Lullaby

E121576

"Lullaby" is a celebrated love poem by W. H. Auden that tenderly reflects on the transience of beauty and the enduring nature of love.

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Label Occurrences
Lullaby canonical 1

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Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf love poem
poem
acknowledges impermanence of physical beauty
addressedTo a beloved
author W. H. Auden
belongsTo English literature
celebrates emotional and spiritual love
containsMotif Body and Soul
surface form: body and soul

night
sleep
time passing
contrasts eternal love with temporal existence
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
evokes intimacy between lovers
firstLine Lay your sleeping head, my love
focusesOn contrast between physical decay and lasting love
form poem in quatrains
genre love poetry
lyric poetry
hasInfluenced critical discussions of modern love poetry
hasTitleType descriptive title
isAnthologizedIn various collections of 20th-century English poetry
isRegardedAs one of W. H. Auden's notable love poems
language English
literaryDevice alliteration
enjambment
imagery
paradox
literaryMovement modernism
meter irregular meter
period 20th century
portrays love as enduring despite mortality
rhymeScheme complex and variable
setToMusicIn various song and choral settings by composers
subject a lover addressing a sleeping beloved
theme enduring nature of love
human frailty
mortality
tender affection
time
transience of beauty
tone meditative
melancholic
tender
writtenBy W. H. Auden

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Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

W. H. Auden notableWork Lullaby