Funeral Blues
W.H. Auden
Structure
Stanza length and meter:
The poem, being a standalone lament about a loved one, features
quatrains and a mostly consistent metrical pattern of iambic
pentameter. The repetitiveness and regularity perhaps reflects the
dull rhythm of life: the speaker views his life to be predictable and
mundane, devoid of passions and vivacity, due to the loss of his loved
one. Alternatively, the metrical pattern may also resemble a funeral
march that is played during a funeral procession, highlighting how the
speaker may be grieving through the poem itself.
Rhyme scheme:
The poem has a regular rhyme scheme of AABB, which may signify
how each word has its own rhyming partner, contradicting with the
speaker's current predicament, where his partner has left the world,
reflecting the loneliness and isolation that the speaker may be feeling.
Caesura:
There are also constant uses of caesuras throughout the poem, which
create pauses in between the phrases, connoting how it may be
difficult for the speaker to continue speaking. An alternative to this
may be that through the addition of pauses, it emphasises the
speaker's desire to stop time to grieve for his loved one; it may hurt
him to think that every moment and every second of life is continuing
on without his loved one. However, the absurdity of such a demand
emphasises the futility of such a wish, as inexorable passing of time
stops for no one, even at their lowest ebb.
Contrast
"my North, my South, my East my West"
The speaker continues to list directions in a jumbled up manner,
juxtaposing the logical order of directions, which could imply how as
his loved one used to give him his direction in life, after his loss, the
speaker is now disorientation and has lost his bearings in life.
Alternatively, this phrase may also imply how his life is encompassed
around his lover in all directions, showing his devotion to his loved
one and the grief he feels after his loss.
"My working week and my Sunday rest"
W.H. Auden
Structure
Stanza length and meter:
The poem, being a standalone lament about a loved one, features
quatrains and a mostly consistent metrical pattern of iambic
pentameter. The repetitiveness and regularity perhaps reflects the
dull rhythm of life: the speaker views his life to be predictable and
mundane, devoid of passions and vivacity, due to the loss of his loved
one. Alternatively, the metrical pattern may also resemble a funeral
march that is played during a funeral procession, highlighting how the
speaker may be grieving through the poem itself.
Rhyme scheme:
The poem has a regular rhyme scheme of AABB, which may signify
how each word has its own rhyming partner, contradicting with the
speaker's current predicament, where his partner has left the world,
reflecting the loneliness and isolation that the speaker may be feeling.
Caesura:
There are also constant uses of caesuras throughout the poem, which
create pauses in between the phrases, connoting how it may be
difficult for the speaker to continue speaking. An alternative to this
may be that through the addition of pauses, it emphasises the
speaker's desire to stop time to grieve for his loved one; it may hurt
him to think that every moment and every second of life is continuing
on without his loved one. However, the absurdity of such a demand
emphasises the futility of such a wish, as inexorable passing of time
stops for no one, even at their lowest ebb.
Contrast
"my North, my South, my East my West"
The speaker continues to list directions in a jumbled up manner,
juxtaposing the logical order of directions, which could imply how as
his loved one used to give him his direction in life, after his loss, the
speaker is now disorientation and has lost his bearings in life.
Alternatively, this phrase may also imply how his life is encompassed
around his lover in all directions, showing his devotion to his loved
one and the grief he feels after his loss.
"My working week and my Sunday rest"
