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Comment 9 of 29, added on May 15th, 2005 at 12:38 PM.
Lily boy is an English Folk figure of "light-hearted fun". A Roaer is a teenage thug, so bascially Auden is saying that even the good iconic figure of the British will turn bad within time. That time has the power over all.
qweer from United States
Comment 8 of 29, added on May 14th, 2005 at 10:34 PM.
"'O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
and wonder what you've missed.
'The glacier knocks in the cupboaord,
The desert sighs in the bed,
and the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead."
In the lover's old age, their domestic world would be tainted with lifelessness (glacier, desert).
I am confused, though, by the following stanza:
"Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back."
I am clueless to whom the 'Lilly-white Boy' stands for and his choice of capitalization is incomprehensible to me.
LeFaive from United States
Comment 7 of 29, added on May 7th, 2005 at 3:54 PM.
What I see in this poem is the persistence, and the blindness of love. Totally heedless of the inexorable rush of time, these lovers profess their eternal bond. It's easy to see the destruction wreaked by time following their profession, but it's not so simple. After laying low heroes, beggars, buildings and mother nature herself, love is still standing, albeit crookedly.
Tyce Velde from United States
Comment 6 of 29, added on February 7th, 2005 at 10:14 AM.
As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.
And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
'Love has no ending.
'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
'I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.
'The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world.'
But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.
'In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.
'In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.
'Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.
'O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.
'The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.
'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.
'O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.
'O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.'
It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.
Kristi from United States
Comment 5 of 29, added on January 22nd, 2005 at 11:46 PM.
This poem is describing the continuity of time, and that time is the only thing which is constant. This contrasts the brevity of love and the crooked way in which lovers see. Everyone is crooked by the simple fact that they are so narrow-sighted in their perspective on life.
Silver Moon
Comment 4 of 29, added on January 22nd, 2005 at 11:22 PM.
Born Stinger- An analysis of the poem can't be correct unless the full poem is read.
The poem speaks of the ignorance of lovers, thus the obsurd song of the lover, speaking of salmon singing, etc. It goes on to explain that time is the enemy of us all, and though lovers are ignorant and do not realize it, Time will be the ruin of their fantasies of love, just as Time ruins all things.
Cate Greve from United States
Comment 3 of 29, added on November 8th, 2004 at 12:00 PM.
[quote]
the crowds upon the pavement. were fields of harvest wheat. and down my the brimming river. I Heard a lover sing. under an arch of the railway. "love has ending. i'll love you dear,ill love you till china and africa meet, and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street. I'll love you till the ocean is folded and hung up to dry. and the seven stars go squawking like geese about th sky. the year shall run like rabbits for in my arams i hold the flower of the ages, and the frirst love of the world."
[unquote]
The poem speaks of a young lover on a bridge watching the world go by on a normal day while he himself fantasizes about his love. He is day-dreaming. The poet in the narrator who subtly draws to the readers notice the stark irony between the two situations. While the world continues its dreary existence. To quote the poet: 'the crowds upon the pavement. were fields of harvest wheat' - meaning the sun was shining so brightly that people were as cooked as harvest wheat, i.e. ready to fall) and yet the lover is so involved in his fantasizing about his love that he barely notices the pain of the others. He describes his love in emphatically floral terms. [quote - all the lovers statements] oblivious to the goings-on around him.
This poem draws out the irony between two schools of thought that are prdominantly seen in this world at all stages (and ages!) of life. One full of innocence (often mistaken for carelessness) and the other practicality (often mistaken, for pessimism or over-cautiousness). The poets presents these two views and the reader is left but to marvel at the subtlety of the poet in bringing these two viewpoints so perfectly together.
Though I haven't read the rest of the poem, apart from what you posted here, I definitely would like to read it.
Thank you.
Born Stinger
Born Stinger from India
Comment 2 of 29, added on November 7th, 2004 at 6:26 PM.
the crowds upon the pavement. were fields of harvest wheat. and down my the brimming river. I Heard a lover sing. under an arch of the railway. "love has ending. i'll love you dear,ill love you till china and africa meet, and the river jumps over the mountain and the salmon sing in the street. I'll love you till the ocean is folded and hung up to dry. and the seven stars go squawking like geese about th sky. the year shall run like rabbits for in my arams i hold the flower of the ages, and the frirst love of the world."
Toya Robinson from United States
Comment 1 of 29, added on November 7th, 2004 at 6:08 PM.
am trying to understand the poem but it is confussing me. what done the whole thing mean. can you please tell me.
Toya Robinson from United States
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Lily boy is an English Folk figure of "light-hearted fun". A Roaer is a teenage thug, so bascially Auden is saying that even the good iconic figure of the British will turn bad within time. That time has the power over all.
qweer from United States