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However, as well as involving the theme of time, the poem can be considered a romantic poem too. All we be explained below in a complete analysis of the poem. Feel free to skip to the parts most relevant to you. If Auden could show his true emotions, love and sexuality, he would. But, when he can, he will let his lover and the world know. Stanza four continues the theme of love how his love is at the end of a cycle. The verse was about the future. This verse is now about the past. He now runs others websites such as PoemAnalysis. You can follow him willGreeny. I've been reading this poem for a while now and read this analysis a couple times but i'm still not sure of what "time will say nothing but i told you so" means and how the context of time relates to the poem about love.

The line 'Time will say nothing but I told you so' seems to be a reoccurring line throughout the poem, homing in that Time is always there and will always mock you potentially has power over you too, like it always knows what is right. Time is personified in the poem referring to it with a capital 'T' and as 'I'. The fact that Time seems overpowering to us all makes it seem as if we all have predetermined fates, such that no matter what we do and how we do it, Time, at the end of the day, will tell us 'I told you so'.

I think how it links to the theme of love is a tough one.

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Potentially does the poem reflect that love does not last forever and that everything has a limited life. If you think about it, Time is the one thing that will always come and go — it is everything around time that changes. The voice in the poem questions time at the end to get the reader thinking. So you can almost see that the tides have turned — Time told the voice 'I told you so'. But, by the end, the voice has the power question time if he will tell the voice so or not. I think another way time relates to love as a theme is that we have to remember that Auden wrote this poem in the s — when it was a crime to be a homosexual.

Instead of letting his emotions boil, he put his emotions onto pen and paper. However, he could not refer to a man in this love poem as it would raise suspicion about his sexuality. Therefore, instead, Auden referred to his homosexual feelings as Time, who can be deemed quite a masculine personification. This page is so useless. Did not the questions in my homework!!!!!!!!!! My reading of this poem is that Auden is writing to his lover, who perhaps is not aware of the depth and strength of Auden's feelings.

Auden therefore has an ally in Time. Time will reveal all, it's more powerful than the finite, decaying body. Auden is placing his trust in Time to speak for him, even beyond death. I love this, my favourite poem. The unspoken power of his feelings,and the devastating imagery are all he has to convey his loss.

It's amazing — conveys the loneliness and sense of profound loss. Of course, JS would empathise with Auden. A truly beautiful piece of writing. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Language Stanza One The first stanza talks about the price we have to pay. The poem was created in the s. This is only if our fates are predetermined. Overall this book was an interesting premise but in its carryout, it fell a little bit short of expectations. Dec 12, Erika Robuck rated it really liked it.

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It's and war is going to break out at any moment. Julia Compton is comfortably married. Her adored only child, Peter, attends Boarding School. She has a housekeeper to take care of all things domestic. Her life is privileged and easy. Then one day, when out with a friend, she meets Dougie, a documentary maker. As the French would say, it's a "coup de foudre" - an instant attraction that leads to an affair. An affair which leads to the end of her marriage and suddenly Julia We're in England. An affair which leads to the end of her marriage and suddenly Julia is navigating her way through very unfamiliar territory.

Cut off from her child and her income, living in the heart of the Blitz, realising how little she really knows the man she fell for.

I have never read any other books by Elizabeth Wilhide but wow, she can write. Her writing style is reminiscent of Helen Dunmore or Kate Atkinson, which is high praise. I was sucked into this story. I enjoyed the subtle humour and I thought the way it brought the realities of wartime London to life was masterful. One of the things I liked about the writing is the way that things aren't necessarily spelled out for us. It's not one of those books where you know exactly what people are thinking or can predict where the plot is going to take you. I notice that some reviews of this book complain that there isn't enough of a plot and in a way I can see where they are coming from but I didn't feel that it was an issue.

To me, it's about a woman being forced to grow up at a time when the war brought opportunities for women that they had never had before. My only significant complaint is that Dougie was such an unattractive and self-centered character that it was hard to understand why Julia would have fallen so heavily for him - but lust is like that, isn't it, it's not rational nor sensible.

I really enjoyed this and it was very close to being a five star read for me. Jul 03, Roger Brunyate rated it liked it Shelves: A Wartime Romance I gave up on this after 80 pages, not because it was bad, but because it did not offer much to engage the mind, which is what I need right now. In fact, the book cover is a fair indication of what lies in store: It is well enough written, and the atmosphere of the outbreak of war is es A Wartime Romance I gave up on this after 80 pages, not because it was bad, but because it did not offer much to engage the mind, which is what I need right now.

It is well enough written, and the atmosphere of the outbreak of war is especially well handled. But, as we know, the limbo of the Phony War will soon end, plunging London in into the horror of the Blitz.


