O What Is The Sound by W. H. Auden

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                    O What is The Sound

                                           - W. H. Auden

Introduction:

              " O What is a Sound" is a poem about the universality of war through the use of war affecting the lives of the couple in the poem causing them to run away. There is a sense of betrayal too depending on who you choose to be the first voice and second voice.

The poem adopts the ballad form. This is a 18th-19th century form which is part of folk tradition. It is a typical form for Auden with many of his other poems using it such as O Where Are You Going.

The imitation of ballad form is used to reflect upon the subject matter of war: there is no time (obscure time choice).

It is recognizable in ballad form due to the consistent four beats (in musical terms) for every line. Each stanza is four lines long. 

Stanza 1 Explanation:

                The use of the word ‘thrills’ creates stimulation and fear like a military band.

The word ‘drumming’ is repeated. This is common for the last word of line two for each stanza producing alliteration. As well as this, the repeated ‘drumming’ is onomatopoeic imitating the sound of the drums bringing the reader even closer to the action.

The man as voice two is attempting to reassure the women. Auden makes clear he is trying to calm her down from the use of alliteration on ‘scarlet soldiers’ creating a whispering effect. Although the time period is vague, different interpretations of the ‘scarlet soldiers’ can mean different things. In the 19th century, soldiers commonly wore bright red (scarlet) uniforms so that if they were shot and wounded, the enemy would not be able to tell if they were bleeding or not. On the other hand, having the soldiers being ‘scarlet’ could also suggest that are red in the face from the consequence of physical exertion. The second option is more believable seeing that Auden does not want to pin down a time frame for this poem.

The first stanza creates tension and drama for the arrival of the army.

Stanza 2:

         The parallel construction of of line two is clear with ‘brightly’ being repeated at the end of the line two for stanza two. This gives a sense of inevitability of the soldiers arriving and reminds us that the soldiers are continually marching closer and closer to the couple.

Auden is deliberately vague when describing what weapons the soldiers have, ‘weapons’. This generic makes the reader wonder what type of weapons the soldiers have: it could be from a bow and arrow up to a 21st century machine gun – we just don’t know.

The second voice now describes the army as ‘stepping lightly’. The marching has now increased in pace providing more fear for the couple. 

Stanza 3:

             

       The second voice reassures the first voice again describing that the army are only doing ‘their usual manoeuvres, dear’.

The second voice shows doubt for the first time of their safety, ‘Or perhaps a warning’. This provides an idea that the army might be foreign if the couple views them as a threat. 

Stanza 4 :

            For the army to be ‘wheeling, wheeling’ makes clear that the army is big and organised. This creates even more tension and juxtaposition between the power of the army through it’s description and sound to the helpless couple awaiting their potentially devastating fate.

The second voice attempts to reassure again, ‘Perhaps a change in their orders, dear’. This is desperate reassurance seeing because he knows they are a threat but he wants his wife to not know in protection of her. This suggests that the second voice may know something about the army and their presence that the first voice doesn’t. Here are hints of the first betrayal.

Different interpretations of the ‘Why are you kneeling?’ line can be made. The line itself is ambiguous because it doesn’t make clear what she is kneeling for. She could be kneeling to hide herself away from the army. However, she may be kneeling also in a last ditch attempt to pray. 

Stanza 5:

         The roles have reversed with this stanza with the first voice seeking for reassurance with positive explanations for the behavior of the army, ‘haven’t they stopped for the doctor’s care, / Haven’t they reined their horses, their horses?’ She is clutching at straws.

The second voice has now turned doubtful towards the army fending off the positive explanations the first voice said for the arm’s behavior, ‘they are none of them wounded, dear’. This removes the interpretation that the soldiers are injured from them being ‘scarlet’ and injured/bleeding.

The rest of the poem features the second voice leaving the first voice and running away. This makes clear the tension between the couple. The last stanza does not feature any voices but is told in third person, ‘O it’s broken the lock and splintered the door’. The aggression and power of the army is made clear how they pushed down the door of the house. The poem finishes with ‘Their boots are heavy on the floor / And their eyes are burning’. The fate of the first voice is not told in the poem leaving the reader to fill in the ending to this poem with their own imagination. With the tension of the army increasing the further on into the poem, we assume that the army have killed the first voice.

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