Analyzing 'Funeral Blues'

Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,

Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,

Silence the pianos and with muffled drum

Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead

Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is Dead'

Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,

Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,

My working week and my Sunday rest,

By noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;

I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,

Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,

Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;

For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W.H. Auden

Assonance - My East and West, My working week and my Sunday rest.

-This was an effective language technique used by Auden in the poem 'Funeral Blues'. This is because it gave the reader an understanding of how important the character he is talking about to him.

-The sentence is in past tense. This is because of the word 'was'.

Hyperbole - The stars are not wanted now; put out every one, Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.

-This was an effective language technique because it exaggerates what the writer is talking about.

-The sentence is in present tense. This is because of the word 'now'.

Emotive Language- Scribbling on the sky the message 'He is dead' 

-This was an effective language technique because it gave the reader an emotive response.

-The sentence is present tense.