Poems of Doubt, Stringent Faith, and Hard-Won Wisdom

"Under Sirius"

A poem of judgment set under Sirius the dog-star addressed to Fortunatus, the last Latin poet of Gaul who became a Christian bishop.  Fortunatus fails to write his epic, wishes for the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to free them, and dreams of the Three Marys, who (according to tradition) after Christ's departure, sail with Joseph of Arimathea to southern France.   Auden takes a shot at T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets' famous line "And all shall be well/ And all manner of thing shall be well."  The "pantocratic riddle" recalls Christ's role as Judge or Pantocrator.   There will be those who "refused their chance" in the end of all things.

Questions

1. Why does Auden address Fortunatus?  Does he identify with the early medieval bishop in any way?
2. How does Auden appropriate such mythological imagery as the sibyl, the immortal nymphs, or the "pottering shades" of the underworld? Why?
3. Is this an optimistic or pessimistic poem?  Explain your answer?

"Friday's Child"

Dedicated to the martyrdom of Dietrich Bonhoffer, the poem seems to reflect some of Bonhoffer's late "death of God" theology, namely the notion that in the modern world God is mostly clearly present in his conspicuous absence.  The poem reflects on the "utterly banal" results of the modern subjectivist mindset in its inability to penetrate to the proof of God's existence.  The cross stands as a dilemma before which we stand (and are judged).

Questions

1. According to the poem, what are the consequences of our freedom to choose?
2. Why does Auden focus on the form of Christ's death on the cross?   Why does it speak of either "total gain or loss"?

"Whitsunday in Kirchstetten"

Written on Whitsunday, or Pentecost, the day in the Church calendar dedicated to remembering the giving of the Holy Spirit to the infant church and, thus, a reminder of our ecumenical catholicity.  The poem is dedicated to a German Catholic priest that Auden knew while the poet lived in Austria.  Auden invokes in German "Come Creator Spirit" as members of the congregation take up offerings and receive the Eucharist.  Auden stresses that he is an Anglican, "obedient to Canterbury," yet he too in enjoined to caritas, or charity.  Among other matters, he reflects that the Gem�tlichkeit, or coziness, is because of a strong dollar. 

He reflects that the true proclamation of Christ is something better than William Blake's Old Nobodaddy, a kind of big daddy God upstairs who blesses our violence, though human beings ("The Ape of the Living God") know how to throw a stately funeral. Auden reminds us that God is willing to listen to any voice, including that of golfers and Low Austrians.  When prayers for the dead are offered, Auden thinks of Franz Joseph Haydn.

Auden as the host is elevated, thinks of East Germany and the communist world, where neither capitalism ("a living stockbroker" ) nor religion ("church attendance") is accepted.  He quotes Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's famous 1956 threat 'We will bury you" with something like bemusement, yet also reflects on the outcome and future of the post-colonial world (the "looter's turn" "who troused Africa.")

As the Pfarrer, or minister, offers the bendiction blessing, Auden reflects on the ecumenical nature of this worship--"when Grace dances, I should dance."

Questions

1. What is Auden's liturgical theology in this poem?
2. How is God presented?
3. How does the setting of this poem shape its tone and meaning?

"Profile"

A fairly self-explanatory poem made up of tankas and haiku.  Konrad Lorenz received the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1973.  Ronald Firbank wrote fairy-tale style novels.

Questions

1. What does Auden reveal about himself in this self-portrait?
2. What do we learn about Auden and the world and God?

"Insignificant Elephants"

Auden's poem is meant to contrast the difference between a true saint's life and that of legendary hagiography.  Auden suggests that saints' lives are a kind of game for reporters, such as :

• Hugh of Lincoln stood up to a pogrom mob after a child was supposedly tortured and murdered by a Jew.
• Peter Claver a Jesuit missionary in Cartagena, the largest South American slave market, worked tirelessly in hospitals on behalf of slaves and the poor.

Auden includes the following examples of mythical saints' lives:

• George, the patron saint of England, is held up as the archetypal warrior-saint.  he is famous for his slaying of the dragon.
• Catherine of Alexandria was placed on a spiked wheel to be tortured, but the wheel fell apart, causing two hundred soldiers to be converted.
• Barbara, a beautiful young girl who refuses to be married is placed in a tower by her father.  When he attempts to kill her, he is destroyed by lightning and reduced to ash.  Thus, she becomes the patron saint of gunners.
• Uncumber, or Wilgefortis, had made a vow of virginity.  When her father tried to marry her to the king of Sicily, a beard grew on her face.  She was crucified with her beard.
• Perpetua, a martyr, has a dream of a young shepherd who offers her curds milked from his sheep.  Her martyrdom, along with Felicity, at Carthage (ca. 203) is accurate, though the events surrounding it are likely embellished.

Questions

1. What is the significance of the title and quotation from the Bestiary?
2. How does Auden compare the life of the authentic saint with that of the examples he mentions?