The Poetics of Conversion: Theological Themes in the Poetry of W. H. Auden
W. H. Auden's theological readings reveal an interest in the existential tradition of Christian thought. Aspects of his major poems For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio (1944), The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue (1947), and Horae Canonicae (1949–1952) reflect theological parallels betwee...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Johns Hopkins University Press
2022
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In: |
Christianity & literature
Year: 2022, Volume: 71, Issue: 3, Pages: 344-359 |
IxTheo Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history NAB Fundamental theology |
Further subjects: | B
Kairos
B Incarnation B Anxiety B Conversion B Being |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | W. H. Auden's theological readings reveal an interest in the existential tradition of Christian thought. Aspects of his major poems For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio (1944), The Age of Anxiety: A Baroque Eclogue (1947), and Horae Canonicae (1949–1952) reflect theological parallels between the poems and the thought of German theologian and philosopher Paul Tillich. Auden's explicitly Christian poems evince themes of Tillichian ontological theology as he explores the issues of self, displacement, anxiety, Kairos, and conversion—specifically through his focus on the Incarnation. At odds with secular existentialism, Auden suggests the problems of the modern individual are uniquely spiritual problems that are the result of displacement from God. |
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ISSN: | 2056-5666 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Christianity & literature
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/chy.2022.0030 |