Analysis of "The Age of Anxiety" by W.H. Auden
Analysis of "The Age of Anxiety" by W.H. Auden
The themes and ideas in Auden's "The Age of Anxiety" reflect his belief that man's quest for self actualization is in vain.
I. Auden's background A. As a 1930's poet 1. Views of Society 2. Diagnosis of the industrial society B. Major conflicts of his works II. "The Age of Anxiety" overview A. As a quest poem 1. Characters' search for self-actualization 2. Characters' inevitable failure in the quest B. Characters' views on the general situation 1. Their belief to be in Purgatory when they are allegorically in Hell 2. Their disbelief in impossibility III. "The Age of Anxiety" character analysis A. Quant B. Malin C. Rosetta D. Emble IV. Part I A. Commonly called "Prologue" B. Introduces scene and characters C. Characters think aloud to reveal their nature 1. Quant views himself with false admiration 2. Malin examines the theoretical nature of man 3. Rosetta endeavors to create an imaginary and happy past 4. Emble passes his youthful judgment on the others' follies V. First act of Part II, "The Seven Ages" A. Malin's domination of this act 1. Serves as a guide 2. Controls the characters through his introduction of each age B. Others support Malin's theories by drawing from past, present, and potential future experiences C. The ages 1. The first age a. Malin asks the reader to "Behold the infant" b. Child is "helpless in cradle and / Righteous still" but already has a "Dread in his dreams" 2. The second age a. Youth, as Malin describes it b. Age at which man realizes "his life-bet with a lying self" c. Naive belief in self and place in life is boundless d. It is the age of belief in the possibility of a future 3. The third age a. The sexual awakening b. Distinction
The themes and ideas in Auden's "The Age of Anxiety" reflect his belief that man's quest for self actualization is in vain.
I. Auden's background A. As a 1930's poet 1. Views of Society 2. Diagnosis of the industrial society B. Major conflicts of his works II. "The Age of Anxiety" overview A. As a quest poem 1. Characters' search for self-actualization 2. Characters' inevitable failure in the quest B. Characters' views on the general situation 1. Their belief to be in Purgatory when they are allegorically in Hell 2. Their disbelief in impossibility III. "The Age of Anxiety" character analysis A. Quant B. Malin C. Rosetta D. Emble IV. Part I A. Commonly called "Prologue" B. Introduces scene and characters C. Characters think aloud to reveal their nature 1. Quant views himself with false admiration 2. Malin examines the theoretical nature of man 3. Rosetta endeavors to create an imaginary and happy past 4. Emble passes his youthful judgment on the others' follies V. First act of Part II, "The Seven Ages" A. Malin's domination of this act 1. Serves as a guide 2. Controls the characters through his introduction of each age B. Others support Malin's theories by drawing from past, present, and potential future experiences C. The ages 1. The first age a. Malin asks the reader to "Behold the infant" b. Child is "helpless in cradle and / Righteous still" but already has a "Dread in his dreams" 2. The second age a. Youth, as Malin describes it b. Age at which man realizes "his life-bet with a lying self" c. Naive belief in self and place in life is boundless d. It is the age of belief in the possibility of a future 3. The third age a. The sexual awakening b. Distinction
Cited: Altick, Richard D. "Lives and Letters". New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1969. Auden, W. H.. "19th Century British Minor Poets". New York: Delacorte Press, 1966. ----. "City Without Walls and Other Poems". New York: Random House, 1969. ----. "Secondary Worlds". New York: Random House, 1968. Bahlke, George W., ed. "Critical Essays on W. H. Auden". New York: G. K. Hall & Co., 1991. Barrows, Marjorie Wescott, ed., et al. "The American Experience: Poetry". New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1974. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1942. Magill, Frank N., ed.. "Critical Survey of Poetry". Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Salem Press, 1982.