In Auden’s “Christmas Oratorio,” the shepherds stand in for the working class, who find love and personhood in the birth of Jesus.
Tag Archives: W. H. Auden
Joy of Life Revealed in Love’s Creation
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Christmas Oratorio", "Nativity", Christmas, For the Time Being, shepherds Comments closed
Can Art Thwart Trump? A Debate
In which I argue with a writer who claims that art and artists have an inflated sense of their power and that they are irrelevant in the battle against Donald Trump.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Donald Trump, Grapes of Wrath, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Invisible Man, John Steinbeck, propaganda, Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright, social realism, socialist realism, Uncle Tom's Cabin Comments closed
And the Light Shineth in the Darkness…
Auden’s Advent section in “For the Time Being” captures the pessimism that many feel about the world today. Luckily, the poem moves on to the Christmas promise.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Advent, For the Time Being, refugee crisis, Terrorism Comments closed
Can Poetry Respond Adequately to Evil?
Americans turned to Auden’s “September 1, 1939” following 9-11, and it can inspire and guide us following the Paris terror attacks.
Lit vs. the Evils of History–More Debate
While literature can seem helpless in the face of history’s cataclysms, it proves far more durable than the events that seem to overwhelm it.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Alexander the Great, Don Quixote, Homer, Iliad, Miguel de Cervantes, politics Comments closed
The Spurs as Auden’s Unknown Citizen
The San Antonio Spurs as so perfect that they’re boring–like Auden’s “Unknown Citizen.”
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Unknown Citizen", Basketball, NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Sports Comments closed
A Time of Rare Beasts, Unique Adventures
Spirit may seem less accessible after Christmas is over, Auden tells us, but that means we should focus all the more on seeking it out.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged "Christmas Oratorio", "Hollow Men", Spirituality, T. S. Eliot Comments closed
