After 1940, Poet No Longer a ‘Hero of the Left’
By W.H. Auden
(Princeton University Press, 93 pages, $23)
The republication of W.H. Auden’s poetry collection, The Shield of Achilles, reminds us that Auden belongs in the hall of great Christian writers, not with the Left.
As with Auden’s other collections, The Shield of Achilles displays his literary skill.
I first encountered the poems of Wystan Hugh Auden during a Christian Writers course at Grove City College. We only studied Auden’s works during two class periods so I left with a brief introduction to an exceptional poet and knew I needed to study more. This summer, Princeton University Press republished Auden’s The Shield of Achilles, poems first published as a complete book in 1955. Riding on Auden’s high esteem during the 1950s, this collection was well-received and earned Auden the 1956 National Book Award for Poetry. More significantly, The Shield of Achilles greatly reinforced Auden’s classification as a Christian writer, a stark contrast to his early title as the “hero of the left.” (READ MORE: Teaching the Constitution in a World Without Books)
Auden Escapes the Left
Writers from The Jacobin and The Imaginative Conservative each claim Auden as their own, demonstrating the transition in Auden’s political and religious history. Born in 1907, Auden rejected Christianity as a teen and turned to the ideas of Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx. His poetry supported socialism and elements of Marxism so he rose to the left’s spotlight in 1930 and remained there for a decade. Auden was on the left in lifestyle and literature until the futility of his thinking started to show. In 1940 Auden returned to the Anglican church and made a major transition in the themes of his poetry. Until his death in 1973, Auden’s poetry leaned on Christian, instead of Freudian or Marxist beliefs, to process the suffering and changes experienced by his generation.
The Shield of Achilles is exemplary of Auden’s Christian work. Baylor University’s Alan Jacobs introduces the collection with a critical analysis and pages of textual notes at the back give detailed explanations of the verses. These two supporting materials are immensely helpful for understanding the collection’s themes.
The introduction provides the necessary background knowledge for understanding The Shield of Achilles. Jacobs sees the poetry as Auden’s theological examination of one’s physical life in geographical and historical landscapes. Jacobs identifies subthemes in Auden’s collection and traces their chiasmic structure, helping readers understand Auden’s ordering of the poems.
Jacobs also notes the shift to Christianity in Auden’s work. Earlier poems from other collections glorify a utopian or arcadian goal, two societal desires that Auden labeled heretical as he became unconvinced by the claims of the left. Instead of searching for an impossible life of worldly perfection, Auden takes on theologian Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy’s belief that “the first universal democracy” is humanity’s position as sinners. Part of the solution to the inevitable production of war and destruction lies in the Kierkegaardian idea of Christians being called to a new demand for personal integrity. Jacobs does a great job of identifying Auden’s call for humanity to live in their geographical and historical space with integrity instead of retreating into “the crowd” of sinners who perpetuate unjust war and destruction.
Pages of detailed textual notes found at the back are equally helpful for understanding the references in The Shield of Achilles. Some notes connect one line of poetry to the next, immediately demonstrating the intricate theme first mentioned in the introduction. Other notes give paragraph-long explanations of the historical figures, events, or literary references of which Auden was highly knowledgeable. The textual notes highlight Auden’s adherence to order and emphasize his skill in handling ancient and emerging beliefs alike.
As with Auden’s other collections, The Shield of Achilles displays his literary skill. Auden had an acute ability to adopt any voice, a technique which he used to write about politics, science, and theology with a tone fitting for each. Auden adhered to poetic rhyme and meter, preserving the idea that order can guide, not stifle, great creativity. The reader experiences the true Auden in The Shield of Achilles as it carries all of his writing habits. (READ MORE: Selleck Is a Star Unlike the Others)
No matter your experience with reading poetry, I encourage you to take a look at Auden and his works. The new edition of The Shield of Achilles is a great place to start because its introduction and textual notes can guide you through the collection’s complexities. Further, the references in The Shield of Achilles display the history, theology, literature, and mythology from which conservatism draws wisdom. Let us remember Auden for his triumphant conversion from the left and let us uphold his work in preserving fundamental truths in poetry.
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