W. H. Auden (1907-1973) was an English poet, literary critic, and playwright, who became a naturalized American. He was considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973) was born in the city of York, England, on February 21, 1907. The son of a doctor, he showed an interest in the sciences but soon revealed a passion for poetry. He studied at Gresham’s School and in 1925 entered Christ Church College at the University of Oxford. After completing his studies in 1928, he taught for five years in Scotland and England.
During the 1930s, he was part of a group of young poets characterized by a strong leftist influence, being considered a reference poet in intellectual circles of leftist ideology during the Great Depression. His first book was “Poems” (1930). He then wrote “The Dance of Death” (1933) and the play “The Dog Beneath the Skin” (1935), in collaboration with his friend and companion Isherwood. In the same year, he married Erica Mann, daughter of writer Thomas Mann, intending to help her obtain a British passport to flee Nazi Germany. In 1936, he published “Funeral Blues.” In 1939, he moved to the United States with his companion Isherwood.
His works written in the 1940s mostly reflect his concern with religious issues. He wrote “The Double Man” (1941), “For The Time Being” (1944), and “Por Enquanto” (1944). In 1946, he became an American citizen. In this country, he worked as a literary critic, poet, teacher, and editor. In 1947, W. H. Auden published “Age of Anxiety,” a long dramatic poem that earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1948.
In 1948, after the end of World War II, the writer returned to Europe. Between 1948 and 1972, he spent winters in the United States and summers in Europe. In 1958, he acquired a house in Kirchstellen, Austria. Between 1956 and 1961, he was a visiting professor of poetry at Oxford for three months each year. In 1972, he returned to Christ Church as a resident writer. He abandoned his winter home in New York and returned to Oxford.
W. H. Auden passed away in Vienna, Austria, on September 29, 1973. His body was buried in Kirchstetten, Austria. His poem “Funeral Blues” was recited in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant, in 1994.
Source: www.ebiografia.com, by Dilva Frazão