W. H. Auden
(1907–1973)

Although he was influenced by Modernist poets, Wystan Hugh Auden managed to remain his own person. He adopted those aspects of Modernism with which he felt comfortable, while at the same time maintaining many elements of traditional poetry. Throughout his career he wrote with insight into the plight of people struggling to preserve their individuality in an increasingly conformist society.

Auden was born in York, England, and attended Oxford University. In 1930 he published his first collection of poetry, Poems. At about the same time, he became very active in politics. He spoke out about the plight of the poor in England and against the emergence of Nazism in Germany. He actively supported the Republicans who were fighting against the Fascists in the Spanish Civil War. He also used his talents as a poet to express his political beliefs. As a result, many of his early poems focused on political issues.

In 1939, Auden moved to the United States, and in 1946 he became an American citizen. At the time of his move, he rediscovered his Christian beliefs, which grew increasingly stronger during his later years. He expressed his beliefs in Double Man (1941) and For the Times Being (1944), depicting religion as an effective way of coping with the disjointedness of modern society. In The Age of Anxiety (1947), a long narrative poem which earned him a Pulitzer Prize, he explored the confusion and isolation associated with post-World War II life. He went on to publish several more volumes of poetry—Clio (1960), About the House (1967), and City Without Walls (1970)—and he also produced a large body of literary criticism.

Despite being comforted by his religious beliefs, Auden became increasingly disillusioned with the modern world during his later years. Hoping to find comfort in a university community, he returned to England to teach at Oxford in the late 1950s. Several years later he moved to Austria, where he spent the remainder of his life.

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