefea­

turesofanyhumanbodywearefamiliarwith.Nowonder,asEdward

Mendelsonhascommented,“theshapeoftheEdenicquestin‘The

SevenStages’hasbaffledevenAuden’smostsympatheticreaders.”

WhenAlanAnsensharedhisownbafflementsoonafterthepoem’s

publication,Audenprofessedsurprise.Hethoughtthatbyaddingthe

linkingpassages inprose thataredotted throughout thepoem,he

haddonehisreadersaconsiderablefavor.Thesymbolicstructureof

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“TheSevenStages,”hesaid,is“reallyquitestraightforward....It’sall

doneintheZohar.”ItishardnottosuspectthatAudenwaspulling

Ansen’sleg,forsurelyheunderstoodaswellasanyonethatlittlein

theZoharisstraightforward.

TheZohar(orThe Book of Splendor)isperhapsthegreatestJewish

mysticaltext.ItwaswritteninthethirteenthcenturyinSpainbyMoses

de León, who attributed the work to a second­century Palestinian

rabbi,ShimonbarYohai.Onlya fewconcepts fromthis immensely

variegated work are relevant to Auden’s poem. The Zohar inherits

from earlier Kabbalistic writings the notion of the ten sefi rot or

“lights”—attributesofGod,emanationsofhispowerandthought.But

itgoesfurtherbyassociatingeachofthesefi rotwithsomepartofthe

humanbody:Hesed(Mercy)is linkedwiththerightarm,Hod(Maj­

esty)withtheleftleg,Tiferet(Beauty)withthetorso,andsoon.

In “The Seven Stages” Auden is not borrowing this structure so

muchasriffingonit.Hissefi rot,ifwemaycallthemthat,aresevenin

numberrather than ten,andseemtobenotattributesofGodbut

ratherformsofhumandesirefortheidealandtheinnocent.Byas­

sociatinghisschemewiththeZohar,Audenmaybesuggestingthat

all suchquestsare,ultimately,quests forGod;but if so, thisnotion

isbutvaguelyindicated.Thepoetseemstobeworkingmoregener­

ally in the painterly tradition of the paysage moralisé or “moralized

landscape”—aconceitheknewverywell.Bysuperimposingthissym­

bolic frameworkupon theKabbalisticoneof thebody’s sefi rot, and

thenportrayingtheencounterwiththisimaginedworldasakindof

quest­narrative,Audenlayersgenreupongenrewithextraordinarily

rococoflourishes.“Reallyquitestraightforward”indeed.

Thedevelopmentof“TheSevenStages”certainlyfollowsthemodel

ofthequest­narrativebuttransformsthatgenreradically.Inanessay

hewrotewhileworkingonThe Age of Anxiety,Audenoffersaninterest­

ingoverviewofthevariouskindsofquest­narrative—fairytale,Grail

quest,andsoforth—fromwhichitseemsclearthatthepropervariety

for “TheSevenStages” is the “DreamQuest”: “Thepurposeof the

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journey isnoobjectbut spiritual knowledge, a visionof the reality

behind appearances, [by which] the dreamer when he wakes can

henceforthlivehislifeonearth.”Theotherkindsofquestmayhave

someroletoplayinthepoem,butthisseemstobethechiefmodel.

Yetthisdreamconstantlyvergesonnightmare.Thelandscapeshere

areasunsettlingandambiguousasthoseconfrontedbyBrowning’s

protagonist in “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came” (a poem

Audensurelyhadinmindashewrote),butthisisnotasolitaryquest.

Thefourfriends—wemaynowcallthemthat—areabletoconverse

withoneanother,toshareimpressionsoftheirtemporaryworld.And

yettheydonotexperienceacommonvision.IntheZohartherabbis

and their conversationalpartners tend tobeofonemindandone

heart;againandagainMosesdeLeón’scharactersareoverwhelmed

byasenseofgratitudeforbeingabletoparticipateinsuchenlighten­

ingconversation.Not soQuantandMalinandRosettaandEmble.

Onebyonetheydescribewhatconfrontsthem,anditisoftendifficult

toknowwhethertheyareexperiencingthesamething:isthe“tacit

tarn”Rosettaseesidenticalwiththe“saltlakelapping”Quanthears?

Do Malin’s “kettle moraines” surround the same body of water, or

doesheperceiveadifferentlandscape?Emble’svaguestatementthat

“Theearthlookswoefulandwet”offerslittlehelp.

Astheyproceedthroughtheirlandscape,theytwicesplitintopairs:

firstRosettaandEmbleseparatefromQuantandMalin;then,later,

QuantgoeswithRosettaandMalinwithEmble.Itisnoteworthythat

MalinandRosettanevergotogether.Thefourtravel,atvarioustimes,

onfootandbycar,byrailandthroughair,onatrolleycar,onbicycles

andaboat;neartheendtheyrunarace.Inallthistheyhave,thenar­

ratorsays,“acommongoal”;Rosettacallsit“ourcommonhope”even

asshedecreesatemporaryparting.

