A Note on W.H. Auden’s Poem “The Managers”

 

                         

                  

 

In this poem “Managers” (1948), W. H. Auden contrasts the lavish and luxurious life of ancient kings with the banality and convention-bound life of so-called modern tyrants designated as “Managers”. This poem was written in post-war period when a new class of workers, the professional corporate managers, were emerging. The new corporate bureaucracies mirror the military structures that had effectively managed the war efforts. Just like in military, in these new organization structures, employees lost their identities and became mere numbers. Auden, in this poem, wants to remind that these workers are not mere numbers but have their own faces. As Auden said;” The mere making of a work of art is itself a political act”. “It reminds the management … that the managers are people with faces, not anonymous numbers.”  

According to Auden the hero of modern poetry is “the man or woman in any walk of life who … manages to acquire and preserve a face of his own”. This poem is a snapshot “of men working too hard in rooms that are too big.” Auden wrote this poem in free verse using apt language tinged with sarcasm and realistic approach. The whole poem is a juxtaposition between the dictatorial approach of ancient kings and the too much restricted and slavish condition of modern bureaucrats who are not at all happy and free but slog on just to show off their status and position in the society.

 

In the first fifteen lines the poet portrays the ample freedom and authority enjoyed in past by those in power. The ancient kings lived a luxurious life in palaces with huge meals in the company of girls and had scope to acquire more knowledge. They rode on horses or were carried uphill in palanquins. For them to rule was a pleasure. Nobody questioned their decisions and judgements. It is as easy for them to write a death sentence on the back of a card and continue playing with a new set of cards. In ancient times there were great heroes, saints, philosophers, poets and diplomats. The poet refers to the famous painting of Francesco Bianchi Ferraris who painted the picture of Arion riding on a dolphin in 1509-1510 inspired by Ovid’s poem “Fasti”. The ancient kings behaved with absolute authority like Caesars enjoying and drinking with their friends.

 In contrast, the present day managers work too hard confined in spacious rooms and are reduced to mere figureheads without any power and freedom to act. They have a meagre lunch of sandwiches served at their tables which they hurriedly swallow without having enough time to eat; they are busy going through their papers which need a couple of secretaries to file. They are surrounded by so many problems that no smiling face can reduce their stress and tensions. Unlike ancient rulers they are not free to express their views and opinions openly. They sweat in the heat holding discussions on frivolous matters amidst the cluttering noise of type-writers that never stop but “whirr like grasshoppers in summer heat.” They have no time to notice the sweet smell of flowers that drift” from woods unaltered by our wars and our vows.”

 They have no time to listen to the songs of birds which do not care to vote. They have no time to notice the distinguishing marks of lovers by instinct. Ironically the police are trained to observe such lovely couples. The modern managers are busy with their work sitting with bent heads late into the night unmoved “like a god or disease.” They feel tired and weak and at the same time try to blame others for their desperate condition. Still, they show off their high status and position before “the bow of the chef or the glance of a ballet dancer.” They work hard not because they love their profession or have the ambition of growing rich. It is a necessary risk testing their skills and placing them in difficult situations. It is as risky and difficult as performing a surgery or carving a sculpture. But still, they crave to be in high position under the false impression that they belong to a select prestigious cadre and are above the common crowd and are safe and immune from any disaster. Their heavy gait and careworn faces do not deserve any sympathy and they do not thank others who show sympathy towards them. 

 

Thus, in his poems Auden compares the ordinary work life in 1948 to that of being an insect or cog in the larger machinery of administration. The workers are deprived of their individual identity and reduced to mere anonymous figures. This type of dull institutional system strips life of poetry and grandeur. Auden tried to interpret the times and diagnose the ills of the society and deal with intellectual and moral problems of the society. He tried to analyse and comprehend the individual life in relation to the society and the human condition in general. He expressed his dislike for the Government which imposed too many complicated rules to curtail the freedom of the average person and his suspicion of science without human feeling and confirmed his faith in a Christian God. During the war time, Auden was regarded as the leading spokesman of his generation and as a political writer warning against the dangers of totalitarianism.

