This page contains answers to the questions most frequently mailed to the webmaster through the link at the foot of the home page.
What was the poem in
Four Weddings and a Funeral?
What was the poem quoted in
Tuesdays with Morrie?
Where can I find Auden's
reviews of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings?
Where can I find an
interpretation of [name of poem]?
I'm writing a book report
and I need to know everything about Auden.
What was the poem in Four Weddings and a Funeral?
The poem by Auden that was read in the funeral scene of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral was "Funeral Blues." ("Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone..."). The poem may be found in Auden's Collected Poems or in the pamphlet Tell Me the Truth About Love.
What was the poem quoted in Tuesdays with Morrie?
The poem by Auden that was quoted (inaccurately) in the book Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, and (accurately) in the television program based on the book (broadcast in December 1999), was "September 1, 1939." The correct text of the quotation is "We must love one another or die." The poem is printed in Auden's Selected Poems.
Where can I find Auden's reviews of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings?
Links to the reviews on The New York Times web site may be found on this site's links page.
Where can I find an interpretation of [name of poem]?
The few interpretations of Auden's work that are available on the web tend to be less reliable and less well-informed than you probably need, and seem to have been written mostly for school assignments. This site recommends instead the books listed on the criticism page, especially those listed as general introductory studies and as comprehensive biographical and critical studies.
I'm writing a book report and I need to know everything about Auden.
Start with the books listed on the books and criticism pages.