The Quest For Wholeness In Auden's Early Poetry

Auden is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets in the twentieth century. Though his early poetry is rich in themes and styles, there is an underlying quest for wholeness-of self, of group, and of society-that binds all his writings together. This thesis, adopting the scrutiny method of New criticism combined with biographic studies, tries to explore Auden's quest for wholeness in his early poetry so as to attain a better understanding and acceptance of the poet's thought and work.Auden, at the beginning of his poetic career, tries to attain the wholeness of self with the help of psychoanalytical theories. After the failure of this attempt, he quests in his poetry for the wholeness between the individual and the group. Nevertheless, he finds that wholeness within a small group cannot dissolve social issues; in fact, the division and isolation within ourselves and among us originate from social division. He then hopes to build a society where the different aspects of the self, man and other men, individual and society are united and harmonized. And during his quest, Auden's perception of the social function of poetry and the social role of the poet, his poetical practices have developed accordingly.Though Auden's quest does not find the ultimate wholeness of self and society, but this can not lessen its significance. And his endeavour to use poetry to represent, influence and promote human existence and social condition has opened a new phase in the history of English poetry.