Why is W.H. Auden regarded as a great modern poet?

          The title of a long poem penned by W.H. Auden became a catch phrase for describing modern times.

          ‘The Age of Anxiety’ was the poem. Published in 1947, ‘The Age of Anxiety’, won Auden the Pulitzer Prize. This was a poem with a psychological theme. Auden caught the attention of the reading public with ‘Poems’, his first book, published in 1930. ‘The Orators’ followed in 1932. Auden is acclaimed for his love poems like ‘Funeral Blues’.

          As a result Auden’s popularity surged. A pamphlet edition of fifteen of his poems, ‘Tell Me the Truth about Love’, sold more than 275,000 copies.

          Auden’s poems with political and sociological themes include ‘September 1, 1939’ and ‘The Shield of Achilles’.

          ‘For the Time Being’ and ‘Horae Canonicae’ are among his well known religious poems. ‘Paid on Both Sides’, subtitled ‘A Charade’ is Auden’s first drama.

          ‘Hearing of Harvests’, ‘Out on the Lawn I lie in Bed’, ‘O What is That Sound’, ‘Look, Stranger’, and ‘Our Hunting Fathers’, are W.H. Auden’s famous poems.

          His poem, ‘September 1, 1939’ was first published in 1939. The poem was frequently on air in the US, following the terrorist attacks on 11th September, 2001.

           W.H. Auden was born on 21st February, 1907 in England. He grew up in and around Birmingham in a middle class family.

          W.H. Auden passed away on 29th September, 1973.