Inthisquestledbythe“peregrinenymph,”whilenoneofthechar­

actersunderstandthefullmeaningofanythingtheyencounter—any

more than the reader does—their feelings come into harmony and

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perhapsevenunison.Thisoccurseventhoughtheirgeneralinclina­

tionsdonotfundamentallyalter:intheracetheyrunduringtheSev­

enthStage,Audenwritesthat“astheyrun,theirrivalnatures,byart

comparingandcompared,revealthemselves.”Buttheirsharedexpe­

rience,atthislowpointintheirquest,isavagueawarenessofbeing

accused, of falling under some dire judgment—a judgment whose

rightness they all acknowledge. (The point of the epigraph of the

wholepoem, from theDies Irae, becomes sharperhere.)Eachcon­

fessessinsthat,collectively,amounttoabriefanatomyofpride.Ina

1941 review of Reinhold Niebuhr’s The Nature and Destiny of Man,

Audenhadwrittenof“thetemptationtosin,[which]iswhatthepsy­

chologist callsanxiety,and theChristiancalls lackof faith.”At this

pointthecharactersexperienceareinterpretationoftheirowncondi­

tion:whathadbeennamedpsychologicallyas“anxiety”comeshome

asamoralandspiritualpredicament,“thetemptationtosin.”

This is bad news, but not as bad as it sounds. These events take

place—asAudendecided,ordecidedtoinformhisreaders,justbefore

sending the poem to the publisher—on “the night of All Souls.”

AudenhadlearnedfromthemaverickhistorianEugenRosenstock­

HuessythatthegreatsignificanceofthatdateontheChurch’scalen­

daristhatitacknowledgesandcelebratesthe“universaldemocracyof

sinners under judgment”: Quant, Malin, Rosetta, and Emble have,

moreorlessconsciously,joinedthatdemocracy.

Each,havingseenhisorherinnermostselfwithdisturbingclarity,

hasthesameimpulse:tofleeintothenearbyforesttohideandre­

flect.(Similarly,AdamandEve,after“theireyeswereopened,”“hid

themselves fromthepresenceof theLord Godamongst the trees

ofthegarden.”)They“vanishdownsolitarypaths,withnoguidebut

theirsorrows,nocompanionbuttheirownvoices.Theirwayscross

andrecrossyetneveroncedotheymeet.”Andwhentheyarefinallyre­

united,itisonlyinordertoconfronttheirutterfailure—and,stillmore

important,theillusorynatureoftheirwholequest.“Theirjourneyhas

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beenonelongflight”fromtherealworld,andthatworldconfronts

themnow.At thismomentof sad recognition theyawakeandfind

themselvesbackinthebar.

Their cab ride from the bar to Rosetta’s apartment—this is the

action of Part Four, “The Dirge”—is therefore somber. They have

learnedthattheycannotsavethemselves,thattheyhavenoresources

bywhichtheymightbehealedoftheiranxiety;buttheyalsodiscern

thattheywillnotbesavedby“somesemi­divinestrangerwithsuper­

humanpowers,someGilgameshorNapoleon,someSolonorSher­

lockHolmes.”(Itmaywellbe that thewar theyare living through,

whichhadbeenpromoted in largepartby theGermancultof the

Führer,hasendedsuchdreamsforthem.)Forthelossofthathope

theyutteracollectivelamentation.

Inlightofthesedismaleventsitisperhapssurprisingthattheac­

tionofPartFive,“TheMasque,”isanimprovisedandsymbolicwed­

dingceremony.But,asthenarratortellsus,“Intimesofwareventhe

crudestkindofpositiveaffectionbetweenpersons seemsextraordi­

narilybeautiful,anoblesymbolofthepeaceandforgivenessofwhich

thewholeworld stands sodesperately inneed.”Soeven the“quite

casualattraction”thathasarisenbetweenEmbleandRosetta“seemed

andwasof immense importance.”The“andwas” indicates that the

narratorhasnowishtodismissthisrefuge:whenthereismeaningin

nothingelsetherecanbemeaninginlove.Andallfourdesperately

hopeforthismeaningtoberealandstrong,andtobethefounda­

tion—somehow—fortherestorationofsocialorderandtheachieve­

mentof“themillennialEarthlyParadise.”Havingabandoned,inlight

ofthecatastrophicfailureoftheirquestfor“thatstateofprehistoric

happiness,” theArcadianreturn, theynowbecomeUtopiansof the

heart,seekingthroughlovethepositiveenergiesnecessarytoachieve

somefutureperfection.(Even,orespecially,whenthoseenergiesare

deflected theyhavegreatcreativepotential:Audenwas thinkingof

thepowerof sublimationwhen, inhiselegyonFreud,hewroteof

“Eros,builderofcities.”)

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ButthereisareasonAudencallsthispartamasque:itisapieceof

self­consciously artificial play­acting. Surely Quant knows this and

laughsatitwhenhebuilds“alittlealtarofsandwiches”and“invoke[s]

theQueenoflove.”Yetallfourseemutterlycommittedtotheritual

as itunfolds,andwhenQuantandMalindepart, theirwell­wishing

isbothsincereandsuperficial.Itisasign,perhaps,ofhowlittleprog­

resstheyhavemadeexceptinmutualaffection.Butthatis,byAuden’s

lights,significantprogressindeed.

Thattheyareindeed“play­acting”inthissceneliesneartheheart

ofthematter.AudentoldTheodoreSpencerthatoneofhisgoalsin

thispoemwas“todevisearhetoricwhichwouldrevealthegreatvice

ofouragewhichisthatweareallnotonly‘actors’butknowthatwe

are(reduplicatedHamlets)andthatitisonlyatmoments,inspiteof

ourselves, andwhenwe least expect it, thatour real feelingsbreak

through.”Thustheimportanceofwhatwasatthatstageincomposi­

tion the epigraph to the entire poem, from the highly mannered

comicnovelistRonaldFirbank(1886–1926):“‘Oh,Heavenhelpme,’

sheprayed,tobedecorativeandtodoright.’”Itcouldbesaidthatthe

great challenge for the “reduplicated Hamlets” of this poem is to

learnhowtobedecorativeanddoright.

