This lecture presents the early poetry of W.H. Auden. In "From the Very First Coming Down," Auden's relationship to the reader is considered, as well as the role of economy, truth, and morality in his poetics. The political Auden is examined in "Spain" and "September 1, 1939," along with his later practice of revising controversial poems. Finally, his interest in traditional forms, his vision of love, and his characteristic perspectivism, are explored in "This Lunar Beauty" and "As I Walked Out One Evening."

Reading assignment:

W. H. Auden: "The Secret Agent," "This Lunar Beauty," "The Wanderer," "On This Island," Lullaby," "Spain," "As I Walked Out One Evening," "Musee des Beaux Arts," "In Memory of W. B. Yeats"; RIS: "Who stands, the crux...," "From the very first coming down...," "Doom is dark and deeper...," "Hearing of harvests rotting in the valleys..."