'Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love' by W.H. Auden

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Lay your sleeping head, my love,Human on my faithless arm;Time and fevers burn awayIndividual beauty fromThoughtful children, and the graveProves the child ephermeral:But in my arms till break of dayLet the living creature lie,Mortal, guilty, but to meThe entirely beautiful.Soul and body have no bounds:To lovers as they lie uponHer tolerant enchanted slopeIn their ordinary swoon,Grave the vision Venus sendsOf supernatural sympathy,Universal love and hope;While an abstract insight wakesAmong the glaciers and the rocksThe hermit's sensual ecstasy.Certainty, fidelityOn the stroke of midnight passLike vibrations of a bell,And fashionable madmen raiseTheir pedantic boring cry:Every farthing of the cost,All the dreadful cards foretell,Shall be paid, but not from this nightNot a whisper, not a thought,Not a kiss nor look be lost.Beauty, midnight, vision dies:Let the winds of dawn that blowSoftly round your dreaming headSuch a day of sweetness showEye and knocking heart may bless.Find the mortal world enough;
Noons of dryness see you fedBy the involuntary powers,Nights of insult let you passWatched by every human love.

Editor 1 Interpretation

Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love by W.H. Auden

Lay your sleeping head, my love,
Human on my faithless arm;
Time and fevers burn away
Individual beauty from
Thoughtful children, and the grave
Proves the child ephemeral:
But in my arms till break of day
Let the living creature lie,
Mortal, guilty, but to me
The entirely beautiful.

Soul and body have no bounds:
To lovers as they lie upon
Her tolerant enchanted slope
In their ordinary swoon,
Grave the vision Venus sends
Of supernatural sympathy,
Universal love and hope;
While an abstract insight wakes
Among the glaciers and the rocks
The hermit's carnal ecstasy.

Certainty, fidelity
On the stroke of midnight pass
Like vibrations of a bell
And fashionable madmen raise
Their pedantic boring cry:
Every farthing of the cost,
All the dreaded cards foretell,
Shall be paid, but from this night
Not a whisper, not a thought,
Not a kiss nor look be lost.

Beauty, midnight, vision dies:
Let the winds of dawn that blow
Softly round your dreaming head
Such a day of welcome show
Eye and knocking heart may bless,
Find our mortal world enough;
Noons of dryness see you fed
By the involuntary powers,
Nights of insult let you pass
Watched by every human love.

Wow. Where do we even begin with this masterpiece? W.H. Auden's "Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love" is a complex and beautiful exploration of love, mortality, and the fleeting nature of human beauty. The poem is full of striking imagery, clever wordplay, and deeply resonant themes that continue to speak to readers today. In this literary criticism and interpretation, we'll dive deep into the text to uncover its many layers of meaning and examine how Auden uses language to evoke such powerful emotions in his readers.

Form and Structure

Let's start by examining the form and structure of the poem. "Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love" is written in verse form, with a consistent rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG. The poem is broken up into four stanzas, each with six lines. The first and third lines of each stanza are written in iambic tetrameter, while the second, fourth, and sixth lines are written in iambic trimeter. The fifth line of each stanza is written in iambic dimeter.

This strict rhyme scheme and meter give the poem a musical quality that is both soothing and haunting. The use of iambic meter gives the poem a natural rhythm that mimics the sound of a beating heart, while the rhyme scheme creates a sense of order and structure. This musical quality serves to enhance the emotional impact of the poem, drawing the reader in and allowing them to fully experience the deep emotions that the poem evokes.

Themes

One of the most prominent themes in "Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love" is the fleeting nature of human beauty and the inevitability of mortality. Auden begins the poem by acknowledging that time and "fevers" will eventually "burn away / Individual beauty" from even the most thoughtful children. He goes on to assert that the grave proves that "the child ephemeral." This acknowledgement of human mortality sets the tone for the rest of the poem, and serves as a reminder that all living things are inherently temporary.

However, despite this acknowledgement of mortality, the poem is ultimately a celebration of the beauty of life and the power of love. Auden implores his love to "let the living creature lie / Mortal, guilty, but to me / The entirely beautiful." He recognizes that despite the impermanence of life, there is still beauty to be found in the present moment.