Audenbelievedthatcertainvitalspiritualtruthscouldbeexpressed,

indirectly,throughcomedy,inwaysthatwouldbeimpossiblethrough

more straightforward means. Thus he wrote of P. G. Wodehouse’s

characterJeeves,“Sospeakscomically—andinwhatothermodethan

thecomiccoulditonearthtruthfullyspeak?—thevoiceofAgape,of

HolyLove.”Butthis isanunusualnotion; it isunderstandablethat

TheodoreSpencer,readingadraftofthepoem,objectedtothequo­

tationfromFirbankasfrivolous.TothisprotestAudenreplied:“Re­

luctantly,Iagreewithyou.TheFirbankepigraphmustgo.Ithinkit

veryseriousbutnooneelsewillunlessIwriteanessaytoexplainwhy.”

Intheendhesimplymovedtheepigraphto“TheMasque,”where,

despiteitsapparentlackoffitwithasectionthatendswithamedita­

tiononthegenocideofEurope’sJews,itproperlybelongs.(Onlywith

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thismovedid thequotation from theDies Irae take itsplaceat the

headofthework.)

AndAudeneventuallywrotethatessay:in1961hegavearadiotalk

on“RonaldFirbankandanAmateurWorld,” inwhichhestrove to

explainthevirtueoftreating,asFirbankdoes,bothreligionandsex

as games, as having a distinctive human value when played by ama­

teurs.Gamesarecharacterized,inAuden’sview,bytheirarbitrariness,

theirfreedomfromtheconstraintsofnecessity.“TheMasque”isboth

areligiousandasexualgame,exhilaratingfortheparticipantsaslong

asitlasts.Butwhenitends,itleavestheminamoodofreflectiveself­

assessment.

So,paradoxically, it is in the artificialityof gameplaying thatwe

aremost likely tobe surprisedby“ourreal feelings”:wefind them

when we are patently not looking for them. But this “breaking

through”oftruthisanunpredictableexperience,andtheanxieties

andillusionsofdailylifecanquicklyreclaimtheirsovereigntyoverus.

Whetherthismeetingon“thenightofAllSouls”willmakeasignifi­

cantdifferencetothelivesofthefourtemporaryfriendscannotbe

known, but there is no reason to think that any of them will meet

again.IntheEpiloguewearetold,“quant andmalin ,afterexpress­

ingtheirmutualpleasureathavingmet,afterexchangingaddresses

andpromisingtolookeachotherupsometime,hadpartedandim­

mediatelyforgotteneachother’sexistence.”

Havetheybeenalteredbytheirsharedvisionaryexperience?Cer­

tainlybythepoem’sendtheyarelesstheTheophrastiantypesthey

seemed tobeat the startandmore individual—but inadistinctive

senseofthatword.Inyetanotheressaywrittenduringthecomposi­

tionofThe Age of Anxiety,Audenclaimedthat“Theterm‘individual’

hastwosenses,andonemustbecarefulindiscussiontofindoutin

whichsenseitisbeingused.Intherealmofnature,‘individual’means

tobesomethingothersarenot,tohaveuniqueness:intherealmof

spirit, itmeanstobecomewhatonewills,tohaveaself­determined

history.”Itisnotclearwhetherallofthecharactersinthispoemhave

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achievedfullindividuality,“intherealmofspirit,”duringthecourse

of their evening, and there is no guarantee that anything they do

achievewilllast;butnocarefulreaderofthepoemwillbecontentto

seeanyofthemassimplyaJungiantype.

As noted earlier, in their last appearances in the poem, Emble

sleepsonRosetta’sbed,andQuantdisappearsbehindhisdoor.But

RosettaandMalin—thefirstattheendofPartFive,andthesecondin

thebriefEpilogue—arelefttoface,withafrightenednakedness,their

God.OneandthesameGod,Audenwouldsay,thoughworshipped

undertwoCovenants:thecharacters’meditationsrhymeclosely.They

aresinnersinthehandsofaGodwhomay,ormaynot,beangry—

whoseloveisoftenindistinguishablefromanger—butwhoinanycase

cannotbeevadedordeceived.

In1942Audenhadwritten,

ThedifferencebetweenagenuineJudaismandagenuineChris­

tianityislikethedifferencebetweenayounggirlwhohasbeen

promisedahusbandinadreamandamarriedwomanwhobe­

lievesthatshelovesandisloved.

Theyounggirlknowsthatthedecisivelyimportantthinghas

notyethappenedtoher,thatherpresentlifeisthereforeape­

riodofanticipation,importantnotinitselfbutinitsrelationto

thefuture....

Tothemarriedwoman,ontheotherhand,thedecisivelyim­

portantthinghasalreadyhappened,andbecauseofthisevery­

thinginthepresentissignificant....

Fewtracesofthisview—whichdependsonthebeliefthatthecoming

oftheMessiahis“thedecisivelyimportantthing,”abeliefmorecen­

traltoJudaismasareligionwithbiblicalrootsthantoJudaismasa

modernculturalpractice—remaininThe Age of Anxiety.Rosetta’sgreat

speechisbuiltaroundtheideathatsomethingutterlydecisivehappened

longago:acovenantmadebytheLordGodwiththepeopleofIsrael.

Andwhathashappenedsinceisthecomplexandpainfulworking­out

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ofacovenantalbond that seems tocausepainonboth sides. (It is

probably important that this meditation is the conclusion of “The

Masque,”whichaswehaveseenfocuseslargelyonthecontrastingly

trivialandephemeralconnectionbetweenRosettaandEmble.)Ro­

setta’sknowledgethattheGodofIsraelneverwaversinhiscommit­

mentisasdisturbingasitisreassuring:modifyingoneofIsrael’sgreat

songsofconsolation,Psalm139,shethinks,

ThoughIflytoWallStreet

OrPublisher’sRow,orpassout,or

Submergeinmusic,ormarrywell,

Maroonedonriches,He’llberightthere

WithHisEyeuponme.ShouldIhideaway

Mysecretsinsinconsultingrooms,

MyfearsarebeforeHim;He’llfindall,

Ignorenothing.

