routledge+history+of+literature+in+english

376 The twentieth century: 1900–45
But he also saw a struggle between opposing moral and psychological
forces, with one side representing negative feelings and the other side a
positive democracy of feeling which is at the heart of all humane action:
Madrid is the heart. Our moments of tenderness blossom
As the ambulance and the sandbag;
Our hours of friendship into a people’s army.
This poetry is noticeably different from the poetry of the 1920s. Eliot’s
poetry explores a private condition; Auden’s poetry explores a more public
situation. Eliot is searching primarily for spiritual solutions; Auden is stressing
that our private worlds cannot be separated from social and political contexts.
T.S. Eliot uses form and language to embody the confusions and complexities
of individual identity in the modern world. As a result, his poetry is often
obscure and difficult. W.H. Auden during this period uses form and language
to communicate a more social perspective on the modern world. As a
result, his poetry is more accessible and more popular. However, both
Auden and Eliot share the same poetic quest for a meaning to life amidst
images of a contemporary world which fail to form a coherent whole.
Although W.H. Auden’s poetic voice was powerful and influential
throughout the 1930s, many other writers responded to the events of
that decade with equal energy and commitment. They also considered
‘this’ and ‘in our time’, and their writing fused the private and public
worlds, attempting to win a wider readership.
A number of these poets were called the Auden Group because
they developed a style and viewpoint similar to W.H. Auden. The
most important members of this group were Louis MacNeice, C. Day
Lewis and Stephen Spender. Their poetry is diverse but there is again
a focus on social themes and on a use of clear, ordinary language and
popular forms. In this extract by Day Lewis, from a Song for the child
of poor parents, one aim is to awaken greater social awareness:
The stars in the bright sky
Look down and are dumb
At the heir of the ages
Asleep in a slum
Thy mother is crying,