Guest poem submitted by Daedalus Athenai:
(Poem #1508) O Where Are You Going? "O where are you going?" said reader to rider, "That valley is fatal when furnaces burn, Yonder's the midden whose odours 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. |
Commentary: I think this is a beautiful poem, although I don't pretend to understand it. I just enjoy the rhythm, with its overtones of despair and hope in the face of despair. The wonderful imagery has inspired me to paint a series of pictures based on this poem. ~Daedalus [thomas adds] Vikram Doctor has a nice mini-essay on the nightmarish qualities of Auden's mid-30s output, in his commentary on Poem #427 on the Minstrels website. Other Auden poems on the Minstrels can be found here: [broken link] http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/index_poet_A.html#Auden
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my short introduction: I am an irregular follower of the minstrels but I
love it.
I think its a wonderful poem. Many a time you come across those who even
not dare to dream, forget doing. The poem tells inspires to keep the
insecurities aside, because the reason of living lies there, in the
experience. The reader is able to read today, because rider was there once.
I choose to be a rider, because I am not here for the 'vicarious' life.
-amit batra
Lovely poem. I think it is about a young man or woman leaving home to spread his/her wings. The over-protective and sometimes downright unsupportive parents are the reader, fearer, horror.
Mallika
I find this poem beautiful. It reminds me of a poem named 'Excelsior' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
I read this poem and it was the rhythm that struck me first, but then I read it again, trying to wrestle some sort of meaning from it. My thoughts are these: that Reader, Fearer, and Horror are the people in our lives, or even the parts of ourselves, that would keep us hidden away from the world for fear of the undiscovered. I enjoyed this poem, and had only ever read 'Twelve Songs' by Auden before this. Thanks!
Having studied this poem for AS, I have to say that the ambiguity of it really confused me at first. However, after several reads I can see that the genius of it is the simplicity and the many ways in which it can be interpreted. Auden portrays perfectly the desperation of a parent unwilling to let their child grow up and leave and therefore willing to stoop to any means and any lie to convince them to stay. Yet the more sensible and mature child is patient enough to listen, but then give the last act of defiance and independence in the form of short, angry answers to the questions posed by the overbearing and overfearing parent. The message after all of this is clear: we must try to break free from any kind of oppression and not let others instill their fears into us. A truly inspirational poem!
Okay, so this relates to the Sigmund Freud theory? But who's the id and who is the ego? Are they both a combination? Would the extrovert *referring to comment above* (the child) be the instinctive id or realistic ego or would the introvert (the parent) be the id or the ego? I think they're both?
It sounds to me, instead, like political oppression. The 'reader' represents passive members of society who know what is going on, but stand by and let things happen. The 'rider' instead refers to the brave who are willing to stand up to oppressors, even in the face of danger.
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Rider in the first stanza is a deliberate homonym for "WRITER." Don't just read, write. Create. Chart your own course, destiny, leave the freaking house and get out there despite the nay-saying of the trembling fearfuls.
i think its about the tension of the opposites inside a person how cowardice lies to bring courage down.
All of the "characters" in this poem are in reference to the speaker. The reader, fearer and horror are the internal voices that tell you to take the easy route, to settle, to be one of the crowd. The rider, farer and hearer encourage the self to discover, critically observe, and experience the world. The ominous three stanzas that feature the stagnant characters entice the reader with ingenious syllable measure and repeated consonant sounds, not to mention the rhyme scheme. In the last stanza, the speaker abandons inclinations to stay put, keep to the beaten path, fear the unknown, as he "left them there." Auden's ornate verse, of course, makes his take on it something worth commenting on.
At college we were told it was about the war and about ranks of people! im so confused!
This poem has reference to the Cutty Wren, ancient English folk song, in some of words and the rhythm.
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i am really confused about two characters that who is asking questions and who is giving answers.is it man who is asking questions or woman?
There's a mistake in the poem. It's "where furnaces burn" not when
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i think we should all go and fangirl over one direction... come on... LETS GOOOOO :)
does anyone know when was this poem first published? where? and by whom?
does anyone know when was this poem first published? where? and by whom?
I read it as a contextual comment on the lack of civilisation in Easternrope and the poor housing market in Aberdeen. The 'horror' could refer to the curtains, protecting us from the outside world and shielding us from the sunlight of facism. The 'rider' could in fact refer to the overbearing farmers of Bosnia, as they treat their pigs far too kindly for my liking. This is a provoking, saddening and sexually frustrating poem. It really delves into the world of career prospects, desire and the maltreatment and use of natural resources. Especially in southern Portugal.
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