W. H. Auden's "The Fall of Rome" and "Moon Landing" Analyzed

Introduction: The Amazing Moderns Series

[Jumpstart radio show theme song playing.]

RADIO ANNOUNCER: Good afternoon, girls and boys, guys and gals! This is Boom Bill Bass, a.k.a. Three B, ready to jumpstart your afternoon with my "unofficial" DJ mix and musings about prose and poetry, music and lyrics, and everything in between!

Listen up! This month on Jumpstart, we will be doing a great series called the "Amazing Moderns" — a poetry series showcasing the works of great poets in American literature in the 20th century. If you're wondering what the 20th century means, guys and gals, it's that period before the Millennium — before the "2Ks," meaning 2000 and beyond, got started. We're talking roughly 1900 through the late 1990s.

So what's so special about the 20th century, you ask? It's only the period that produced not only great music, but also great thinkers. It was a time when Man and Machine became a dynamic duo, and real changes started happening all over the world. You had new technologies like television and the atomic bomb, great music from legends like the Beatles, the Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union, Communism, the Watergate Scandal, the Civil Rights Movement — and, of course, the Beatles.

[FX: Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night"]

For more information about your 20th-century history, please contact your friendly History teacher or visit the library.

W. H. Auden: A British-American Poet

So, back to our "Amazing Moderns" poetry series. As a special treat, we'll start with the hardest but coolest one — W. H. Auden. That's Wystan Hugh Auden in full, WH Auden for short. Sounds British, you say? You're right! This remarkable poet — the first we'll feature in our Amazing Moderns series — was actually born in England but eventually became an American citizen. Yes, he's that American poet with the very English-sounding name.

For today's series, we'll be talking about two of his poems that cover important moments in history: "The Fall of Rome," written in the 1940s, and "Moon Landing," written in 1969. So, if you have your phones and laptops ready, let's jumpstart the series. Send me your questions and comments about WH Auden, "The Fall of Rome," or "Moon Landing." We'll be right back, with poetry reading and tweets from our Twitter friends!

[Radio commercial break.]

Analyzing 'The Fall of Rome'

We're back at Jumpstart with Boom Bill Bass, a.k.a. Three B, continuing our new poetry series called the "Amazing Moderns," and we're starting with WH Auden. I'll be doing some poetry reading for the first time, so tweet your comments and let me know what you think!

Let's start with Auden's "The Fall of Rome." Buckle up, guys and gals — hold your breath as I read it.

[Poetry reading of "The Fall of Rome."]

Whew! That was a first for me, dear listeners. So, what do you think about the poem? Let's check out some tweets from our listeners:

Dancecrew77 tweeted: "talks abt d modern & ancient. Rome's ancient disciplines of a noble warrior, Modern US' Marines fightin 4 basics. fall of Rome happens now."

Dancecrew's tweet is one great way to look at and understand Auden's "The Fall of Rome." The message Dancecrew takes from the poem is a comparison between Rome and modern society today — specifically the United States — and how the ancient Roman Empire still mirrors, in many ways, the modern American world. And you're right, Dancecrew: I also think Auden highlights here why, like the great Roman Empire, modernism and modern society seem to have failed humanity.

Auden compares the glorious, disciplined warriors of Rome with the "muscle-bound Marines," who, instead of fighting for their country's honor and security, are left dealing with basic issues such as finding sustainable food and fair pay. Auden goes deep by making references to the Roman Empire — things most of us aren't really familiar with unless you're a history buff or a History teacher. But he makes the poem relatable by illustrating the ordinary: the "muscle-bound Marines," the "unimportant clerk" who writes "I DO NOT LIKE MY WORK / On a pink official form." These are the things we recognize, and they paint a vivid picture of modern American society.

Just like the Roman Empire, Auden illustrates the fall of humanity even in modern times, when glory is replaced by mere "professionalism," and "professionals" are depicted as unfulfilled individuals still fighting for the most basic needs — food and pay.

Conclusion: Auden's Legacy

Auden, W. H. "The Fall of Rome." Poets.org. Available at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15546

Auden, W. H. (1969). "Moon Landing." Available at: http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2009/02/auden-on-moon-landing.html