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I have no doubt that Wilhide will continue to handle this well; I just didn't want to go there. Ahhh war romances how I love you! When this one came across my desk for review, I jumped at the chance to review it. The description was tantalizing and I just knew I had to read this one! From the outside, Julia had the picture perfect life making some readers wonder why she Ahhh war romances how I love you!

Not all romances are created equal in my book and this one fell a little short when it came to pace. There were parts in the book that seemed to drag on more than necessary. In addition to the pace, I could not connect with Dougie at all. Julia I could sympathize with and not judge but when it came to Dougie, something about his character just rang false to me and I never could invest in his character.

I absolutely love the cover! The cover really grabbed me and I immediately wanted to read this one just based on that. So well done cover artist! See my full review here Mar 17, Linda Munro rated it liked it.

If I Could Tell You by W.H. Auden Analysis

I received this book via a goodreads giveaway. I have to say a few things, it is well written, but for me, some parts of the books just dragged and I found my mind wandering. Take one woman who has lived a life of advantage and add a man who not only captured her attention, but also openly pursues her. Add to that a husband and a son and a war in Europe. If you like romance, war nove I received this book via a goodreads giveaway. If you like romance, war novels and adult coming of age books; this one fits the bill.

If there is any one item that you may not be fond of, and you may find your own mind wandering. Julia, wife and mother in a well ordered life, married to a handsome solicitor "who pays the bills". Enter Dougie the enigmatic film director of propaganda films for the MOI and with whom she begins an affair.

She leaves her comfortable life and her son for a life with unconventional and unreliable Dougie who proves to be a womaniser and love-rat. She finds herself with nothing and having to fend for herself Brief Encounter one step further - the step Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard didn't take. She finds herself with nothing and having to fend for herself in a life she has not been prepared for. The war and the new relationship changes her, she has to redefine her life, to find work and learn new skills.

EW depicts the war from a different perspective, the backdrop of the blitz which destroys London beyond recognition as is it does to Julia's life. How attitudes changed to "live for today" and the different attitudes to divorce and adultery by society between then and now. A tenderly written book, 3. He was the explosion. Now only pieces remained" Review originally published here: Another s read — but one that is very different in tone. Julia Compton is the terribly proper wife and mother, her husband highly-respectable and her home well-ordered. Her only child, a son, is clean and healthy, with appropriate school-boy concerns.

But then one day in , a film crew comes to shoot a documentary about the local fishing industry and Julia meets Dougie Birdsall, the Review originally published here: And it all goes a bit topsy-turvy. This is Brief Encounter without the stiff upper lip or the cups of tea. From the very beginning, a prologue set in warns us that this is all going to end in tears.

I was impressed by this though, If I Could Tell You may be chick-lit, but if so it is of the highest quality.

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I have mentioned on more than one occasion how I feel about adultery narratives — not a fan. Julia has all of the accouterments of middle-class life but finds herself still dissatisfied. Even during their separations, Dougie bombards Julia with letters full of desire. I felt that Wilhilde captured the period perfectly — having read a good deal around this era, the atmosphere of Blitz-torn London was incredibly evocative. Thrown out by her husband, Julia finds herself in the midst of a group of Bohemian artists, writers and film producers — a long way from where she began.

It was interesting too to see the archaic s divorce laws play out — when I was studying s fiction, I remember reading an explanation of the legislation using Brief Encounter as a case study. Julia is cast out from polite society, unable to see her child, only allowed to write to him via her husband and battling to even be allowed visitation given her status as adulteress. She has no idea of how to cook, having always had a cook to instruct instead.

She cannot clean, wash clothes — she has no skills other than piano-playing and a pleasant speaking voice. Dougie has not the same means as her husband Richard and it is easy to sigh and consider that Julia has made her bed and now must lie in it — Dougie bursts out laughing the first time that Julia asks which day his cleaning woman visits. It is not a punishment for a choice, but it is a consequence and complaining invites very little sympathy. But that is perhaps my Grandma speaking. Even her name evokes associations with the well-known wartime diarist Nella Last and Netta does keep diaries for her children.

This is no Anna Karenina, although a reference is made to that during the course of the novel. Julia may lament her victimhood and all that she has lost, but another steely-eyed character tells her quietly that she will find this all a great deal easier to survive if she acknowledges her own part in it. On some level she had not been enjoying her marriage.

There are many grim moments to If I Could Tell You, but perhaps the most surprising thing about this novel about a woman choosing heart over head is that the defining relationship is in fact the one she has with herself, and of course her child. There was much to enjoy here — despite scaling the highs and lows of passionate romance, it feels like a far more considered look at familial breakdown in the s.

