What is the message of Funeral Blues?

What is the message of Funeral Blues?

Death is the subject and main theme of “Funeral Blues.” Through the poem Auden makes a compelling statement about the devastating effects that the death of a loved one has on those left behind. The speaker has just lost someone for whom he/she had a deep love.

What is the poem that starts Stop all the clocks?

‘Funeral Blues’, also known as ‘Stop all the Clocks’, is perhaps now most famous for its recitation in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, but its first audience encountered it as part of a play. Seamus Perry discusses the poem and its place in The Ascent of F6, co-authored by W H Auden and Christopher Isherwood.

When was the poem stop all the Clocks written?

The poem – and the work of W. H. Auden (1907-73) more generally – was brought to a whole new audience when it was quoted in full in the 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral, in which Auden is described as a ‘splendid bugger’. You can read ‘Stop all the clocks’, which was first published in 1936, here.

Where did stop all the clocks come from?

Curiously, ‘Stop All the Clocks’ began life as a piece of burlesque sending up blues lyrics of the 1930s: Auden originally wrote it for a play he was collaborating on with Christopher Isherwood, The Ascent of F6 (1936), which wasn’t entirely serious (although it was billed as a tragedy).

Why do we stop the clocks when someone dies?

The idea of stopping the clocks serves two purposes here. First, it stops the noise that they potentially make, the annoying ticking sound, but also it signifies the stopping of time. When somebody dies their time is said to be up and this represents that.

How is Grief presented in the poem Funeral Blues (Stop all the clocks)?

Grief, in the poem, is thus presented as something deeply isolating, an emotion that cuts off the people who grieve from the world around them. Get the entire guide to “Funeral Blues (Stop all the clocks)” as a printable PDF.