National Poetry Month: Epitaph on a Tyrant

[brigdh]

Epitaph on a Tyrant by W. H. Auden

Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after
And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;
He knew human folly like the back of his hand,
And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;
When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,
And when he cried the little children died in the streets.

Comments

[cellophane_ria.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. I never know if it's the power of that poem that gets me, or the fact that I used to read Auden in English way back when I was fourteen and really didn't know English good enough to actually understand him, but tried anyway...

the poetry he invented was easy to understand
...

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I really do love this one. I'm glad other people do as well.

[kessie.livejournal.com]

This is... this is like a polite, charming punch to the gut.

I think, in a way, this is the kind of character I've been trying for years to create: not good, not evil, charming, polite, caring, ruthless, and utterly fucked up. Haven't quite reached it yet, though I suspect my Cheshire Cat-based character is the closest I've come.

(Also, happy belated birthday. \o/)

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

Heh, that's a great way to describe it. It really is a fascinating portrait of a specific type of person, and done in such a short poem!

(Yay, thank you!)

[kessie.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely. I'd forgotten that I do love some of Auden's poetry. I need to go and refamiliarise myself with it again.