We find in his writings, a detached attitude with ironic observation and a discursive style that could accommodate the language of prose and the concerns of science. Just like modern poets Auden favoured concrete imagery and free verse though employed a great variety of intricate and extremely difficult technical forms. His highly regarded skill is that he thinks in terms of both symbols and reality at the same time. He always used language that was interesting in texture as well as brilliant verbally. According to Austin Clarke, Auden was “liberal, democratic and humane.” Monroe K. Spears in his first systematic critical account “The poetry of Auden: The disenchanted Island” (1963) stated that Auden’s poetry can offer the reader “entertainment, instruction, intellectual excitement and a prodigal variety of aesthetic pleasures, all in a generous abundance that is unique in our time.” While British critics treated his early work as his best, American critics favoured his middle and later work as more worthy and significant.  “Overall, Auden’s poetry was noted for its stylistic achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, religion and its variety in tone, form and content.

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            31st October, 2021                     Somaseshu Gutala

PLAY THY PART

                     

                           

                                         

                               

1)   A floating miracle assuming myriad forms

       So flexible, so smooth and calm

       Cheering so many eyes with her charm

       So shines thy pliant nature friendly and warm.

 

2)     The purling stream by the mountain side

         So gracefully through pebbles glide

         Unhindered by boulders flows beside

         Just like thee taking everything in her stride.

3)     The whirling western wind from cloudy height

         Shaking mighty trees with lashing might

         Carpeting the ground with leaves fallen with fright

         Reminds me thy vibrant attitude bright. 

 

4)     The laughing lilies on blue misty hills

         Makes our hearts throb with fragrant thrill

        Our feelings swell and flow like mountain rill

         Likewise, your smiles with joy our bosoms fill.

 

5)      When the tree with so many fruits abound

          Shakes herself free a load of apples red and round

          A heap of rubies ripe shining on the ground

          Reflects thee who in giving true joy found.

 

6)      Like the bird flying through gloomy clouds and gales

          With colourful wings unfazed over the vales;

          As her voice echoes a melodious merry tale;

          Likewise, your efforts move, not stagnant and stale. 

 

7.       Like the coloured spectrum of rainbow in the sky 

          Like the shimmering glow of butter-flies

          Like the blooming lotus blossoms at sunrise

          Make me happy to see thy growth mature and wise.

 

8)      So many pretty things flash before my mind

         To speak about you, so liberal and kind;

         In simple ways immense pleasure, you find

         You play your part with zest that God assigned. 

   

  (With many, many best wishes to my daughter, Sri, on her birthday) 

  16th October, 2021                Somaseshu Gutala   

A NOTE ON W.H. AUDEN’S POEM “NIGHT MAIL”

 

                           

 

Wynstan Hugh Auden (1907-1973) was a versatile personality who brought significant changes with socialist fervour in the field of arts and made innovative changes in style, content and tone. He participated actively in the fields of politics, morals, love and religion. As an important member of the “Oxford group” he rejected the traditional poetic forms of Victorian writers and was influenced by literary modern writers like T.S.Eliot. All his works are noted for their humanitarian content, democratic spirit and technical innovation in literary forms.

 This poem was written in 1936 to accompany the documentary film of the same name. The film is concerned with a London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) mail train travelling from London to Scotland. It was produced by the GPO  to publicize the work of the British general Post Office. This film was directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright and was narrated by John Grierson and Stuart Legg. Some of the lines of the poem were cut and changed to fit the film. The basic intent of the film was to reveal how the mail was distributed all over cities and villages by the train. The rhythm of the film matches the train’s movement and a sense of dreamy loneliness pervades much of it. Auden’s poem was read in the closing few minutes of the documentary film. This poem was set to music by Auden’s friend, Benjamin Bretten.

 In this poem, the train is personified as a person who travels crossing many hurdles and reaches her destination on time. She passes through grasslands, cotton fields, rocky terrain and industrial townships. The night mail carries mail across the country by night. Here the “blank-faced coaches” refers to compartments carrying no passengers. She shovels white steam over her shoulder as she moves forward.

 In spite of her fast rhythmic movement, the night mail did not disturb the sleeping people who were dreaming about news about war and letters from their dear people. The poet shows the train as a socialist symbol transcending the barriers of social status and rank. The train crosses the borders overnight bringing letters, cheques, and orders for both the rich and the poor. Though the way is steep she moves with steady speed and arrives at the destination on time. She noisily passes through the silent miles of grasslands. Birds peer at her and sheep dogs cannot alter her course. The dwellers sleep on undisturbed by the passing train while the jug gently shakes due to vibrations caused by the train. 

