RAINBOW PART-II BSEB ENGLISH FOR CLASS-10+2/ XII# POETRY SECTION# NOW THE LEAVES ARE FALLING FAST BY W.H. AUDEN( WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN) CRASH COURSE FOR ANNUAL EXAM 2022

CRASH COURSE-2022

CLASS- XII SUBJECT: ENGLISH SECTION: POETRY

LESSON: 03. NOW THE LEAVES ARE FALLING FAST by W.H. AUDEN

BRIEF SUMMARY:

Now the Leaves Are Falling Fast composed by W.H. Auden is a lyrical and philosophical

poem. Here we find the metaphorical comparison of the autumn season to that of the old

age of human life. The poem aims at providing us with a lesson of love, care, compassion

and empathy towards our eledrly people who feel lonely and are in great need of our

company. The poet also talks of the frustration,loneliness and unfulfilled desires in which

every individual lives and dies.

The very first stanza of the poem presents the description of fast falling leaves, undergrown

plants, nurses going to grave and moving pram and they respectively stand for death of

people, posterity approaching death, death of mothers and the continuation of life.

The second stanza indicates the snatching of life through the agents of death and its effect

on human body. The third stanza presents the image of journey to burial ground and

reflection of false love towards the departed soul whereas the fourth stanza describes the

wicked people of our society who on not getting their personal grudge fulfilled by the elderly

people, scold them and the good old people remain silent who think that no angel (pleasure)

would come again. The fifth and the last stanza gives the optimistic as well as nostalgic

approach of the poet where he supposes life to be cold and impossible for our endless

desires still he thinks that the travellers would be blessed by the productive life of the

departed soul.

Definitely the poem “ Now The Leaves Are Falling Fast” by Wystan Hugh Auden is serious in

its approach and directly deepens our self awareness. The images are enough to carve true

pictures on the mental screens of its readers and comparison between the autumn season

and our old age is suitable and justified.

IMPORTANT OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS:

1. What is the full name of W.H. Auden?

Ans.: Wystan Hugh Auden

2. When and for what did Auden get the Pulitzer Prize?

Ans.: In 1948 for his collection The Age of Anxiety

3. What was poetry to him?

Ans.: Poetry to him was a ‘serious game’.

4. As a technician what did Auden explore?

Ans.: a variety of stanza forms and meters

5. When did he leave England to settle in the United States?

Ans.: He left England in 1939.

6. How are the works of Auden divided?

Ans.: His works are divided into two phases-the British and American phases.

7. What are the notable works of the English phase?

Ans.: The Orators, The Dance of Death, Look Stranger, Spain and Another Time

8. What are the important works of the American phase? Ans.: New Year Letter, For the Time Being, The Age of Anxiety, and The Shield

of Achilles

9. What does ‘ Whispering neighbours’ suggest in the poem?

Ans.: It suggests ‘ agents or messengers of death’.

10. What does ‘ The prams go rolling on’ suggest?

Ans.: It suggests ‘ the continuity of life’.

11. Who are the Trolls in the real world?

Ans.: Wicked and selfish people are the trolls in the real world.

12. Explain the line- ‘ And the prams go rolling on’.

Ans.: This beautiful line has been taken from the thought-provoking poem-

“Now the Leaves are Falling Fast” composed by W.H. Auden. This line contains a

deep philosophical idea of life and that is the process of continuation of life. Here the

poet tells us that the mothers (Nurses to the graves are gone) are dying still their

offsprings are surviving and this is the process of life and death.

Indeed the line in a nutshell contains deep meaning and the description of Rolling

Pram is beautifully meaningful.

Prepared by: Rajneesh Kumar Mishra