W H Auden's notebook of poetry and prose c. 1946–65

W H Auden's notebook of poetry and prose; circa 1946-1965

Description

This manuscript notebook, written by W H Auden between 1946 and 1965, includes numerous drafts of his poetry and prose works. This fragment contains several working drafts of his poem ‘Tonight at Seven Thirty’, which was included in the collection The Shield of Achilles (1955). The poem reflects upon the social practice of the dinner party and its long history; as Auden puts it:

Only man
supererogatory beast,
Dame Kind's thoroughbred lunatic, can
do the honors of a feast
and was doing so
before the last Glaciation when he offered
mammoth-marrow

The drafts show different working versions of the poem, including changes in the order of the stanzas, deletions and additions.

Included in this notebook are drafts for the verse commentary that Auden wrote for the film documentary Runner (1962). Runner, directed by Don Owen, focused on the figure to the Canadian athlete Bruce Kidd. Auden spoke the commentary for the black-and-white documentary, which follows Kidd training on the streets of Toronto.

Full title:: WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN: notebook of poetry and prose; c. 1946-1965
Created:: c. 1946–65
Format:: Manuscript / Notebook / Draft
Language:: English
Creator:: W H Auden
Usage terms: © Copyright by the Estate of W. H. Auden. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. Please credit the copyright holder when reusing this work.
Held by: British Library
Shelfmark:: Add MS 53772

Full catalogue details

This item is featured in:

Discovering Literature: 20th century

Musee des Beaux Arts', 'Their Lonely Betters' and 'Shield of Achilles'

'Musée des Beaux Arts', 'Their Lonely Betters' and 'The Shield of Achilles'

Article by:: John Sutherland
Theme:: Literature 1900–1950

John Sutherland describes the life of W H Auden and takes a look at three of his poems.

An introduction to 'Stop all the clocks'

Article by:: Seamus Perry
Theme:: Literature 1900–1950

'Funeral Blues', also known as 'Stop all the Clocks', is perhaps now most famous for its recitation in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, but its first audience encountered it as part of a play. Seamus Perry discusses the poem and its place in The Ascent of F6, co-authored by W H Auden and Christopher Isherwood.

An introduction to W H Auden's 'Lullaby'

Article by:: Roz Kaveney
Themes:: Gender and sexuality, Literature 1900–1950, Exploring identity

W H Auden’s 'Lullaby' is an unconventional love poem, celebrating the impermanence and physicality of erotic – and implicitly homosexual – love. Roz Kaveney places the poem in the context of Auden’s life and times.