Rosetta’ssoliloquyisfullofbiblicalreferences,almostallofthemto

episodesofexileandcaptivity;andsheacknowledgesthemostrecent

and horrific captivity under Nazi Germany. Wondering “who’ll be

left”attheendofahistoryofpersecutionsandpogroms,shecanonly

sighandrepeattheancientShema:“Hear,OIsrael:theLordourGod

isoneGod.”

Rosetta’sspeechissaturatedbythedetailsofhistory—herownand

thatofherpeople—butMalin’smeditationismorephilosophical.He

is concernedwithGod’sgreatabstractions: “HisGood,” “HisQues­

tion,”“HisTruth.”(AsAudenwrote ina letter toa friend,Quant’s

“defenceagainstthecontemporarysceneistomakeitfrivolouswhere

Malintriestoseeitsubspecieaeternitate”—fromtheperspectiveof

eternity.)YetinsubstancehisthoughtsareidenticaltoRosetta’s:

Inouranguishwestruggle

ToeludeHim,tolietoHim,yetHisloveobserves

Hisappallingpromise;Hispredilection

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Aswewanderandweepiswithustotheend,

Mindingourmeanings,ourleastmatterdeartoHim...

Thesebelievers,then,shareadiscomfortandaconsolation:discom­

fortthatallthedarkthingstheyhavejustlearnedaboutthemselvesin

theirdream­questareknown,andknownperfectly,bytheirGod;and

consolationthatnoneofthatdiminishesthedivinelove.Havingexpe­

rienced with their two companions the transmutation of “anxiety”

into“thetemptationtosin,”theytakethefurthersteptheirnonreli­

giouscompanionscouldnot: theyrecognizetheirownlackoffaith

andrepentofit.

Neartheendof“TheSeaandtheMirror”Calibanconjuresupa

visionof“thegreatestgrandestoperarenderedbyaveryprovincial

touringcompanyindeed.”Themembersofthiscompanyfailinevery

possibleway,anddosospectacularly,but,Calibansays,itisatthatmo­

mentthat“weareblessedwiththatWhollyOtherLifefromwhichwe

areseparatedbyanessentialemphaticgulf....Itisjusthere,among

theruinsandthebones,thatwemayrejoiceintheperfectedWork

that isnotours.”Somethingsimilarhappens toMalinandRosetta:

in theemphatic failureof theirArcadianquest; in the recognition

thatnogreat“semi­divinestrangerwithsuperhumanpowers”willar­

rive to rescue them; in the acknowledgment that their wedding

masque,withitsUtopianvisionofloveconqueringall,wasbutabrief

ifpleasantfiction,theycometotheendofthemselvesandthebegin­

ningoftheknowledgeofGod.Forthemomentatleast,theyexperi­

encesomethingdeeperandstrangerthananxiety.Itistooresignedto

behappiness;butitisakindofpeace.

Auden understood , profoundly, that literary forms are ways of

discerningtheworld:eachofthemrevealssomeaspectofexperience

whileconcealingothers.(Thingscanbesaidintheepicthatcannot

be said in satire, and comedy discerns truths to which tragedy is

blind.)It is for thisreasonthathis longerpoemsdisplayanalmost

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encyclopedicvarietyofpoeticformsandgenres,nonemoresothan

The Age of Anxiety.Wegetawarningofwhatistocomeinthepoem’s

subtitle:“ABaroqueEclogue.”Theeclogueisaclassicalform,associ­

atedsinceVirgilwiththemeditationsofshepherds—usuallyingroups.

(TheZoharisactuallyanoddkindofeclogue,withrabbisratherthan

shepherds:thecharactersdriftthroughIsrael,pausingtorestunder

treessotheycanconverseaboutmattersdivine,inalmostexactlythe

waythatArcadianshepherdslieaboutonhillsidescontemplatingthe

beautyoflocalshepherdesses.)Thissettingmeansthattheeclogueis

alsoabucolicform,whichmakesitoddthatitshouldbeattachedto

apoemthatbeginsandendsinNewYorkCity;butgiventheunpopu­

lated visionary landscapes the charactersmove through,we cannot

thinkthedescriptionmerelyironic.

Audencallsthepoemabaroqueeclogue,andthatisstillmorecuri­

ous,giventheelaborateornamentationweassociatewiththattradi­

tion:itoffersanythingbutthesimplicityandcleannessoflineweas­

sociatewiththe“classical.”Yetthedescriptionisapt:theverseofThe

Age of Anxietyisnothingifnotornamented,andthepoetseemstotake

joyintheornamenting.(Audenoncewrotethatoneofhistestsofa

critic’sgoodtastewasagenuinelikingfor“conscioustheatricalexag­

geration, pieces of Baroque flattery like Dryden’s welcome to the

DuchessofOrmond.”)

Butthisisjustthebeginningofcomplications.Theprimaryverse

formofthepoemisafour­beatline,withthreealliterationsperline.

