W. H. Auden
British-American poet noted for stylistic and technical achievement across political, moral, love, and religious themes.
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Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) was a poet who held both British and American citizenship. His work is known for its technical skill and stylistic range, tackling politics, morality, love, and religion with shifting tones and forms. Among his most famous pieces are the love poem "Funeral Blues," the politically charged "September 1, 1939" and "The Shield of Achilles," the cultural and psychological long poem *The Age of Anxiety*, and the religious works "For the Time Being" and "Horae Canonicae." He first gained widespread notice in 1930 with his debut collection, *Poems*.
Born in York, Auden grew up in and around Birmingham in a professional, middle-class home. He attended several English independent schools and studied English at Christ Church, Oxford. After a short stay in Berlin from 1928 to 1929, he taught at British private preparatory schools for five years. In 1939 he relocated to the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1946 while keeping his British citizenship. He taught at American universities from 1941 to 1945 and later held occasional visiting professorships in the 1950s.
His early reputation as a left-wing political writer was cemented by three plays co-written with Christopher Isherwood between 1935 and 1938. Auden moved to the United States partly to escape that label, and his work from the 1940s—including the long poems "For the Time Being" and "The Sea and the Mirror"—turned toward religious themes. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1947 for *The Age of Anxiety*, whose title became a common phrase for the modern era. From 1956 to 1961 he served as Professor of Poetry at Oxford, where his lectures were well received and later formed the basis of his 1962 prose collection *The Dyer's Hand*.
Auden wrote prolifically as an essayist and reviewer on literary, political, psychological, and religious topics, and he also worked on documentary films, poetic plays, and other performance forms. Throughout his career he was both controversial and influential. Critical opinions varied sharply: some dismissed him as lesser than W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot, while others, like Joseph Brodsky, called him "the greatest mind of the twentieth century." After his death, his poems reached an even broader audience through films, broadcasts, and popular media.
Auden was the third of three sons born to a physician father and a mother who trained as a missionary nurse. His family were minor gentry with a strong clerical background, and he grew up in an Anglo-Catholic household. He traced his love of music and language to church services and believed he was of Icelandic descent, a fascination that appears in his work. His father’s library sparked his lifelong interest in psychoanalysis. From age eight he attended boarding schools, and the Pennine landscape—especially the decaying mining village of Rookhope—became a "sacred landscape" in his poetry. Until fifteen he planned to be a mining engineer, but his passion for words overtook him.
At St Edmund’s School he met Christopher Isherwood. At thirteen he entered Gresham’s School, where in 1922 a friend’s question about whether he wrote poetry made him realize his vocation. Around the same time, he gradually lost his religious faith. He performed in school Shakespeare productions, playing Katherina in *The Taming of the Shrew* and Caliban in *The Tempest*. His first published poems appeared in the school magazine in 1923. At Oxford, he began studying biology on a scholarship but switched to English, where J. R. R. Tolkien introduced him to Old English poetry. There he befriended Cecil Day-Lewis, Louis MacNeice, and Stephen Spender, who were later grouped—somewhat misleadingly—as the "Auden Group" for their left-wing leanings. He left Oxford in 1928 with a third-class degree. He reconnected with Isherwood in 1925 and for years sent him poems for feedback; the two also had a sexual relationship.
