Memorial for the City (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: W. H. Auden
- First Published: 1949
- Type of Work: Elegy/meditation
- Genres: Poetry, Elegy, Meditation
- Subjects: History, Nature, Europe or Europeans, Religion, Paris, Spiritual life or spirituality, War, Christianity, Cities or towns
The Poem
“Memorial for the City” is a four-part meditation of 147 lines dedicated to the memory of Charles Williams, the English Christian theologian who died in 1945. The “City” of the title is all cities as they aspire to become “the City of God,” as in the epigram quoted from Juliana of Norwich (c. 1342-1420).
Part 1 takes the view of a crow alternating with the lens of a camera; neither the animal nor the machine recognizes a spiritual dimension. Their view is that of Homer (c. eighth century b.c.e.), who narrated a world without the “meaning” of...
[The entire page is 1459 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
See Also