Beowulfisoftenmentionedindescriptionsofthisverse,buttheform

precededBeowulf inAnglo­Saxonverseandwould lasthundredsof

yearsafterward.(ItslastgreatmasterwastheanonymousauthorofSir

Gawain and the Green Knightandotherpoems,whowasprobablyacon­

temporary of Chaucer. Indeed, Sir Gawain, with its passage through

symboliclandscapesanditsscenesoftemptation,isoneoftheworks

thatmostpowerfullyunderliesThe Age of Anxiety.Audenhimselfas­

sociatedtheversificationwithanothergreatmedievalpoem,Piers Plow­

man.)Thepoemcontainsseverallyricsthatdrawonothermedieval

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forms,includingsomefromOldNorse,alanguageinwhichhewas

deeplyinterested.Butthereaderisjustaslikelytocomeacrossparo­

diesorpastichesofthenoveltysongsthatthejukeboxesandradiosof

the1940sofferedinlargedoses.(AudencomplainedtoAlanAnsen

abouttheimpossibilityofescapingthem,inthedinersofSwarthmore

asmuchasinthedivesofManhattan.)

So,justaswefindarichthematiclayeringinthispoem—concepts

fromtheZoharoverlappingwiththepaysage moralisétradition,andall

bondedtoadream­quest—weseeasimilarlayeringoftechnicalele­

ments fromtheancientworld, theMiddleAges, theearlymodern,

and theutterlycontemporary.Tosomeextent thesemultiplevaria­

tions are simply a function of Auden’s technical brilliance and the

delighthetookinexhibitingit;buttherearemoreimportantreasons

for such overwhelming complexity. Chief among them is Auden’s

conviction,alreadynoted,that“thegreatviceofourage...isthatwe

areallnotonly‘actors’butknowthatweare.”Weare“reduplicated

Hamlets”inthatweareeternallyandpathologicallyself­conscious—

wearealways,likeQuantattheoutsetofthepoem,peeringintoour

mirrors.IntheintroductiontoJohnBetjeman’sversementionedear­

lier,Audenwrites,“Forbetterorworse,wewholive inthisagenot

onlyfeelbutarecriticallyconsciousofouremotions—thereisnodif­

ferenceinthisrespectbetweenthehighestofhighbrowsandthemost

faroucheof soda jerkers—and, inconsequence,again forbetteror

worse,anaïverhetoric,onethatisnotconfessedly‘theatrical,’isnow

impossible inpoetry.Thehonestmanlystyle is todayonlysuitedto

Iago.”With thispoint inmind,oneunderstandsbetterwhyAuden

dedicatedthispoemtoBetjeman.

InThe Age of Anxiety,therefore,Audenforciblyexploresthemani­

foldvarietiesofartifice;hemultipliesformsandgenresdizzyingly.If

“reduplicatedHamlets”prefertodiscreetlyobservethemselvesinan

elegantpierglass,Audenoffers insteada funhousehallofmirrors.

ThecounterparttoQuant’sopeninglookathimselfinthebaristhis

darkthoughtfromMalin’sconcludingsoliloquy:“one/Staggersto

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thebathroomandstaresintheglass/Tomeetone’smadness.”(Ham­

letagain:“YougonottillIsetyouupaglass/Whereyoumayseethe

inmostpartofyou.”)Imagesarerepeatedlyandvariouslywarped;the

charactersgrowdisoriented,dizzy,andfaint.Inthemidstofthiscon­

stantchangeRosettaandMalinfindonlyonestillpoint.

ThestrategythatAudenpursuesherehasitsrisks,anditistempt­

ingsimplytosaythatitdidn’twork.The Age of Anxietyisnotwidelyread

andhasneverbeenfullyunderstood.Abookwithsuchcomplexlyin­

tertwiningthemesprobablyshouldnotfeaturesuchcomplexlyinter­

twiningtechniques—even(orespecially)ifoneofitschiefconcernsis

thedangerofartificiality.Onecansympathizewiththereaderwho

saystothepoet,“Physician,healthyself.”

Moreover—andthisisclearlyarelatedpoint—theexperiencesof

thecharactershereareabstractandintellectualtothehighestdegree.

Less than a decade after writing this poem, Auden would write of

Kierkegaardthat“aplanetaryvisitormightreadthroughthewholeof

hisvoluminousworkswithoutdiscoveringthathumanbeingsarenot

ghostsbuthavebodiesoffleshandblood”—butonecouldalmostsay

thesameofthefourcharactersofThe Age of Anxiety.Thebodythat

has thegreatest role in thepoemis thesymboliconeheborrowed

fromtheZoharandmademoreobscure.AsEdwardMendelsonhas

commented,“Auden’seffortstowriteapoetryofthebodywerefrus­

tratedbyhisinsistenceonwritingaboutsymbolsofthebodyrather

thanthebodyitself.”

Thisdefecthewouldsoonremedy:thepoemshewouldproducein

thenextdecadeareconstantlyabsorbedincontemplationofhuman

embodiment.ButThe Age of Anxietyremainsavitallyimportantpoem—

insomewaysagreatone.Itissurelyhismostambitiouswork:formi­

dablycomplexashisprevioustwolongpoemsare,theirthemesare

morebounded.“FortheTimeBeing”meditatesontheentryofthe

Divineintohistory;“TheSeaandtheMirror”ontherelationshipbe­

tweenartandreligiousbelief.Thesearelargeconcerns,tobesure,

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butdelimited.Thequestionofwhatmakesforanageofanxiety,on

theotherhand,isvasterandmoreamorphous:theconditionitselfmust

bedescribed,anditsetiologytraced.Acommonanxietymanifestsit­

selfdifferentlyinthosewithandwithoutreligion;andforbothgroups

alikeitisfedbypolitical,social,familial,andpersonaldisorders.In

The Age of AnxietyAudentriestoaccountforallofthese,andifhefalls

short,thatisanecessaryresultofsuchcomprehensiveambition.