- born
- 21 February 1907, York, England
- died
- 29 September 1973
- field
- Poetry
- nationality
- British-American
- known_for
- Poems including 'Funeral Blues', 'September 1, 1939', 'The Shield of Achilles',
Verified Timeline
Quick Facts
- Birth Name
- Wystan Hugh Auden
- Birth Date
- 1907-02-21
- Birth Place
- York, England
- Death Date
- 1973-09-29
- Death Place
- Vienna, Austria
- Residence
- York, Birmingham, Oxford (UK); Berlin (Germany); Helensburgh, Colwall, London (UK); New York City, Ann Arbor, Swarthmore (US); Ischia (Italy); Kirchstetten (Austria); Oxford (UK) -->
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom · United States (from 1946)
- Education
- Christ Church, Oxford (MA)
- Occupation
- Poet
- Spouse
- Erika Mann · 1935 · reason=of convenience
- Language
- English
- Relatives
- George Augustus Auden (father) · Constance Rosalie Bicknell Auden (mother) · John Bicknell Auden (brother) · George Bernard Auden (brother)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Auden was born at 54 Bootham, York, on 21 February 1907, the third of three sons. His father was a physician, his mother had trained as a missionary nurse. He grew up in an Anglo-Catholic household. At thirteen he went to Gresham's School in Holt, Norfolk; there, in 1922, when his friend Robert Medley asked him if he wrote poetry, Auden first realised his vocation was to be a poet. Soon after, he discovered he had lost his faith. In 1925 he went up to Christ Church, Oxford, with a scholarship in biology; he changed to English by his second year, and was introduced to Old English poetry through the lectures of J. R. R. Tolkien. He left Oxford in 1928 with a third-class degree. In late 1928, Auden left Britain for nine months, going to Berlin. In Berlin, he first experienced the political and economic unrest that became one of his central subjects. On returning in 1929 he worked briefly as a tutor. In 1930 his first published book, Poems (1930), was accepted by T. S. Eliot for Faber & Faber. From 1930 to 1935 he taught in British private preparatory schools: two years at the Larchfield Academy in Helensburgh, Scotland, then three years at the Downs School in the Malvern Hills. At the Downs, in June 1933, he experienced what he later described as a "Vision of Agape", which he said later influenced his decision to return to the Anglican Church in 1940. In 1935 Auden married Erika Mann, the novelist daughter of Thomas Mann, in a marriage of convenience so she could become a British subject. From 1935 until he left Britain early in 1939, Auden worked as freelance reviewer, essayist, and lecturer, first with the GPO Film Unit. Through his work for the Film Unit in 1935 he met and collaborated with Benjamin Britten. In 1936, Auden spent three months in Iceland where he gathered material for a travel book Letters from Iceland (1937), written with Louis MacNeice. In 1937, he went to Spain intending to drive an ambulance for the Republican side.
Reader's Guide
Auden came to wide public attention in 1930 with his first book, Poems; it was followed in 1932 by The Orators. Three plays written in collaboration with Christopher Isherwood between 1935 and 1938 built his reputation as a left-wing political writer. Auden moved to the United States in 1939 partly to escape this reputation, and his work in the 1940s, including the long poems "For the Time Being" and "The Sea and the Mirror", focused on religious themes. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1947 long poem The Age of Anxiety, the title of which became a popular phrase describing the modern era. From 1956 to 1961, he was Professor of Poetry at Oxford; his lectures were popular with students and faculty and served as the basis for his 1962 prose collection The Dyer's Hand. Auden was a prolific writer of prose essays and reviews on literary, political, psychological, and religious subjects, and he worked at various times on documentary films, poetic plays, and other forms of performance. Throughout his career he was both controversial and influential. Critical views on his work ranged from sharply dismissive (treating him as a lesser figure than W. B. Yeats and T. S. Eliot) to strongly affirmative (as in Joseph Brodsky's statement that he had "the greatest mind of the twentieth century"). After his death, his poems became known to a much wider public through films, broadcasts, and popular media.
Did You Know?
- Auden first realised his vocation to be a poet in 1922 when his friend Robert Medley asked him if he wrote poetry.
- He was introduced to Old English poetry through the lectures of J. R. R. Tolkien at Oxford.
- In June 1933, Auden experienced a 'Vision of Agape' while sitting with three fellow teachers at the Downs School, which later influenced his return to the Anglican Church.
- In 1935, Auden married Erika Mann in a marriage of convenience so she could become a British subject and escape Nazi Germany.
- Auden won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1947 long poem The Age of Anxiety, whose title became a popular phrase describing the modern era.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is W. H. Auden?
Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) was a British-American poet celebrated for his technical mastery and his willingness to wrestle with politics, love, religion, and moral questions in verse. Born in York, England, he later became a U.S. citizen, making him a distinctly transatlantic literary figure.
What are W. H. Auden's most famous poems?
His best-known works include "Funeral Blues," "September 1, 1939," "The Shield of Achilles," and the long dramatic monologue "The Age of Anxiety." These pieces span his career and showcase his range from intimate grief to sweeping political commentary.
Why is W. H. Auden considered important to 20th-century poetry?
Auden bridged the gap between high modernist experimentation and accessible, publicly engaged verse, influencing generations of poets who wanted to write about the world without sacrificing craft. His work stayed controversial and widely read from the 1930s through the 1970s and well beyond.
What themes does W. H. Auden explore in his poetry?
His poems consistently grapple with political upheaval, personal love and loss, religious doubt, and moral responsibility in a rapidly changing world. He moved fluidly between lyric intimacy and broad social commentary, often within the same collection.
How did W. H. Auden's life and career unfold?
Born in York in 1907, Auden emigrated to the United States in the late 1930s, became a U.S. citizen, and held academic posts there for the rest of his life. He died in New York City on 29 September 1973, leaving a body of work that remains central to modern poetry curricula.
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