(I read this last night as part of a WJEC GCE past English paper. A lovely gift of a poem).
I love this poem’s intimacy. The speaker grumbles his way through the lines, creating a vivid, melancholic picture of life on Hadrian’s Wall. We can hear the tone of his voice, feel the itch of his skin and recognise the futility of his jealousy, so far from home. The simplicity of the rhyming couplets give a real sense of the speaker’s daily life, his bleak world.
The half rhyme or I say, the half miss of a rhyme(‘blows’ with ‘nose’) that occurs in the first couplet gives the poem an authenticity and rather nasal aspect too! It is as if the speaker is muffling his voice due to cold and clothing. We can hear his faraway, melancholy voice and sympathise with his futile yearning for something sunnier and more homely. His only close contact seems to be the lice!
The poem is unafraid of acknowledging vulnerability; the soldier feels trapped in a historical moment not of his own making and certainly one that disempowers him and consigns him to probable death or disability. The poem has a hint of Larkin when he once suggested that the ‘why’ of our existence is beyond us. There is considerable pathos on Auden when he admits his hapless lack of understanding of his predicament. ‘I don’t know why.’
Time travelling with Auden creates a very desultory speaker whose confidences we over hear as he stands isolated and frustrated on Hadrian’s Wall.
Beautifully evocative and compelling!
ROMAN WALL BLUES
Over the heather the wet wind blows,
I’ve lice in my tunic, a cold in my nose.
The rain comes pattering out of the sky,
I’m a Wall soldier, I don’t know why.
The mist creeeps over the hard grey stone,
My girl’s in Tungria; I sleep alone.
Aulus goes hanging around her place,
I don’t like his manners, I don’t like his face.
Piso’s a Christian, he worships a fish;
There’d be be no kissing if he had his wish.
She gave me a ring but I diced it away;
I want my girl and I want my pay.
When I’m a veteran with only one eye
I shall do nothing but look at the sky.
I find the poem’s exactitude quite interesting. It isn’t just anywhere on the Wall; it’s the Housesteads fort, where the garrison from Tungria was located. Bleak spot. But clearly Auden knew a bit about the place and may well have been there.
Many thanks for your comment. The exactitude makes the poem even more melancholy. We can stand with him, in the rain and wish for a miracle!
I do think your Lion poem one of the most tender pieces of writing I have ever read. I had come back from visiting someone who rescues greyhounds and had been surrounded by all these old and young creatures so pleased to still be here.
So succinct and yes I can hear his blocked nose and even his marching footsteps as he ruminates pessimistically over his list of negatives. His rants are short and there is no lyric narrative. Our grumbles and expletives are usually short outbursts that express much. This all goes with the short breaths of a blocked nose and short military footsteps. Thanks for this. Oh, and are there meant to be three ‘e’s in creep? It does go with the movement 🙂
Many thanks…It does go with the movement and you are right about the poor guy’s blocked nose! He does long for Rome:)
Poets Purpose of the Roman wall blues and who is the intended audience?