There have been multiple titles for this work, since auden reprinted it under various titles, which was not uncommon for himfuneral blues, clocks and lovers and stop all the clocks. Audens stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone by scott hixson english 1 explication. Auden 19071973, might at first suggest genuine lamentationthe kind of mourning or sorrow often found in popular music associated. A critical reading of audens funeral blues by dr oliver tearle. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone w h auden.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky the message he is dead, put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves. Poetry wystan hugh auden funeral blues stop all the. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky the message he is dead. Funeral blues or stop all the clocks is a poem by w. The telephone being cut off brings forth the idea of silence. Auden is using heroic couplets instead of alternating rhymes. Abbas kiarostami, roads, rain and glass, stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from bark. Poem hunter all poems of by wystan hugh auden poems. Poetry wystan hugh auden funeral blues stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone. An early version was published in 1936, but the poem in its final, familiar form was first published in the years poetry london, 1938. Poems summary and analysis of funeral blues stop all the clocks buy study guide the poet calls for the clocks to be stopped, the telephone to be cut off, and the dog and pianos silenced. In the first stanza auden states stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone the clok being stopped may signify the fact that he who died has run out of time and also to ask those who knew him to stop what they are doing and reflect as its the end of time as we know it.
Silence the pianos and, with muffled drum, bring out the coffin. Wmu discontinued personal web page services on homepages. Auden wystan hugh auden stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone lyrics. Adam low returns to the poet and his work 35 years after his bbc film the auden landscape, to reveal how audens poetry helps us to understand. The first, and less widely known, version of the poem, written and. Another poem with a recording of auden reading it may be found at the bbcs poetry outloud site. In general, the poem stop all the clocks written by w. Funeral blues wh auden stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Stop all the clocks essay read the poem stop all the clocks attached to this pack carefully and write a criticism in essay form. The poem is about the death of one person who held considerable meaning. An excellent resource inviting close inspection of audens poetic technique.
Phenomenal woman, still i rise, the road not taken, if you forget me, dreams. Poem of the month, january 2018 stop all the clocks. Download this entire guide to funeral blues stop all the clocks as a printable pdf. What poems mean can often be significantly shaped by the place where they appear, and audens wellknown poem, funeral blues, or stop all the clocks, is a nice example of this. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone poem by wystan. Its filled with clever twists and heartwrenching statements that give it a real poignancy, features that may explain the poems enduring. An introduction to stop all the clocks the british library. All rights to all photographs of auden are the property of the original photographers or their representatives. Stop all the clocks, was privately printed in a collection, entitled poems. Also known as funeral blues, this poem, one of audens twelve songs originally published in 1936, needs no introduction, perhaps. The poem is a morose, sad elegy that wonderfully describes the feelings associated with grieving. Stop all the clocks originates from a twoact play w h auden wrote with the novelist christopher isherwood, the ascent of f6 1936. Auden 19071973 stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with the juicy bone. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone poem by wystan hugh auden.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out. He wants to stop all clocks and telephones and to silence barking dogs and pianos. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone funeral blues o the valley in the summer where i and my john johnny another poem, from london transports archive of poems on the underground if i could tell you. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone.
Auden s poem stop all the clocks poem number ix in his twelve songs, and also sometimes known as funeral blues is a poem so famous and universally understood that perhaps it is unnecessary to offer much in the way of textual analysis. An unnamed speaker laments the death of someone close to him. Auden stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone 1. Auden vintage i stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum. Written in 1936 with his long time collaborator christopher isherwood. Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky the message he is dead, put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves, let the traffic policemen. In the 1994 film four weddings and a funeral, audens poem funeral blues the one that begins stop all the clocks is read at the funeral of a gay character, played by simon. Stop all the clocks cut off the telephoneprevent the dog from barking with a juicy bonesilence the pianos and with muffled drum. Auden stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
The publishers, and only the publishers, determine the fees that will be charged for quoting for works under their control. The poem is principally famous for modern audiences thanks to its appearance in the successful romantic comedy movie four weddings and a. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. A critical reading of auden s funeral blues by dr oliver tearle. I stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from b. Yet were going to offer some notes towards an analysis of. Why did auden write the poem stop all the clocks answers. Funeral blues stop all the clocks poem summary and. The speakers gender is never given, but well refer to him from now on for convenience. Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling in the sky the message. Stop all the clocks is written about the loss of a loved one, a male. Popularised further in the 1990s when featured in the movie four weddings and a funeral. It was first published in the years poetry in 1938. Wystan hugh auden poems poems of wystan hugh auden. Confirmed for bbc two on 30 september at 9pm to 10pm. Lets look at some of the messier moments, when funeral blues shakes up the form and lets its freak flag fly. Auden also makes use of hyperbole in order to convey the intensity of the speakers grief. Funeral blues, also known as stop all the clocks is arguably audens most famous poem. Auden 19071973 stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone, prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, silence the pianos and with muffled drum bring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Since it was recited in the funeral in the 1994 film four weddings and a funeral, it achieved worldwide fame and brought audens poetry to a whole new audience. Poem of the month, january 2018 stop all the clocks stop all the clocks by w. An excellent resource inviting close inspection of audens poetic technique in stop all the clocks.