Does Audens early poetry have any heroes or are all his heroes flawed or failed?
… unity of the body and mind and the overthrowing of fear and apathy. The true heroes in Auden’s early poetry do not exist, they are blueprints presented to man by Auden through his acknowledgement of flaws in man, which failed to create a true hero. The archetypal hero of Greek and Norse myth is one of bravery and self sacrifice in war. The heroes in saga literature know the importance of their courage in overcoming the evils of society. They often battle to the death to maintain freedom; whether it is freedom from pains of the body, fear of death, and against fate itself. The narrator must present a person of considerable force, super-human will power and strength so that the heroic conduct is feasible. This is the unity of body and mind, where the alleged heroes in Auden’s poetry are essentially failed. They do not have the understanding …
