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
