The Fall of Rome Written by W. H. Auden Hannah Bloor & Maria Jose Garzon-Torres A3 September 27th
Thesis Statement In The Fall of Rome, Auden highlights greed and selfishness to demonstrate one s ability to lead to destruction; Auden demonstrates the irreversible impacts of corruption.
Sense; Tone 1. The piers are pummelled by the waves line 1 The poem shows intense tone. Pummelled is a word that holds a lot of power, and being in the first line of the poem gives it even more. The idea to something industrial like a pier being beaten by the natural sea is scary. This is a metaphor for the pain to come within the poem. 2. Caesar s double-bed is warm line 17 The theme we are look at in this poem is greed and selfishness, and this line shows how that theme gives an uncomforting tone. A double-bed suggest higher class, being very popups and greedy. The description of this large bed of being warm gives the impression of Caesar spending all day in that bed, showing who he would be a rather selfish leader. Not wanting to work to help with the overall success.
Senses; Imagery In a lonely field the rain (2) The title states that this is Rome, which means that it is a ghost territory where people are not involved or caring. Only nature is visible. The rain can be a restriction or imprisonment to citizens due to the effect that it has on one's health. Miles and miles of golden moss (27) A moss is a small flowerless green plant that lacks true roots. This means that even the nature of this place has a lack of identity and it is fragile to touch and power. This moss is not in good shape, healthy moss is green and here it is golden which demonstrates that it is unhealthy and dying.
Style; Irony 1. as an unimportant clerk Writes I DO NOT LIKE MY WORK On a pick official form. lines 18-20 The stylist chose of these lines are evidence of irony due to the historical conflicts. The title of this poem is The Fall of Rome and we talk about a leader named Caesar, these quotations hint to an era of ancient Rome, long before the modern pick official complaint form. 2. Unendowed with wealth or pity, Little birds with scarlet legs, Sitting on their speckled eggs, Eye each flu-infected city. lines 21-24 The watchers described in this stanza are overwhelmingly ironic. The ability to do something about the very administration they complain about. Having wealth which would be able to help the people they have pity for, going as far to say that eye each flu-infected city. Describing the blind eye turned and how it s so sink it s flu-infected.
Structure; Pattern Altogether elsewhere vast Herds of reindeer move across Miles and miles of golden moss, Silently and very fast. (25-28) There is rhyme on every stanza, with the last word of each line. All of the lines start with capital letters. There are seven stanzas, all of the stanzas talk about destruction but each stanza talks about a different factor that contributes to destruction. Stanza #1 describes nature. Stanza #5 describes the mood of the people.
Sound: 1. The temple prostitutes of sleep line 10 First, the sound emphasized in this poem is quite scattered brained. This line shows how the sounds in this poem changed so greatly. Given in a part of the poem that doesn t talk about have a similar feeling. 2. Silently and very fast lines 28 The voice changes drastically, from a laid back down fall to sudden regency. The first sense of regency is surprising to see, especially because this is the last line of the poem. It also alludes to an interesting ending of the poem but also The Fall of Rome.
Conclusion The Fall of Rome not only exhibits the way that a city comes apart by the lack of encouragement from the people and the laziness of the leader. Here Auden emphasises the way that someone with power can influence others and lead them into destruction, where even nature decided to act in a way to encourage people to decay. The use of sound, structure, tone, imagery and irony within the poem are all used to show Auden s theme of greed and selfishness. It s easy to see why this piece is so impactful to many who know this pain from the actions or no action of an incapable leader.