Thepoemquicklycapturedtheimaginationofitsculturalmoment,

andnot justbecause its titleprovidedaterseandwidelyapplicable

diagnostic phrase. Thanks in part to some glowing early reviews—

themostnotableofthembeingJacquesBarzun’scommendationin

Harper’s—andaprofileofthepoetthatappearedinTimemagazine

theweekofthepoem’spublication,itwasreprintedfourtimeswithin

twoyearsofitsfirstappearance.The Age of AnxietyreceivedthePulitzer

Prizeforpoetryin1948,andinspiredLeonardBernstein’sSymphony

no.2forPianoandOrchestra,The Age of Anxiety(1949)—anattempt

torender theplotandtoneof thepoeminmusical terms,without

words.JeromeRobbinschoreographedaballetsettoBernstein’ssym­

phony (1950); Auden, who never cared for ballet, reportedly espe­

ciallydislikedthisone.

AstageversionofthepoemwaspresentedinNewYorkbytheLiving

TheaterStudioin1954,butAudenseemstohavehadnoinvolvement

init.However,in1960anundergraduategroupatPrinceton,Theatre

Intime,stagedanabridgedversionofthepoem,withnarrationplayed

throughatelevisiononstage,andAudenwassufficientlypleasedby

thisadaptationthatheagreedtoserveasoneofthosetelevisednar­

rators.(Intheprintedprogramheisidentifiedas“Communicator.”)

Sothepoemhasprovencapableofvividre­presentation,inmultiple

formsandgenres.

In1953Audenwouldwriteofthemomentwhen,eachmorning,

weemerge fromourprivateworlds: “Noweachofus/Prays toan

imageofhisimageofhimself.”The Age of Anxietyisanextraordinarily

acute anatomyofour self­images, andadiagnosisof those images’

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powernotjusttoshapebuttocreateourideas.Anditcontainssome

ofAuden’smostpowerfulandbeautifulverse:thecompressedlyric

“Hushedisthelakeofhawks,”thegreatDirgeofPartFour,thetwin

finalspeechesofRosettaandMalin.Thispoem,forallitsstrangeness

andextravagantelaborationofthemeandtechnique,deservesacen­

tralplaceinthecanonoftwentieth­centurypoetry.

TheText

SeveralofAuden’ssurvivingholographnotebookscontaindraftsof

The Age of Anxiety.AnotebookintheBergCollectionoftheNewYork

PublicLibrarycontainsdraftsofjustafewspeeches,butfarmoreex­

tensivenotebooksareheldattheHarryRansomCenterattheUniver­

sityofTexasandYale’sBeineckeLibrary.Almostallofthematerialin

thesetwonotebookscomesfromaverylatestageinthecompositional

process: the speeches tend tobeclose to theirpublished forms, in

manycases identical.ThefirstfortypagesoftheRansomnotebook

havebeentornout,whichsuggeststhatAudenmayhavedestroyed

earlier sketches and outlines; but in any case little earlier material

survives.

Thoughtheverseitselfinthesenotebooksishighlypolished,there

arefewindicationsofthestructurethatthepoemwouldultimately

assume.Theorderofthespeechesonlyoccasionallyanticipatesthat

of the published poem—the very first entry in the Beinecke note­

book is a version of Malin’s concluding speech, which is followed

by speeches from various parts of the poem—and only rarely are

thespeakers indicated.Moreover,whenspeakersarenoted,usually

initials only are provided, and variable ones at that: A, B, J, M. At

onepoint in theBeineckenotebooka seriesof stanzasare labeled

ABCDABCDA,andinthemarginAisidentifiedas“Civ”(presum­

ablyQuant),Bas“Doc”(Malin),Cas“girl”(Rosetta),andDas“M.S.”

(“MerchantSeaman”Emble).TheinitialsofthenamesAudeneventually

settledonappearonly towardtheendof theRansomnotebook—the

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oneclear suggestion that itwasused later than theone in theBei­

necke.Theonlysignoftheprosenarrationthatwouldeventuallypro­

vide interpretative context for the verse comes on the inside back

cover of the Beinecke notebook: a small passage from what would

becomePartFour,though,interestingly,inverse:“someGilgameshor

Napoleon,/SomeSolonorSherlockHolmes.”

DuringtheyearsthatAudenworkedonthispoem,ayoungAmeri­

canpoetnamedAlanAnsen(1922–2006)washisunofficialsecretary,

amanuensis,andwould­beBoswell.Ansen—whoafterhis timewith

AudenwouldbecomethemodelforRolloGrebinJackKerouac’sOn

the Road—keptcarefultrackofAuden’sopinionsinanotebook,which

hepublishedyearslaterasThe Table Talk of W. H. Auden,oftencitedin

the notes below; he likewise attended Auden’s lectures on Shake­

speareattheNewSchoolandtranscribedthemascarefullyandcom­

pletelyashecould.And,mostimportantforourpurposeshere,he

assistedAudeninseveralwaysduringandafterthepublicationofThe

Age of Anxiety.

Ansen’smost important servicewas to type forAuden thewhole

poem.(Themanuscriptheworkedfromhasnotbeenfound.)The

typescript,nowintheBergCollectionoftheNewYorkPublicLibrary

alongwithAnsen’sotherliteraryremains,isquiteclosetotheversion

thatwouldbepublishedbyRandomHouseinJuly1947.

