Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "A.E. Housman," W.H. Auden gives a brief biographical and psychological portrait of the English classical scholar and poet Alfred Edward Housman, best known for his collection of poems "A Shropshire Lad." The poem reflects on Housman's life, his work, and the emotional struggles that influenced his writing.

"No one, not even Cambridge was to blame / (Blame if you like the human situation)" -- Here, Auden suggests that the struggles and hardships Housman faced in life cannot be attributed to any particular individual or institution, such as Cambridge where Housman studied and taught. If blame needs to be assigned, Auden seems to suggest it is the human condition itself, fraught with challenges and suffering.

"Heart-injured in North London, he became / The Latin Scholar of his generation" -- This likely refers to Housman's unrequited love for Moses Jackson, whom he met while studying at Oxford. This heartbreak, Auden suggests, pushed Housman into his scholarly pursuits.

"Deliberately he chose the dry-as-dust, / Kept tears like dirty postcards in a drawer" -- Auden refers to Housman's choice to focus on his academic pursuits, keeping his emotional life hidden and repressed.

"Food was his public love, his private lust / Something to do with violence and the poor" -- Auden alludes to Housman's reputation for enjoying food and dining in public, while his private passions (possibly his closeted homosexuality) remain hidden.

"In savage foot-notes on unjust editions / He timidly attacked the life he led" -- Auden suggests that Housman used his scholarly writing, including critical footnotes on editions of classical texts, as a way to indirectly critique or express dissatisfaction with his own life.

"The uncritical relations of the dead, / Where only geographical divisions / Parted the coarse hanged soldier from the don" -- This refers to the democratic nature of death, where social divisions cease to matter. Housman wrote extensively on themes of death and loss in his poetry. The coarse hanged soldier could refer to the doomed, common characters in Housman's poetry, and the 'don' is a British term for a university teacher, particularly one who is senior, hence referring to Housman himself.

In all, this poem paints a picture of A.E. Housman as a man who faced emotional challenges, particularly due to his repressed homosexual feelings in a time where such feelings were socially unacceptable. These struggles seem to have informed his scholarship and his own poetry, as indicated by Auden's observations.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...