Ethical Conation

Chapter 5 deals with two conation-oriented ethical themes—ethical necessity in a time of war, including necessary action against international fascism and the necessity of mutual love, and the poet’s ethical vision of a future world characterized by liberty, community, and fraternity. The chapter concludes that Auden’s poetry has clarified ethical necessity and generated charity in order to illuminate the dark world with bright ethical ideals. The poems examined are “Spain” (1937); the verse “Commentary” from Journey to a War (1938); “September 1, 1939” from Another Time; “New Year Letter” (1940) from New Year Letter.