Auden
W.H. Auden, perhaps one of the most renowned poets of the 20th century, was an intellectual in constant search for understanding of the world in which he lived. Time after time, whether it was during his days of study at Oxford University or amidst his return to an absolute, Christian frame of mind as a middle-aged man, Auden, vacillated back and forth between opposite poles of viewpoint. Auden questioned institutionalized ideas from the start and for a good part of his childhood rejected the idea of religion in full (though he still went to church to soak in the fiery orations), only to later accept Christianity's doctrines as a middle-aged man. One thing that remained consistent, though, in Auden was his methodology of thinking - he continually involved himself in critical thought, in barefaced attempt to make sense of his life. Though this mode of philosophy did pave the way to further intellect - like any big thinker - Auden was often left still scratching his head. His confusion, most likely overlapping with his romantic feelings for the same sex, undeniably coincided with his inclination to begin writing poetry. Concerned with knowledge, practice, and understanding, Auden persistently psychoanalyzed himself and others,
This land, cut off, will not communicate, What we are not what we might be next, a question Kicking a little stone, he turned to me To these feminine townships where men in search of a higher understanding of reality. Coupled with close self-examination, Auden used poetry to aid him in his search of self, and by probing Auden's poems, critiques of his poems, and the historical events that took place during the twentieth-century, one is able to come to a greater understanding of what kind of quest Auden endured.
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Approximate Word count = 3836
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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