I cannot, honestly, say this is the only analysis of the poem.
Poetry creates an individualized, personal response in each reader based upon that reader's
collective life experiences.
My perception of the poem's meaning is
as follows.
First of all, my sense is that the mood of the poem is a
dark one—by use of words/phrases like: fatal, furnaces, madden, grave, lacking, horror, twisted
trees, fearer, shocking disease, yours never will.
The first line is
most important in directing our path as a reader. Since the question of the first line is
directed from reader to rider, our attention is aimed at the rider's journey and the purpose of
his travel.
To interrupt now that we have the basis of the poem's
intent, it is important to remember that, according to PoetryConnection.net, Auden became very
interested in religion during his life. With this in mind, the idea of a journey, along with the
words and phrases I mention above, lead me to conclude that this poem provides the reader with
the rider's destination: death.
The first stanza refers to a valley,
which may allude to the line of the Twenty-third Psalm (in the Bible, perhaps also known to some
as "The Lord is My Shepherd), "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."
"Furnaces burn" and "odours will madden" could easily refer to the sulfurous stench associated
with Hell (the fiery "pit); and " href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/midden">midden" refers to a dung heap
or refuse pile (trash). Bottom line, this may then be a warning to the rider (or "mankind," in
general) to be wary of ending up in Hell. I can't be sure, be feel the "gap" may refer to the
place that separates Heaven from Hell, and the "tall" may refer to the "upright" (righteous,
God-fearing) who avoid Hell.
The second stanza is a question from
the fearful one to the traveler (" href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/farer">farer"). The inquiry is whether
the "dusk" (perhaps older age, or even moving away from the "light" or God) will delay the
progress the traveler hopes to make. The "pass" may refer to the road that leads to heaven.
"Diligent looking" may speak to the care the farer takes to remain on the "straight and narrow"
path to God, which is necessary to avoid leaving the "granite" (solid footing) to end up in the
"grass" (the easier road, but one that leads to Hell).
Moving into
the third stanza, "horror" represents the fear many people have of dying. The "bird" could allude
to a premonition of evil, such as the raven in href="http://www.heise.de/ix/raven/Literature/Lore/TheRaven.html">Edgar Allan Poe's
poem of the same name. "Twisted trees" could well speak to unnatural or ill-conceived
things of this world that either cause fear or self-doubt to the lover of God. The "figure comes
softly" certainly must describe man's personification of death, or the "grim reaper." "Spot on
the skin" may literally cite a disease or metaphorically describe
"sin."
The last stanza tells the farer that no one will never be
able to avoid death: "Out of this house...Yours never will." Death is personified here as
"...looking for you." Those delivering this frightful reminder are the rider, the farer and the
hearer, speaking to the audience: referred to as the reader, the fearer and the horror. The
message is almost debilitating to one who is afraid of dying (most of us, I expect), and perhaps
Auden is trying to speak to all people.
However, there is a subtle
shift in the last line that changes Auden's presentation of the Old Testament view of
death—without hope, to new life: the reader leaves horror and fear behind, believing he will be
saved by his faith.
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