W. H. Auden: Difference between revisions

In his [[Mention::Autobiography]], Morrissey writes about Auden and quotes his poetry:

<blockquote>

''Give me a doctor, partridge plump,''<br>

''Short in the leg and broad in the rump,''<br>

''An endomorph with gentle hands''<br>

''Who’ll never make absurd demands''<br>

''That I abandon all my vices''<br>

''Nor pull a long face in a crisis,''<br>

''But with a twinkle in his eye''<br>

''Will tell me that I have to die.''

In 1973 W. H. Auden dies, the words silenced, the heart finally given a rest, all in life’s shocking order. I do not know much about him, but there is so much wisdom in the unfolding words; flinching at the narrow-minded and sighing at the petty irritants. He had been interviewed on television, and I could sense the air of genius even before he spoke – as if a person’s greatness need never be pointed out, for it is there, anyway, in the silent being. Invisible behind a fog of cigarette smoke, W. H. Auden has a face of concentrated power, a voice that comes from somewhere deeper than the body, and a life too full and intense. W. H. Auden has lived through the lifetime that it takes in order to find all the right words. There is a stroking sensuality to the voice, and the richness of tone wards off the listless Yorkshire giggle of interviewer Michael Parkinson. Here, for me alone, is a glimpse of genius of the highest intellectual distinction which nobody could possibly be qualified to question. I am gradually beginning to grasp the meaning of W. H. Auden – with his eyes too large for their sockets, and his mouth stuck in the wrong part of his body. A half-asleep voice of broadcasting tones is carefully warning you that the only way to deal with him is to back down."

</blockquote>