A Walk After Dark
By W. H. Auden
A cloudless night like this
Can set the spirit soaring:
After a tiring day
The clockwork spectacle is
Impressive in a slightly boring
Eighteenth-century way.It soothed adolescence a lot
To meet so shameless a stare;
The things I did could not
Be so shocking as they said
If that would still be there
After the shocked were deadNow, unready to die
Bur already at the stage
When one starts to resent the young,
I am glad those points in the sky
May also be counted among
The creatures of middle-age.It’s cosier thinking of night
As more an Old People’s Home
Than a shed for a faultless machine,
That the red pre-Cambrian light
Is gone like Imperial Rome
Or myself at seventeen.Yet however much we may like
The stoic manner in which
The classical authors wrote,
Only the young and rich
Have the nerve or the figure to strike
The lacrimae rerum note. (Tear of things)For the present stalks abroad
Like the past and its wronged again
Whimper and are ignored,
And the truth cannot be hid;
Somebody chose their pain,
What needn’t have happened did.Occurring this very night
By no established rule,
Some event may already have hurled
Its first little No at the right
Of the laws we accept to school
Our post-diluvian world:But the stars burn on overhead,
Unconscious of final ends,
As I walk home to bed,
Asking what judgment waits
My person, all my friends,
And these United State
Summary of A Walk After Dark
- Popularity of “A Walk After Dark”: Written on the first of September of 1939, this beautiful poem by W. H. Auden, an American critic, playwright, and poet, has presented his unorthodox views about the war. The poem is stated to have been published in 1948 and then again in 1949 with some changes and then again with revisions later. It sheds light on his opinion of how the youth welcomed the war and how the bureaucratic decisions made the war continue instead of taking peace initiatives and saving the nations from it. This oblique reference to pacifism has made this poem popular across the globe.
- “A Walk After Dark” As a Representative of Pacifism: W. H. Auden opens the poem when the war has already started and he is of the view that people would be in high spirits with the urge to bring changes in the world yet they are under rules and customs of the past. However, some unconventional spirit, he argues, may urge the bureaucracy to stop this war but that would only be a shock, while the shocked or the people prone to rebellion would be dead in the war at that time. He is happy that at least he would be counted among those middle-aged people who have made an effort when the Old People are cozying up in their beds, thinking about the past and the glory of Rome.
He continues with the same strain that only the young and rich would be left when the classical authors would continue with their stoicism. In the future, somebody would choose to argue that what has happened should not have happened. He states that although it could be that somebody has started saying no to this war, breaking the school-like rules but the people at the helm of the affairs would know little about what would happen in the future with the generations weary of wars. Therefore, he is concerned about his country and his countrymen and their fate in these trying times. - Major Themes in “A Walk After Dark”: Doing one’s part of the job, thinking about peace and ravages of war, and commenting upon bureaucratic war obstacles are major themes of this poem. Although the poet just wants to talk about his evening walk when the darkness is prevailing, he is thinking about the past wars, the enthusiasm of the people about the current war, and the unconcerned bureaucracy whose job is to frame rulers and customs which people find hard to break.
Peace is better than war, and he continues arguing saying that youth would be lost in the war and only children and the rich would be left to think about the future. Therefore, it is bureaucratic hurdles that do not let the war from stopping because of the rules framed to start it. His concern is mainly for his country, the United States, and its people.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in A Walk After Dark
- H. Auden used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices are analyzed below.
- Allusion: It is a literary device in which the poet cites cultural, literary, or historical figures or events for impact. For example, the poet used allusions of the United States, the post-diluvian world, Imperial Rome, or Pre-Cambrian light.
- Alliteration: It is a literary device in which the same initial consonant sounds occur in consecutive words. The poem shows the use of alliteration, such as the sound of /s/ in “spirit soaring” or
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “To meet so shameless a stare” and the sound of /o/ in “It soothed adolescence a lot.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r/ and /s/ in “Can set the spirit soaring” and the sound of /f/ in “Than a shed for a faultless machine.”
- Enjambment: It means to roll over one verse into the next without a pause. The poem shows the use of enjambment, such as;
Now, unready to die
Bur already at the stage
When one starts to resent the young,
I am glad those points in the sky
May also be counted among
The creatures of middle-age.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. H. Auden used imagery in this poem, such as “Than a shed for a faultless machine”, “That the red pre-Cambrian light” and “Like the past and its wronged again.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used the metaphors of clockwork spectacle for time, shocked for the dead, and shocking who are going to say no or have already said no to war.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet has used the personification of the night as if it has emotions of its own and it can think.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as spirit, boring, shocking, shocked, and stoic to show the impacts of war and its results.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in A Walk After Dark
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem. Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and resigned diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. W. H. Auden shows the use of end rhyme such as this/is or soaring/boring and day/way.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are seven stanzas, with each comprising six verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a depressive, frustrating and tragic tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about one’s concern for his country.
But the stars burn on overhead,
Unconscious of final ends,
As I walk home to bed,
Asking what judgment waits
My person, all my friends,
And these United State