Four weddings and a funeral poem

By: Susan Dugdale Last modified:

In this article, we will explore the origins, structure, and cultural significance of this iconic poem, as well as its impact on literature and its use in popular culture. 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. 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 wear black cotton gloves. He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun, Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods; For nothing now can ever come to any good. The poem consists of four quatrains, each containing four lines.

Four weddings and a funeral poem

Auden which first appeared in the play The Ascent of F6. Auden substantially rewrote the poem several years later as a cabaret song for the singer Hedli Anderson. Both versions were set to music by the composer Benjamin Britten. The second version was first published in and was titled "Funeral Blues" in Auden's Another Time. The poem experienced renewed popularity after being read in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral , which also led to increased attention on Auden's other work. It has since been cited as one of the most popular modern poems in the United Kingdom. The poem was five stanzas long when it first appeared in the verse play The Ascent of F6 , written by Auden and Christopher Isherwood. It was written as a satiric poem of mourning for a political leader. Auden decided to re-write several poems for Anderson to perform as cabaret songs, including "Funeral Blues", and was working on them as early as Auden kept the first two stanzas from his initial version, but replaced the last three with two new stanzas, [2] as those verses made enough references to the play that they could not be understood outside of it. They were also of relatively poor quality, according to the poet Joseph Warren Beach. XXX, [11] and was similarly untitled in the and editions. Britten wrote a setting of the poem for chorus and instrumental group as part of his incidental music for the first production of The Ascent of F6 in , and later arranged it for solo voice and piano in a collection of settings of Auden poems under the title Cabaret Songs. The English scholar Seamus Perry notes similarities between Auden's re-write and the poems of Cole Porter , which Perry considers "ingenious" and "witty". He also feels that the poem is not as "light" as Porter's work or its cabaret origins suggest.

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This page is an analysis of the poem Funeral Blues by W. The poem is also known as Stop All the Clocks. The poem became famous after it was recited in the film, Four Weddings and A Funeral. We intend to do three things in this analysis. The poem is four stanzas long.

Four weddings and a funeral poem

Auden and first published in The speaker experiences this indifference as a kind of rude torment, and demands that the world grieve too. Grief, in the poem, is thus presented as something deeply isolating, an emotion that cuts off the people who grieve from the world around them.

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Another of my very long pages! He was my North, my South, my East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong. The poem also beautifully weaves together themes of love, death, and sorrow, creating a vivid tapestry of emotions. Her insightful analyses and heartfelt poems reflect her deep connection to the art of poetry, as she aims to inspire and connect with readers who share a love for poetic expression. The poem consists of four quatrains, each containing four lines. MusicBrainz work. It has found its way into various forms of popular culture, from film and television to music. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A complete one stop resource to scuttle fear in the best of all possible ways - with laughter. Which ever way you go with these, they're wonderful good fun. And keep doing that until you find the one you want for the speech you're preparing. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.

Auden which first appeared in the play The Ascent of F6. Auden substantially rewrote the poem several years later as a cabaret song for the singer Hedli Anderson.

Give yourself time, and as you go through the page, try them out loud. This article is about the poem by W. The emotional depth of the poem touches people from different walks of life, offering a comforting and timeless resonance that transcends the boundaries of culture and time. This page will take you step by step from beginning to end through the process of writing a poem in free verse. Go to inspirational quotations, eulogy and funeral readings. British Library. Your email address will not be published. Retrieved 4 April Maybe it's a poem to celebrate a friend's milestone birthday, a poem expressing what you want to say about love at a wedding of someone close to you, or a poem as part of a funeral service. Night Mail The page has the full text of each poem, plus suggestions for activities using them, audio me reading the poems , and a printable of the six poems for your use. It is a poetic expression of profound grief and mourning, and its universal themes and poignant imagery have made it a cherished piece of literature that continues to resonate with people worldwide.