Some thirty inches from my nose
The frontier of my Person goes,
And all the untilled air between
Is private pagus or demesne.
Stranger, unless with bedroom eyes
I beckon you to fraternize,
Beware of rudely crossing it:
I have no gun, but I can spit.
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Auden's Some thirty inches from my nose
From guest Horace Work (contact)
A witty, light poem from the master who can be abstruse, this poem pleases easily. And just think of meeting someone who gets as close as possible to smell your breath so he can determine thereby if you are a liar! -
quite cleverly written, especially the last line.
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I like it.. I wonder if he was from the south...
He was born in the same area as me. The north [of England] and moved to the Midlands MOD NOTE -
I have read lots of his work, but never this one. I bet he was quite a character in his day. He also wrote, as they now say, some really heavy verse.
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Personally, I loved his wit and ryhyme..it was/is still hilarious and a True Grit for his time.
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I appreciate the pointed humor. I'm sure he made a great curmudgeon, lol.
Mine frontier is 10 feet and I have a pole.
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Not one of my favourites of his but a very definite way of saying 'stay out of my personal' 30 inch' space until invited in'. Quite a timely reading as personal space in modern times is aggessively attacked, debased and under threat. I can only guess that Auden's way worked for him.
~Von~ -
Searching for definition
This is different for sure. Is this the reaction of a rejected male? Sexual frustation bleeding through is we can't have sex let's fight? I think the poem over all lacks definition. He died in the year of my birth and I hope he rests well. -
this is one of my fav. from auden.
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i personally dont like it at all, and i can say that cause he's dead.
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I cannot stop laughing at this comment.... I was thinking the exact same thing.... but not the part about him being dead... That's hilarious....
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Written in the era before one's "personal space" was such a big issue I think that Auden's message is a clear one that many would applaud in these more crowded times.
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I think ...
that this is, possibly, his worst poem ever. That said, it's funny in its own way. I have never considered bodily functions humorous, period. Perhaps that accounts for why I am not really much taken with this poem.
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