''The Double Man'' is a book of poems by
W. H. Auden, published in 1941. The title of the UK edition, published later the same year was ''New Year Letter''.
''The Double Man'' begins with a verse "Prologue" ("O season of repetition and return"), followed by a long three-part philosophical poem in octosyllabic
couplets
In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...
, ''New Year Letter'' and an idiosyncratic set of "Notes" to the poem in prose and verse. These are followed by the sonnet sequence "The Quest" and a verse "Epilogue" ("Returning each morning from a timeless world"). The entire book was written in 1940, and indirectly records Auden's return to the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
.
The book is dedicated to
Elizabeth Mayer.
References
*
John Fuller, ''W. H. Auden: A Commentary'' (1999)
*
Edward Mendelson, ''Later Auden'' (1999)
External links
The W. H. Auden Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Double Man, The
1941 poetry books
Books by W. H. Auden
Poetry by W. H. Auden
Random House books