Copyright 2009 Zanichelli editore S.p.a. Marina Spiazzi, Marina
Tavella, Only Connect New Directions, Terza edizione, vol. 3
90Refugee BluesWystan Hugh Auden
Another Time (1940)
The blues reflects the sadness and the tribulations of the
Afro-Americans on a secular level, as opposed to the Gospel song;
it is a private and personal way in which the anguished one directs
his sorrow into a song and finds happiness in release. The blues is
the philosophical expression of the individual, contemplating his
situation in relation to the conditions surrounding him. The most
charming peculiarity of the blues is its individual character which
makes it unique, and, at the same time, the universality of its
content that can be understood by everybody and is thus collective.
Though composed under the pressure of improvisation, the blues has
a rigid pattern which demands simple diction, repetition and an
elementary rhyme scheme; it is arranged into three lines of verse,
the second line repeating the first, and the third rhyming with the
first two. Written in 1939, this poem employs a modified blues form
to deal with the flight of Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany.
Say this city has ten million souls. Some are living in
mansions, some are living in holes1: Yet theres no place for us, my
dear, yet theres no place for us.
Once we had a country and we thought it fair.5 Look in the
atlas2 and youll find it there: We cannot go there now, my dear, we
cannot go there now.
In the village churchyard there grows an old yew3. Every spring
it blossoms4 anew: Old passports cant do that, my dear, old
passports cant do that.
10 The consul banged the table5 and said. If youve got no
passport youre officially dead: But we are still alive, my dear,
but we are still alive.
Went to a committee: they offered me a chair: Asked me politely
to return next year:15 But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but
where shall we go to-day?
Came to a public meeting: the speaker got up and said: If we let
them in, they will steal our daily bread: He was talking of you and
me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.
Thought I heard the thunder rumbling6 in the sky:20 It was
Hitler over Europe, saying. They must die: O we were in his mind,
my dear. O we were in his mind.
Saw a poodle7 in a jacket fastened with a pin8. Saw a door
opened and a cat let in: But they werent German Jews, my dear, but
they werent German Jews.
25 Went down the harbour9 and stood upon the quay10. Saw the
fish swimming as if they were free: Only ten feet away, my dear,
only ten feet away. Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the
trees:
holes. 1. Buchi.atlas. 2. Atlante.yew. 3. Albero di
tasso.blossoms. 4. Fiorisce.banged the table. 5. Batt il pugno sul
tavolo.the thunder rumbling. 6. Il tuono rombare.poodle. 7. Cane
barboncino.fastened with a pin. 8. Chiusa con uno spillo.harbour.
9. Porto.quay. 10. Banchina, molo.
Copyright 2009 Zanichelli editore S.p.a. Marina Spiazzi, Marina
Tavella, Only Connect New Directions, Terza edizione, vol. 3
They had no politicians and sang at their ease11:30 They werent
the human race, my dear, they werent the human race.
Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors. A thousand
windows and a thousand doors: Not one of them was ours, my dear,
not one of them was ours.
Stood on a great plain12 in the falling snow:35 Ten thousand
soldiers marched to and fro13: Looking for you and me, my dear,
looking for you and me.
text analysisComprehension
1. Read the poem through and write down the identity of the
refugees.
2. Match the various aspects of the refugees situation with the
corresponding stanzas:they are homelessa. they have no passportb.
they are seen as intruders in the country they flee toc. pets are
treated better than they are and enjoy greater freedomd. they are
persecutede.
Structure and Style
3. Point out: 1. the stanza form; 2. the rhyme scheme; 3. the
use of repetition; 4. the presence of a refrain.
4. Focus on the first line of each stanza. Do you notice a
device which is common to almost all of them? What effect does the
poem achieve? Tick as appropriate.
It conveys the idea of improvisation and common speech. (It
gives a glimpse into the social status of the speaker. (It suggests
that the speaker may not be a well-educated person. (
5. Point out images that can be defined as poetic and images
belonging to everyday life. Which prevail?
6. The poem is built up on a series of contrasting images. Write
them down and explain their meaning. (An example has been
provided.)(line 2) mansion / holes = it refers to the gap between
the rich and the poor
7. Though the speaker is a German Jew lamenting the situation of
his people, his words hint at issues having a far more general
relevance. Sum them up.
Contextualization
8. Compare Audens poem with what you know about the classical
form of the blues. What do you think the poets aim was in choosing
such a form?
9. Read Audens life in 10.15. How much of his personal
experience did he put in the poem?
Personal response
10. Who are the refugees nowadays? Does your country experience
this situation directly? Do you agree with the statement in line
17? Discuss with the rest of the class.
11. Look at the painting The Refugees (1941) by the realist
painter Lucian Freud (1922-). How did Freud portray his subjects?
Do you think the picture can be related to the poem you have just
read? If so, how?
at their ease. 11. A loro agio.plain. 12. Pianura.to and fro.
13. Avanti e indietro.
