Unit 2 Poetry Project: “Refugee Blues” by W.H. Auden Ima Kidd Ura Student John Q. Freshman March 3, 2016 9th Grade Literature Ms. Geller -3rd Block

Preview The title, “Refugee Blues,” made us think of the current Syrian refugee crisis. We know that “blues” is a style of music, and “having the blues” means feeling sad. Thus, we assumed that the poem would deal with the hardships faced by refugees, but we were not sure which refugee group the poem would refer to.

Say this city has ten million souls, Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes: Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us. Once we had a country and we thought it fair, Look in the atlas and you'll find it there: We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now. In the village churchyard there grows an old yew, Every spring it blossoms anew: Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that. The consul banged the table and said, "If you've got no passport you're officially dead": But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive. Went to a committee; they offered me a chair; Asked me politely to return next year: But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to- day? Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said; "If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread": He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me. Refugee Blues Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky; It was Hitler over Europe, saying, "They must die": O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind. Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin, Saw a door opened and a cat let in: But they weren't German Jews, my dear, but they weren't German Jews. Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay, Saw the fish swimming as if they were free: Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away. Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees; They had no politicians and sang at their ease: They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race. Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors, A thousand windows and a thousand doors: Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours. Stood on a great plain in the falling snow; Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro: Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me. 

Summary In W.H. Auden’s poem, “Refugee Blues,” the speaker is a German Jewish refugee addressing someone who is probably his wife; he continually refers to the person as “my dear.” He describes the various places that they are not welcome, and the unwillingness of public officials and private citizens to help them. The poem also includes many references to nature, such as fish swimming in a harbor and birds in the trees, to contrast the animals’ freedom with the refugees’ oppression. He mentions how easily “a poodle in a jacket” and a house cat are welcomed into people’s homes, while the refugees are kept out.

Literary Devices Personification: Repetition/Parallel Structure: “Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky; It was Hitler over Europe, saying, “They must die“ The rumbling thunder is compared to Hitler’s voice condemning the Jews. Repetition/Parallel Structure: “We cannot go there now, dear, we cannot go there now.” The last line of each stanza includes a repeated phrase with the word “dear.” Allusion: The references to Hitler and German Jews let the reader know that the speaker is a victim of the Holocaust.

Themes While the poem specifically refers to the struggle of refugees during the Holocaust, its themes of exclusion and isolation extend to refugees and other oppressed people everywhere. The poem emphasizes the contrast between the beauty of the natural world and the ugliness that governments so often impose on their citizens. Finally, the continual references to “my dear” emphasize the importance of love and family relationships in times of crisis; the speaker and his wife have been stripped of their rights, but they still have each other.

Personal Response We thought that the use of rhyme and repetition gave the poem an upbeat, songlike quality that contrasted strangely with its dark subject matter. As we predicted, the speaker’s struggle reminded us of the hardships faced by refugees and other immigrants today. We find it surprising that now, over 70 years after the Holocaust ended, there are still wealthy, powerful countries actively fighting to exclude those in need, out of fear that “they will steal our daily bread.”

Quiz 2. What is the speaker’s religion? 1. What is the speaker’s nationality? 2. What is the speaker’s religion? 3. How is the speaker different from the cat mentioned in the eighth stanza? 4. What are two other animals mentioned in the poem? 5. What phrase is repeated in the last line of each stanza?