Louis MacNeice was a well-regarded member of the Auden-Spender-Day Lewis group, although not the most famous. He collaborated with Auden on Letters from Iceland. He taught for a time, married, and continued to write. His collection, Poems, published in 1935 was one of his most successful.
‘Sunlight on the Garden’ by Louis MacNeice is a poem about change, death, and accepting that life eventually ends.
The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold;
‘Prayer Before Birth’ by Louis MacNeice was written during the terror struck days of World War II. It places the realities of an evil world into the mouth of an unborn baby.
I am not yet born; O hear me.
Let not the bloodsucking bat or the rat or the stoat or the
club-footed ghoul come near me.
‘Meeting Point’ by Louis MacNiece is an eight-stanza poem that uses structure, rhyme, and metaphor to reveal the life cycle of a relationship.
Time was away and somewhere else,
There were two glasses and two chairs
And two people with the one pulse
‘Snow’ by Louis MacNeice looks like a straightforward poem about a winter scene, but the truth is much more complex.
The room was suddenly rich and the great bay-window wasSpawning snow and pink roses against itSoundlessly collateral and incompatible:World is suddener than we fancy it.
MacNeice’s ‘Star-Gazer’ contrasts the ephemeral quality of human life with the enduring presence of stars, underscoring our brief existence.
Forty-two years ago (to me if to no one else
The number is of some interest) it was a brilliant starry night
And the westward train was empty and had no corridors
support@poemanalysis.com
Poem Solutions Limited
Company no: 10883994
United Kingdom
Access Poetry PDF Guides
for this Poem
Complete Poetry PDF Guide
Perfect Offline Resource
Covers Everything You Need to Know
One-pager 'snapshot' PDF
Great Offline Resource
Gateway to deeper understanding
870+ Reviews
