Dragaera

Auden, Fenton re "gya", and a _TLoCB_ spoiler

Mon Aug 25 22:19:15 PDT 2003

Auden writes (in Twelve Songs):

Dear, though the night is gone,
Its dream still haunts to-day,
That brought us to a room
Cavernous, lofty as
A railway terminus,
And crowded in that gloom
Were beds, and we in one
In a far corner lay.

Our whisper woke no clocks,
We kissed and I was glad
At everything you did,
Indifferent to those
Who sat with hostile eyes
In pairs on every bed,
Arms round each other's necks,
Inert and vaguely sad.

What hidden worm of guilt
Or what malignant doubt
Am I the victim of,
That you, then, unabashed,
Did what I never wished,
Confessed another love;
And I, submissive, felt
Unwanted and went out.


James Fenton comments (in _The Strength of Poetry_ [which is terrific]):

Our pronouns have preserved a tact which allows Auden to write a poem
in this way without specifying what sexes are involved.


I don't know if this has been commented on yet, but at the end of
_TLOCB_ Chapter 64, Grassfog and Iatha have a conversation about
"the social niceties" and belonging.  It occurs to me that while
Grassfog is probably male (pg.  161), and at least one of Thong
and Iatha is probably female (pg. 131), there's a fair chance that
Grassfog and Iatha are a same-sex couple. And maybe we have met
others who grammar veiled.


vaguely topical p.s.:
In the "way to ruin a compliment" dept., my new girlfriend said
to me, "You're so much better in bed than my last boyfriend.
I think he's probably actually gay."