Ladislav Vít
The Poet at the Teacher’s Desk
Číslo: 1/2017
Periodikum: Prague Journal of English Studies
Klíčová slova: Wystan Hugh Auden; education; humanity; democracy; Fascism
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Anotace:
In the 1930s W.H. Auden taught at several public schools in Britain while simultaneously
embarking on his poetic career. Later in life, he lectured at various educational
institutions and returned to Oxford, his alma mater, in the 1950s as Oxford Professor of
Poetry. His experience of teaching allowed Auden to refl ect upon the pitfalls of Britain’s
interwar educational system and its social function. erefore, this article diverts
attention from the prevailing scholarly focus on Auden’s poetry to his critical prose in
order to examine the poet’s concerns about the content, purpose and role of education
in society, his views on the structure of the educational system and disquiet about the
tension between the utilitarian and humanistic dimensions of the educational process.
At a more general level, the paper points out the relation that Auden maintained existed
between education, democracy, art and the “crystallizing” power of poetry.
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embarking on his poetic career. Later in life, he lectured at various educational
institutions and returned to Oxford, his alma mater, in the 1950s as Oxford Professor of
Poetry. His experience of teaching allowed Auden to refl ect upon the pitfalls of Britain’s
interwar educational system and its social function. erefore, this article diverts
attention from the prevailing scholarly focus on Auden’s poetry to his critical prose in
order to examine the poet’s concerns about the content, purpose and role of education
in society, his views on the structure of the educational system and disquiet about the
tension between the utilitarian and humanistic dimensions of the educational process.
At a more general level, the paper points out the relation that Auden maintained existed
between education, democracy, art and the “crystallizing” power of poetry.