Julia is captured on camera for wartime propaganda but her true self is far more complex than simply the girl keeping the home fire burning — If I Could Tell You gives the lie to wartime propaganda and illustrates what was for many a confusing and difficult time, where death could strike without warning. We first meet Julia as a woman on the brink, in a dangerous place and in a worrying state of mind. There were many women in the s who would have recognised her situation, unsettled by the conflict and finding themselves adrift in society.

Julia often feels like a woman who is not being heard — discontented and no less so having left her husband , she is a heroine who despite her faults, I found myself supporting. Highly readable and very thought-provoking, I found this a hard book to put down — a very humane look at a traumatic time in our history.

Jun 13, Linda Lipko rated it liked it. Usually I do not read romance novels, but this one pulled me in. The setting is WWII. Before the war came to England, Julia Compton was secure in her love of her son, and her life with a handsome man who met all financial needs. The life style was good, friends were of the country club set, and Julia thought she was quite satisfied. Then, a dashing film maker and his crew came to town, and her life is turned upside down.

Operating from the heart instead of her head, she longs for Dougie with a pa Usually I do not read romance novels, but this one pulled me in. Operating from the heart instead of her head, she longs for Dougie with a passion she never previously felt. When her husband discovers her indiscretion, she is tossed out. Moving with Dougie, who is also married, to live in London while his wife took their three daughters to live in Canada while the war raged one, all too soon Julia longs for her son and bit by bit sees the flawed man she is with.

Julia learns that she wasn't wise in her decision. This period novel focuses on the penniless condition of Julia, and the different lifestyles and values of she and Dougie. Dougie refuses to help with the financial cost of her divorce and, because she has no means of her own, she is straddled between two lives. There are shades of Anna Karenina in this book wherein the women leaves a comfortable lifestyle only to suffer severe consequences for her choice.

Shunned by society, she drifts alone without a safety net or ship to cling to. Good writing amid the backdrop of war, excellent character development, and a story that keeps the reader drawn into the pages, make this a book I recommend. Feb 28, Cheryl rated it did not like it. I am so, so sadden by the outcome I had with this book. This book is right up my alley so I was thoroughly looking forward to reading it. However, it was quickly apparent that I shared no connections to the characters or the story. This is the type of story where it suffers if there is no human connection between the reader me and the characters.

Yet, I will tell you that I held out hope that the story would get better as I progressed. I still think that there is hope for this book, I just cou I am so, so sadden by the outcome I had with this book. I still think that there is hope for this book, I just could not stick with it to the end. I barely got a third of the way in. This is not the way I'd hope most of us would describe a husband and is suggestive of a practical arrangement rather than a happy, fulfilling marriage.

Little wonder then, that Julia has her head turned by the advances of a handsome, married, bohemian film-maker Dougie Birdsall. Without describing plot and giving away spoilers, I'd like to say why I loved More 4. Without describing plot and giving away spoilers, I'd like to say why I loved this book. First of all I'll admit that Brief Encounter is one of my favourite films of all time and this had echoes of the prim and proper Laura Jesson Celia Johnson meeting the charismatic Dr Harvey Trevor Howard.

Only in this instance Julia is the bored suburban houswife who is more than tempted and Dougie is the stranger with it transpires little moral integrity. Unlike the film, Julia and Dougie, ignore the prevailing social mores and embark on an affair that has irreversible consequences, especially for Julia. Adultery was nothing new, but as a respectable wife and mother having an affair, Julia paid dearly for her choices. Set against the backdrop of the Blitz, it also highlights the contradictions of a growing live-for-the-moment attitude and changing sexual attitudes among the young.

It offers an interesting insight into life on the Homefront during the war. This ranges from practical day to day living and rationing constraints to an insight into the Ministry of Information and how it worked to present positive images and morale boosting films to aid the war effort. The war is a pivotal feature in the story as it engineers Julia and Dougie's meeting and also, without spoilers, her salvation.

It is a book that creates a range of emotions and really draws you in, not all the characters are likeable but they are very well drawn, and realistic, making this a great read, that I'd happily recommend. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author based on this. I received a review copy via NetGalley in return for an honest review. Mar 29, Mandy rated it did not like it.

If I Could Tell You - WH Auden

When I received the request to review this novel, I thought it had real promise. I was looking forward to reading a story about a woman who, admittedly, made a moralistic mistake but then picked herself back up and became empowered. What I got was a slow-paced, slightly aggravating, snooze fest. I swear I did because I hate to give negative reviews, especially on books I could not finish. It just wasn't happening for me on this one.

First of all, there's no reason whatsoever that When I received the request to review this novel, I thought it had real promise.