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Funeral Blues

Author: W.H. Auden

This Page Includes: Full Verses of the Poem in Text. A Recording of the Poem (Audio). A Free PDF Download for reading purposes. Free Editable Google Doc Download if you wish to make changes or to personalise the poem. The page also includes what the poem is about, structure of poem and explaining the best parts.

Funeral Blues Poem Verses

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

Audio Recording

Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as 'Funeral Blues' can be tailored/personalised

Download Poem

Please note the audio recording may not exactly match the text version as 'Funeral Blues' can be tailored/personalised

Donwload As PDF

Personalised Poem

Would you like to customise this poem? You have the option to personalise it by accessing the provided link, which will direct you to Google Docs. From there, you can download the poem ‘Memories’ to your personal Google Docs account or Microsoft Word where you will be able to edit the poem however you want.

Personalised Poem

About the poem

The poem is about the deep grief and loss felt by the speaker after the death of their loved one. The speaker calls for the world to stop and mourn with them, silencing all sounds and bringing out the coffin. They express the enormity of their loss, stating that their loved one was their entire world, and that they believed love would last forever. The final lines express the idea that the world has lost its meaning and beauty with the death of their loved one, and that nothing can ever be good again.

The Structure of Poem

The poem consists of four stanzas, each with four lines, and follows an AABB rhyme scheme. The first stanza sets the scene for a funeral and establishes a tone of mourning and grief. The second stanza describes how the world around the speaker should react to the death, with airplanes circling and the public doves wearing crepe bows. The third stanza reveals the depth of the speaker's love for the deceased and how that love was central to the speaker's life. The fourth and final stanza conveys the sense of loss and despair the speaker feels after the death, using imagery to convey the idea that nothing in the world matters anymore.

Best Quote from Funeral Blues Poem

This is a quote from the poem Funeral Blues by W.H. Auden

"He was my North, my South, my East and West. My working week and my Sunday rest, My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong."

This quote beautifully captures the intensity of the speaker's love for the deceased and the devastation they feel at their loss. It is a poignant reminder of how deeply love can affect us and how painful it can be to lose someone we cherish.