Study Notes: W H Auden, 'The Capital' (Songs of Ourselves Volume 2)

Hello there! We are diving into W H Auden’s powerful poem, 'The Capital'. Don't worry if city descriptions seem dull at first. This poem uses the image of a major city to explore deep, universal themes about power, corruption, and social injustice. Understanding this poem helps you explore how writers use a physical setting (AO2) to critique society (AO4).

1. Who is W H Auden and What is 'The Capital'?

Context for Understanding (AO2)

W H Auden (1907–1973) was a highly influential 20th-century poet known for writing about society, politics, and psychology. He often blended detached observation with profound moral concern.

  • The City as a Symbol: 'The Capital' isn't about one specific city (like London or Paris); it’s about the concept of any large, powerful urban center—the place where political and financial decisions are made.
  • Theme Focus: The poem looks beneath the glossy surface of civilization to find the hidden cost—the suffering and exploitation necessary to maintain that power.

Quick Review Box: Context

Auden’s Capital = Any major city that hides injustice beneath a show of wealth and order.

2. Line-by-Line Breakdown: Literal Meaning (AO1)

To master this poem, we need to see the sharp contrasts Auden sets up. Think of the poem as peeling back layers of paint to reveal the rotten wood underneath.

Stanza 1: The Grand Facade

The poem starts by showing us the city's beautiful exterior: the geographical location, the gardens, the architecture.

  • Key Detail: Auden describes the beauty precisely: "A map of silver rivers, of fields and hills." This precision suggests order and control.
  • The Illusion: The city seems perfect, well-organized, and successful ("the famous square", "the gardens where the rich are bored").
  • Memory Aid: Stanza 1 is the 'Tourist Photo' of the capital. Everything looks great on the surface.

Stanza 2: The Hidden Horror

Auden immediately shifts tone, revealing the dark secrets upon which the city is built.

  • Contrasting Imagery: We move from sunlight and gardens to "darkness" and "basements".
  • The Sacrifice: The central idea here is that the city’s success requires hidden suffering. The city's structure is built on a sort of unknown sacrifice, implied by the line: "They are not on the telephone, there is no way of knowing / For whom the sacrificial victim died."
  • Analogy: Imagine an iceberg. Stanza 1 is the visible tip (glamour and power), but Stanza 2 describes the huge, terrifying bulk hidden beneath the water (the cost, the suffering).

Stanza 3: Social Division and Apathy

This stanza focuses on the people—specifically, the wealthy and powerful who inhabit the upper layers of the city.

  • Irony of the Rich: The rich are "bored" and struggle to find meaning ("They are not certain what they want"). They are spiritually empty despite their material wealth.
  • The Poor/Suffering: These people are utterly invisible to the rich, except as a distant problem. The rich are concerned only with their immediate, trivial concerns ("Where is the master of the house?").

Stanza 4: The Mechanisms of Control

This section explores how the city maintains its order—through systems, bureaucracy, and control.

  • Paperwork and Rules: The city operates via impersonal systems ("Everything is a matter of particular cases"). Human suffering is reduced to paperwork and statistics.
  • The Police: Auden refers to the police who are "doing their duty", suggesting that the enforcement of this unjust order is seen as merely a job, not a moral act.

Stanza 5: Persistence and Eternity

The final stanza reflects on the permanence of this structure. Even though the city is morally flawed, it continues.

  • Human Endurance: People accept their fate and continue their lives ("In unlighted kitchens").
  • Final Observation: The city, with all its beauty and brutality, remains: a place of "unconditional love" (for its own existence) and "unconditional death" (the inevitable end for those sacrificed to it).

3. Key Themes and Ideas (AO2)

When analyzing Auden, focus on how these themes reveal his critique of modern civilization.

A. Appearance vs. Reality

This is the core conflict. The city projects an image of civilized order (Stanza 1), stability, and beauty. However, the reality (Stanza 2) is corruption, hidden suffering, and moral vacuum.

  • Contrast: Look for the juxtaposition of beautiful words ("marble", "silver rivers") next to grim words ("darkness", "sacrifice").

