Early Auden, Later Auden: A Critical Biography

Synopsis

Presented In One Volume For The Very First Time, And Updated With New Archival Discoveries, Early Auden, Later Auden Reintroduces Edward Mendelson's Acclaimed, Two-part Biography Of W.h. Auden (1907-73), One Of The Greatest Literary Figures Of The Twentieth Century. This Book Offers A Detailed History And Interpretation Of Auden's Oeuvre, Spanning The Duration Of His Career From Juvenilia To His Final Works In Poetry As Well As Theatre, Film, Radio, Opera, Essays, And Lectures. Early Auden, Later Auden Begins With Auden's Emigration From England To The United States. The Book Follows The Evolution Of His Thought, Offering A Comparison Of The Poet's Views At Various Junctures Over A Lifetime. With Penetrating Insight, Mendelson Examines Auden's Early Ideas, Methods, And Personal Transitions As Reflected In Poems, Manuscripts And Private Papers. The Book Then Links Changes In Auden's Intellectual, Emotional And Religious Experience With His Shifting Public Role--showing The Depth Of His Personal Struggles With Self And With Fame, And The Means By Which These Internal Conflicts Were Reflected In His Art In Later Years.-- Preface To The One-volume Edition -- Early Auden. Introduction Early Auden -- Part One : The Border And The Group (august 1927-may 1933). The Exiled Word ; The Watershed ; Family Ghosts ; The Evolutionary Defile ; Trickster And Tribe ; Private Places ; Looking For Land -- Part Two : The Two Worlds (june 1933-january 1939). Lucky This Point ; The Great Divide ; The Insufficient Touch ; Their Indifferent Redeemer ; Parables Of Action : 1 ; Parables Of Action : 2 ; History To The Defeated ; From This Island -- Later Auden. Introduction Later Auden -- Part One : Vision And After (1939-1947). Demon Or Gift ; The Vision Enters ; Against The Devourer ; Investigating The Crime ; It Without Image ; Imaginary Saints ; The Absconded Vision ; The Murderous Birth ; Asking For Neighborhood -- Part Two : The Flesh We Are (1948-1957). The Murmurs Of The Body -- Waiting For A City ; The Great Quell ; Number Or Face ; The Altering Storm -- Part Three : Territorial (1958-1973). Poet Of The Encirclement ; The Air Changes ; This Time Final ; The Concluding Carnival -- Postscript. His Secret Life. Edward Mendelson. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.