Ansenreferredtothetypescriptasthe“Isherwoodtext,”becausein

Decemberof1946 itwas sent toAuden’s friendChristopher Isher­

wood.ItisnotclearwhenorhowIsherwoodreturnedthetypescript,

thoughthepresenceintheBergoftheoriginalenvelope(addressed

toIsherwoodathishomeinSantaMonica,California)suggeststhat

IsherwoodsimplybroughtitwithhimwhenhecametoNewYorkin

early1947,orwhenhereturnedsomemonthslater.Itdoesnotap­

pearthathemadeanycommentsonthetypescript,andhemaynever

have read thepoem.However, thepagesbearanumberof correc­

tionsandannotationsbyAudenandAnsen,whoevidentlyuseditto

prepare the text for the publisher. Auden’s marks usually correct

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spellingerrorsthatAnsenmadeasaresultofmisreadingthepoet’s

handwriting(“lovelies”for“lonelies,”forinstance,and“Abyssinia”for

“Abyssus”);significantchanges(describedinthenotesatthebackof

thisedition)inAnsen’shand,thoughclearlymadeatAuden’sdirec­

tion,occurfrequently.

AnsenwasusefultoAudennotjustasatypist,butalsoasapolyglot

whoselinguisticknowledgethepoetcoulddrawupon,and—mostim­

portantofall—assomeoneattentivetoprosody.“I’mnevergoingto

beabletoletyougo,”AnsenrecordsAudensayingtohim.“I’venever

metanyoneoutsideyourselfwhomakesanyefforttocount—tosee

whatone’sdoing.”AndAnsencountedindeed:probablyduringthe

typingofAuden’smanuscripthecametonoticeanumberof lines

thatfailedtofollowthemetricalrulesAudenhadsetforhimself,and

begantokeeptrackof theminahandfulof typeddocumentswith

such titles as “TheAgeOfAnxiety:ProlegomenaToAnApparatus

Criticus”and“SyllabificationsToBeReconsideredForTheEnglish

EditionOfTheAgeOfAnxiety”and“SomeFurtherNotesOnThe

SyllabificationOfTheAgeOfAnxiety”and“FurtherNotesOnSyl­

labification.”HewasextraordinarilythoroughandspurredAudenon

tohisowncorrections:these,handwrittenontwopages,accompany

Ansen’snotesintheBergCollection.

Ansen’s comment that these notes are “To Be Reconsidered For

TheEnglishEditionOfTheAgeOfAnxiety”suggeststhattheyhad

beenmadetoolateforRandomHouse’sfirstAmericanprinting,on

11July1947,butasitturnedout,thepoemhadasecondimpression

inAugust,sothechangesweremadeforthatprinting.(However,they

were,inexplicably,notincorporatedintoFaberandFaber’sfirstEn­

glisheditionwhenitfinallyappeared,morethanayearlater.)

The most frequent changes for the second impression involve

theshiftingofwords fromthebeginningofone line to theendof

thepreviousone:inthefirsteditionhehadgenerallyavoidedfemi­

nineendingsandasaresulthadmadetheverseoverlyiambic.Ihave

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incorporatedallthosechangesinthetextofthiseditionand,except

inthecaseofthetiniestadjustmentsofpunctuation,haveindicated

thefirstimpression’sreadinginthenotes.(MoreaboutAuden’stech­

nicalambitionsforthepoemmaybediscernedinthetwolettersre­

printedintheAppendix.)

ThetextpresentedhereisnearlyidenticaltotheonethatEdward

MendelsonhasprovidedintheCollected Poems.Thechiefdifferences

occurinthreespeechesfromPartThreethatAudenlaterextracted

from the poem and published as “Three Dreams,” and even these

variationsarequiteminor.

Ansen had another role in the preparation of this manuscript:

Audenaskedhimtowriteablurbforthedustjacket.ThisAnsentried

todo,butAudenwasnotsatisfiedwiththeresultandwrotehisown.

Theversion thatultimatelyappearedwasheavilyedited—briefand

almostcursory,butnotwithoutinterest:

Mr.Auden’slatestpoem,The Age of Anxiety,isaneclogue;thatis

tosay,itadoptsthepastoralconventioninwhichanaturalset­

tingiscontrastedwithanartificialstyleofdiction.Thesetting,

inthiscase, isabaronThirdAvenue,NewYorkCity, lateran

apartmentontheWestSide,thetimeanAll­Souls’Nightduring

the latewar.Thecharacters, awomanand threemen, two in

uniform,speakinalliterativeverse.

Theversion thatAnsen typedup forAudenwas far too long tobe

used—butfarmoreinterestingtothereaderofthepoem.Included

herearephrasesstruckthroughonthetypescript:

BLURBFORTHEAGEOFANXIETY

W.H.Auden’slatestpoemopensinaThirdAvenuebar,where

fourpeopleafewstraycustomershavecometoseekrelieffrom

thetensionsofwartimeNewYork.ItistheeveningofAllSouls’

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Day,thedayofprayerforspiritsnotyetworthyoftheBeatific

Visionandthefaithfulareconcludingtheirprayersforthespir­

itsstillengagedintheambiguitiesofpurgation.

Malin,themedicalintelligenceofficerwithhisprideofintel­

lectandforbiddenaffections,Emble,theyoungsailorwhoistoo

handsome for his own good, Rosetta, the shrewd department

storebuyertryingtobuildafactitiousreposeoutofday­dreams

and sexual adventures, and Quant, the middle­aged shipping

clerkharassedbythemonotonyofhisoccupationandtheindis­

criminatenessofhisdiversions—allfourpatentlystandinneed

oflikeintercession.

The radio squawks its depressing news, and they draw to­

gether to consider first their immediate historical plight and

then,undertheguidanceofMalin,thesevenagesofman.Stim­

ulatedbyliquoranddissatisfiedwiththeiranalysis,theydream

of a state of unhistorical happiness which, as it turns out, in­

volvesonlycontinualtemptationandperpetualdisappointment.

