the age of anxiety - princeton university press
TRANSCRIPT
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INTRODUCTION
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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