In the dawn she descends into Glasgow. There she heads towards dark furnaces set up like “gigantic chessmen”. All of Scotland eagerly crave for her arrival for men want news and letters from their near and dear. She carries many letters of different sorts and for all people such as receipts, invitations, applications, declarations of love, gossip from around the world and news both “circumstantial” and “financial”. She also brings personal letters from family members, letters with doodles in the margins, letters from all over Europe, letters of condolences all written on papers of every color imaginable. The letters have all tones and styles such as chatty, friendly, cold, boring, clever, stupid, long and short. Some are typed, some are printed and some are misspelled. Thousands still sleep dreaming night mares. They are asleep in Glasgow and Edinburgh. They dream on but they hope that when they wake up, they will have letters. The line “And none will hear the postman’s knock/Without a quickening of the heart’) refers to their intense desire to know that they are remembered by someone else as the mail comes. Their hearts will pound when they hear the knock of the postman on their doors since “Who can bear to feel himself to be forgotten?”

  

 This is a twelve- stanza poem that is divided into stanzas of varying length.  The first part of the poem is made of eight four-beat rhymed couplets to echo the rhythm of the running train. The second section of the poem describes the train’s descent into Scotland. The landscape has a touch of industrial township with dark furnaces. Stanza nine has eight lines, stanza ten has nineteen lines, stanza eleven has three lines and stanza twelve ends with seven lines. This poem is written as a conclusion to a film about the delivery of the mail. The meter of the poem resembles that of a moving train down the tracks. It is very steady, builds up speed and at the end slows down. The second section has eight lines with irregular meter. Scotland was eager to hear about war news as Hitler was becoming increasingly aggressive. In the third section the excitement of the crowd receiving all the letters is described though most of them were asleep when the train was passing by. Auden realistically shows the vast array of things sent by post. People are knit together by this correspondence, no matter how trivial the mail might seem. The diversity of people and communications is mirrored by the kinds of paper” of every hue/the pink, the violet, the white and the blue." 

In the final section Auden depicts local people asleep in their warm beds dreaming of local things and monsters. Soon they will be awake and eager to know about the mail they would get. The end of the poem asks “after all, who can bear to feel himself forgotten?” This poem celebrates human connections and sweet, memorable relationships. The poet viewed the night mail as a socialist symbol which serves all transcending the barriers of race, rank and status. The train is personified as a calm, methodical and kind being who is always on tome despite “the steady climb” as she barely disturbs the countryside.

The poet also used many figures of speech to enhance the effect of the moving train in keeping with her movement. The repetition of word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines in succession (Anaphora) is seen in this poem to create emphasis. (“Letters for the rich, letters for the poor”) and (“Letters of thanks, letters from the banks / “Letters of joy from the girl and the boy”). A list of phrases, items or actions may be mentioned. The repetition of initial consonant at the beginning of words (Alliteration) is seen words like “birds, bushes, blank-faced”. The use of sibilance (alliteration of soft vowels such as “s” and “sh” to create a prolonged hissing and rushing sound. (“Shovelling white steam over her shoulders/Snorting noisily as she passes”). The use of enjambment (run-on lines) is used to show the smooth movement of the train. (“Down towards Glasgow she descends/Towards the steam tugs yelping down the glades of cranes). The use of repetition for giving emphasis is seen (“Letters with holiday snaps to enlarge in/Lines with faces scrawled in the margin/Letters from the uncles, cousins, and aunts/ “Letters to Scotland from the south of France/” Letters of condolence to Highlands and Lowlands”).

 The whole poem is the personification of the train as a brave lady moving forward with steady movement and perseverance facing many hurdles with a sense of determination. In the sentence “she snorts noisily as she passes by the wild bent grass” the train is personified as an animal. This poem is a fitting conclusion to the documentary film which highlights the services provided by the Railway and the Postal departments.

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  (Dedicated with humble regards to Sri (Late) Y.N.Sastri, the Saviour of Railway Pensioners and who did yeoman service for protecting the rights of pensioners at national level.).  He worked as Chief Controller in Secunderabad and after retirement in the capacity of President for All India Retd. Railwaymen Federation, he rendered invaluable and commendable service for pensioners for nearly thirty years. He was a born leader. an orator,  a writer and an actor. To quote, he was " a multi-faceted personality with a zeal for pensioners' welfare, social, cultural and sports activities; above all a trade union leader and a freedom fighter with leadership talent. A leader of conviction, devotion to duty and determination combined with a high degree of knowledge and vast experience." 

I humbly dedicate this essay to him since like the "Night Mail" in Auden's poem, he stands for dynamic nature, courage to overcome difficulties and selfless service with timely action and straightforward nature without any inhibitions.

           

      9th October, 2021                                   Somaseshu Gutala