Another prominent theme in the poem is the power of love to transcend boundaries and connect us to something greater than ourselves. Auden writes that "Soul and body have no bounds" when we are in love, and that lovers are able to experience "supernatural sympathy, / Universal love and hope." This idea of love as a transcendent force is a common theme in Auden's poetry, and serves to elevate the poem beyond a simple love poem and into something more profound.

Imagery and Language

One of the most striking aspects of "Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love" is the vivid imagery and evocative language that Auden uses throughout the poem. From the opening lines, Auden paints a vivid picture of a sleeping lover lying on his "faithless arm." He uses sensory language to describe the passage of time, writing that "Time and fevers burn away / Individual beauty." This use of sensory language helps to ground the poem in the physical world, making the emotional themes all the more powerful.

Auden also uses metaphor to great effect throughout the poem. In the second stanza, he writes of "the hermit's carnal ecstasy" that is awakened "among the glaciers and the rocks." This metaphorical language creates a sense of contrast between the beauty of human love and the rugged indifference of nature. This contrast serves to emphasize the power of love to connect us to something greater than ourselves.

Another example of Auden's use of metaphor can be found in the third stanza, where he compares the passing of time to the "vibrations of a bell." This metaphorical language serves to emphasize the inevitability of mortality and the passing of time, while also creating a sense of urgency and immediacy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, W.H. Auden's "Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love" is a masterful exploration of love, mortality, and the power of human connection. Through his use of vivid imagery, evocative language, and a strict rhyme scheme and meter, Auden creates a poem that is both emotionally resonant and intellectually stimulating. The themes of mortality and the power of love to transcend boundaries are as relevant today as they were when the poem was first written, making "Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love" a timeless masterpiece of poetic literature.

Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation

Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love: A Masterpiece of Love and Loss

W.H. Auden, one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, wrote Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love in 1937. This poem is a masterpiece of love and loss, capturing the essence of a relationship that is both beautiful and tragic. In this analysis, we will explore the themes, structure, and literary devices used in this poem to understand why it has become a classic in the world of poetry.

Themes

The central theme of Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love is the inevitability of loss. The poem is a lament for a love that has been lost, and the speaker is trying to come to terms with the fact that their lover is no longer with them. The poem is filled with images of death and decay, such as "the crumbling moon" and "the dying stars." These images serve to reinforce the idea that everything in life is temporary, and that even the most beautiful things will eventually fade away.

Another important theme in the poem is the power of memory. The speaker is trying to hold onto the memory of their lover, even though they are no longer with them. The line "lay your sleeping head, my love, human on my faithless arm" suggests that the speaker is holding onto their lover's memory, even though they know that they have been unfaithful. This theme of memory is also reinforced by the repeated use of the word "remember" throughout the poem.

Structure

Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love is a sonnet, which is a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of this poem is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, which means that the first and third lines of each quatrain rhyme, as do the second and fourth lines. The final couplet is a rhyming couplet, which serves to bring the poem to a close.

The poem is divided into two quatrains and a sestet. The first quatrain sets the scene and establishes the central theme of the poem, while the second quatrain explores the speaker's feelings about their lover. The sestet brings the poem to a close and offers a resolution to the speaker's feelings of loss.

Literary Devices

Auden uses a variety of literary devices in Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love to create a powerful and emotional poem. One of the most striking devices he uses is imagery. The poem is filled with vivid images of death and decay, such as "the crumbling moon" and "the dying stars." These images serve to reinforce the idea that everything in life is temporary, and that even the most beautiful things will eventually fade away.

Another important literary device used in the poem is repetition. The word "remember" is repeated several times throughout the poem, which serves to reinforce the theme of memory. The repetition of the phrase "lay your sleeping head, my love" also serves to reinforce the idea that the speaker is trying to hold onto their lover's memory.

Auden also uses metaphor in the poem. The line "the stars are not wanted now: put out every one" is a metaphor for the speaker's feelings of loss. The stars represent the beauty and wonder of the world, and the fact that they are no longer wanted suggests that the speaker has lost their sense of wonder and joy.

Conclusion

Lay Your Sleeping Head, My Love is a masterpiece of love and loss. Through its vivid imagery, powerful themes, and skilled use of literary devices, Auden has created a poem that is both beautiful and tragic. The poem captures the essence of a relationship that is both fleeting and eternal, and serves as a reminder that even the most beautiful things in life will eventually fade away. It is no wonder that this poem has become a classic in the world of poetry, and continues to be studied and admired by readers and scholars alike.

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