O Where are you going
W.H.
Auden
Wystan
Hugh Auden (W.H. Auden) was an English-American poet, playwright and essayist
who lived from 1907 to 1973. He is considered one of the most influential poets
of the 20th century. His work reflects a wide range of themes including
politics, religion, love and the human condition.
Auden
was born in York, England and attended Oxford University. Here he became
associated with a group of poets known as the ‘Oxford Group’ or the ‘Auden
Circle’. His poetry is particularly known for its intellectual and formal
complexity, but he later moved towards a simpler and more accessible style.
"O where are you going?"
said reader to rider,
"That
valley is fatal when furnaces burn,
Yonder's
the midden whose odors will madden,
That gap is
the grave where the tall return."
"O do
you imagine," said fearer to farer,
"That
dusk will delay on your path to the pass,
Your
diligent looking discover the lacking
Your
footsteps feel from granite to grass?"
"O
what was that bird," said horror to hearer,
"Did
you see that shape in the twisted trees?
Behind you
swiftly the figure comes softly,
The spot on
your skin is a shocking disease?"
"Out
of this house" ‚ said rider to reader,
"Yours
never will" ‚ said farer to fearer,
"They're
looking for you" ‚ said hearer to horror,
As he left
them there, as he left them there.
The poem is in the form of ballad
which predicts the fate the humanity suffers due indecisiveness and not taking
action. It pays tribute to the human spirit and courage. The poem consists of
four stanzas all of which are quatrains alternating between two voices. The
first is a reader who is a symbol of cowardice while the other person is a
rider who is a symbol of bravery and courage. The bold rider wants to go out
and conquer the world through his will-power and determination. But, the
reader, who is a timid fellow, stops him from going out by saying that his way
would be full of ups and downs. But the bold rider does not get discouraged and
terrified. He ventures out to get success and glory. The poem thus teaches the
moral lesson that the way to glory and success may be uncertain but it can be
paved through courage and perseverance.
First Stanza
The poem begins with a
question, which is also the title of the poem “O Where Are You Going?’ The
question is addressed from the reader to the rider. The rider is getting ready
to leave on a journey, however, it is not at first clear what is meant by the
reader. It is further down the line that we come to know that the reader refers
to a person who is only a man of words and not action. His excessive reflection
over the possible outcomes makes him timid and he is frightened by the possible
dangers. The reader fears that anything can go wrong out there. He warns that
the valley is fatal if it were to set on fire, the stench of the midden, or
garbage dump, will be unbearable and the unpaved valley is deadly is deadly if
you lose your footing.
Adding an old-fashioned
spin to the poem shows us that he wants his words to resonate throughout the
ages and that this is not just a physical journey of a rider being prevented by
a reader, but rather this is an inner journey. Some people will always be
readers and stop you from going forward in life but you must be the rider and
ignore their words in order to attain success.
Second Stanza
In the second stanza the
reader and rider now being addressed as fearer and farer. This elaborates on
their personalities and verifies that a reader does indeed refer to someone who
thinks too much before performing an action, for now, he is being referred to
as fearer. The rider is now being referred to as farer, once again fortifying
that he is going on an actual journey. The reader, or the fearer now warns of
how the fall of dusk will cause him delays in his journey as there will be no
lighting in the wild. He also warns of how his diligent and respectable
lifestyle of having a warm house will change completely and he will have to
live with bare minimum. The fear of shifting from granite to grass clearly
shows the fear of losing comfort and moving from machinic areas to areas that
are still undiscovered.
Third Stanza
In the third stanza the
reader is addressed as horror and the rider as hearer. The horror warns the hearer
of the creatures he will encounter in his journey. The horror describes the
creatures as swift, scary beings whose touch will be contaminated. Hear the fears
of the horror are slightly exaggerated. The reader is now being referred to as
horror because of how discouraging his words are, and how excessively he tries
to frighten and is frightened. His paranoid has reached its height as he
exaggerates the birds to be deadly creatures and how every animal is contaminated
with dangerous diseases.
Fourth Stanza
In the last stanza,
there is a shift of attention from the reader to the rider. In the first three
stanzas, the reader questions the rider and tries to stop him from taking on
the journey by frightening him from the obstacles and miseries he may have to
undergo on the way. In the last stanza, the rider responds to the reader. He shrugs
off all the worries of the reader and tells him that he will never succeed in
life. Before taking off, the rider tells the reader that the creatures that he says
will haunt him on his way, are actually looking for the reader. After saying
this, the rider goes on his way leaving behind the reader and all his fears. Here,
the poet seems to suggest that all your troubles and fears exist only till you decide
to face them. Moreover, these things trouble only the people who think more of
them.
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