Ethical Cognition

Chapter 3 examines Auden’s ethical insight as conveyed through his poetry, which addresses the social-moral crisis of the West on both the societal and individual levels, the evil of fascism in Asia and Europe, and the fallacy of the appeasement policies of Western democracies. This chapter illustrates how Auden, guided by his ethical mission and beliefs, attempts to expand the reader’s knowledge of good and evil through poetic writing in order to help his readers make rational and ethical choices. The poems discussed include “August for the people and their favorite islands” (1935) and “Europe 1936” (1936) from Look, Stranger!; “Macao” (1938), Sonnets VIII and XII from Journey to a War (1938); “The Capital” (1938) “Musée des Beaux Arts” (1938) and “Epitaph on a Tyrant” (1939) from Another Time; “New Year Letter” (1940) from New Year Letter.