FINALPARAGRAPHA

AtRosetta’ssuggestiontheyadjourntoherapartment.There

thecrucialdecisionsoftheeveningaretaken.Howthecharac­

tersarehelped torenouncewhat theyobviouslyoughtnot to

have,howlovers’meetingsendinjourneysHelpinarrivingat

correctonesisavailable,butitseffectonthejourneysinwhich

lovers’meetingsendthereadermustfindoutforhimself.

FINALPARAGRAPHB

AtRosetta’ssuggestiontheyadjourntoherapartment.There

the characters are helped to the crucial renunciations of the

evening.Thelasttwosectionsofthepoemendwithtwogreat

monologues, indices to that grasp of historical reality and in­

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sightintothehumanconditionwhichmakeThe Age of Anxietya

majorcontributiontoAmericanculture.

POSSIBLEADDITIONALPARAGRAPHSTO

FOLLOWFINALPARAGRAPHA

Thepoethasrejectedthetroublesomeandmodernbondage

ofrhyminginfavorofareturntoGermanicalliterativemetres,

themetresofPiers PloughmanandtheSkalds.Hehastightened

upLangland’slineandindulgedinboldexperimentswhichwill

beofinteresttoallamateursoftheart.

Inthecourseof thepoemmaybefounddefinitive laments

overthesufferingsimposedbythelatewaronland,onthesea,

intheair,andonthehomefront,thetorchsongtoendalltorch

songs,andanelaboratedirgeforawartimeleader.Andthetwo

greatmonologueswhichendthelasttwosectionsofthepoem

onlyepitomize thatgraspofhistorical reality and insight into

thehumanconditionwhichmakeThe Age of Anxietyamajorcon­

tributiontoAmericanculture.

ItmightbeappropriateheretocitetheblurbwrittenfortheEn­

glishedition—basedonthefinalAmericanversion,butmorepraise­

fulinsomewayswhileinothersbetrayingsomeuncertaintyaboutthe

poem’soverallsuccess—byAuden’seditoratFaber,T.S.Eliot:

Mr.Auden’snew longpoem takes the formof adialoguebe­

tweenawomanandthreemen:theplace,firstabaronThird

Avenue, second,anapartmenton theWestSideofNewYork;

thetimeanAllSouls’NightduringtheWar.Thecontentofthe

poem,likethatofMr.Auden’sprevioustwovolumes,willarouse

endlessdiscussionandargument;theformisonemoreillustra­

tionoftheauthor’sinexhaustibleresourcefulnessandmastery

ofversification,whichbecomemoreastonishingwitheverywork

heputsforth.

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Finally,something needstobesaidabouttheappearanceofthis

edition.InJanuaryof1947AudentoldAlanAnsen,“Inmycontract

forThe Age of Anxiety,IspecifiedthatIwantedtohavecontroloverthe

detailsofprinting....Thebookisgoingtobeverysmall,thepoetry

issetinverysmalltypeandtheprosestillsmaller.”Thecurrentvol­

ume is not as small as the first American edition, and most later

ones—theywereonly4.75by7.5inches—andthetypeislarger.

In other respects, the appearance of this edition differs from

Auden’sexpressedwishes.HefrequentlyquarreledwithhisAmerican

publisher,RandomHouse,abouttheappearanceofhisbooks.“Itisnt

thatIdontrealisethat,assuchthingsgo,thefount[font]iswellde­

signed,”hewrotetoBennettCerfin1944.“It’samatterofprinciple.

Youwouldneverthinkofusingsuchafountfor,say,‘TheEmbryology

oftheElasmobranchLiver’,sowhyuseitforpoetry?Ifeelverystrongly

that‘aesthetic’booksshouldnotbeputinaspecialclass.”Andthen,

in1951,hetoldPublishers Weekly,“Ihaveaviolentprejudiceagainst

artypaperandprintingwhichistoooftenconsideredfittingforunsal­

ableprestigebooks,andbyinvertedsnobberyIfavortheshinywhite

paper and format of the textbook. Further, perhaps because I am

near­sightedandholdthepagenearermynosethanisnormal,Ihave

astrongpreferenceforsmalltype.”

DuringthepreparationsforthepublicationofThe Age of Anxiety,

Audenmade sure thatRandomHouseunderstoodhisposition.As

NicholasJenkinsexplains,

In1946,whenhetoldRandomHousewhathewantedforThe

Age of Anxiety,heloanedthemhiscopyofA Treatise on a Section of

the Strata from Newcastle­upon­Tyne to Cross Fell, with Remarks on

Mineral Veins,byWestgarthForster,abookoriginallypublished

in1821butthatheseemstohaveownedinthethirdeditionof

1883,andinstructedthemtocopyitsappearance.Theydid.A

Treatise on a Section of the Stratahadbeenset inScotch,anex­

tremelypopular19thcenturytypeface,andtheKingsportPress

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inTennesseeusedtheLinotypeversionofScotchforAuden’s

book.

ThoughmoderndigitalversionsofScotchexist, thisvolumeuses

the same basic typographic design used in earlier volumes in the

W.H.AudenCriticalEditions seriesanddoesnotattempt to follow

Auden’s specifications for the 1947 edition. The sharp, consistent

digital fontsused in theearly twenty­firstcenturycannotaccurately

reproduce the irregular, rough­edged, hot­metal typography pro­

ducedbyaLinotypemachinein1947,andanyattempttodosowould

produceanunpleasantexampleoftypographickitsch.Arepresenta­

tivepageoftheoriginalisreproducedonthefacingpageandmay

givesomesenseofthetypographicflavorthatAudenwanted.

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