B. Power, Corruption, and Injustice

The capital is the center of power, and Auden shows that power is inherently corrosive. The system requires people to suffer silently for the benefit of the few.

  • Hidden Costs: The success of the city is predicated on an unseen "sacrificial victim". This implies that the entire political structure is founded on blood and exploitation.

C. Alienation and Isolation

Despite being crowded, the city dwellers are disconnected. The rich are bored because they lack purpose, while the poor are isolated because they are invisible.

  • Key Lines: The 'victim' is unreachable: "They are not on the telephone." Modern communication technology fails to connect the privileged with the suffering.

4. Writer's Methods and Language (AO3)

Auden’s writing style is crucial to achieving his effects. Focus on his choices regarding tone and specific words.

A. Detached, Journalistic Tone

Auden speaks like a reporter or a sociologist—objectively describing facts rather than pouring out emotion. This detachment makes the moral critique even stronger.

  • Effect: By simply stating things like "The police are taking down the particulars", the horror becomes disturbingly normal, highlighting the banality of evil (the idea that terrible things are done by ordinary people doing their job).

B. Specific, Geographic Imagery

Auden uses precise descriptions of maps and locations ("Its site is the one corner... a map of silver rivers"). This makes the city feel physically real, yet also abstract—like a blueprint for society.

  • Focus on the Abstract: By seeing the city as a map, we realize Auden is analyzing a *structure* or a *system*, not just buildings.

C. Juxtaposition and Contrast

Auden places highly contrasting images or ideas right next to each other to emphasize the moral gap.

  • Example: The rich who are "bored" stand in sharp contrast to the invisible victims beneath the pavement.

D. Use of Paradox and Irony

A paradox is a statement that seems contradictory but reveals a deeper truth. Auden uses irony to undermine the city’s apparent success.

  • Irony: The city’s claim to being a center of civilization is undercut by its brutal foundation.
  • Paradox (Ending): The city offers both "unconditional love" (stability, protection for the elite) and "unconditional death" (sacrifice for the poor).

Quick Review Box: Auden's Techniques

Tone (Detached/Journalistic)
Imagery (Geographic/Contrasting)
Juxtaposition (Beauty vs. Horror)
Paradox (Love and Death)

5. Structuring Your Response and Personal View (AO4)

When analyzing 'The Capital', you are asked to explore the ways Auden achieves his effects. Remember to link your quotes directly to a technique and then to a theme.

Step-by-Step Analysis Strategy

  1. Identify the Section: Which part of the poem are you looking at (e.g., the surface, the basements, the control)?
  2. Select a Quote (AO1): Choose a short, powerful piece of evidence.
  3. Identify the Method (AO3): What literary device is Auden using (e.g., juxtaposition, irony, diction)?
  4. Explain the Effect/Theme (AO2/AO4): What does this method reveal about the city or Auden's feelings?

Example Response Structure:

Auden immediately establishes a contrast through juxtaposition (AO3). He describes the wealthy area as having "gardens where the rich are bored" (AO1). The word 'bored' is highly effective (AO4) because it shows the spiritual emptiness of the privileged class, suggesting that their comfortable lives are so lacking in genuine purpose that they are simply indifferent to the world, thereby highlighting the theme of alienation (AO2).

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Mistake: Thinking the poem is simply a travelogue describing a nice city.
    Correction: Always remember the city is a metaphor for systemic power and moral failure. Auden is deeply critical.
  • Mistake: Focusing only on what the poem says, not how it says it.
    Correction: You must mention literary methods (AO3), like Auden’s cold, objective tone or his use of contrastive imagery.

Did you know?

W H Auden often referred to cities as living organisms, complete with nerves, metabolism, and diseases. In ‘The Capital,’ the city is sick—beautiful on the outside, but internally corrupted by injustice.

Key Takeaway for Revision: 'The Capital' is a powerful critique using contrast. To score well, you must analyze *how* Auden uses language and structure to move from the visible, flawless facade to the invisible, rotten core.