Analysis of Victor
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A poem by W.H. Auden. "The Deceit of Victor’s Youth" November, 2000. W.H. Auden's narrative poem Victor (1941) includes the happenings in the life of the main character, Victor, who was told from early childhood ad nauseum to take the Bible literally (For example, "His father took him on his knee and said 'Don't dishonor the family name'" in lines 7-8). The Bible contains many commands, some of which are extreme, and Victor takes some of them literally. For instance, "The adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Tanakh 187) indicates that any person who is promiscuous should be murdered. The Leviticus passage proves to be fatal to those who interpret it literally as the poem progresses. The poem is noteworthy due to the complexity of its imagery, biblical allusions, symbolism, and overall meaning. Additionally, the author was in a transition phase from his early liberalism to his turn to religious philosophy. This poem indicates the author was interested in religion despite his early liberal ideas. To begin, the months in Victor parallel and dictate the events that shape the poem. The poem begins in frosty December (13), a vivid image symbolizing Victor's father and his lack of heart for his son. Had Victor's father spent more time loving Victor and less time preaching to him, perhaps Victor would not have turned out as he did. The absence of a motherly figure in combination with the cold December could point to the possibility that the warm love of a motherly figure is never present in Victor’s life. Victor initially meets Anna, the love of his life, in April, a time of rebirth for him. But because it was the first of April, it is Victor who is the fool as the narrative progresses. Victor eventually marries Anna in August (71), symbolizing the warmth Victor feels for the first time in his life. Unfortunately by September (75), an indicator of the end of summer and the termination of warmth in Victor’s life, he jumps to the conclusion that Anna has cheated on him despite the fact that no evidence exists to support his conclusion. Additionally, biblical allusions shape much of the poem. The family name (4) appears to relate to the blood (45) which sang, “I’m the Resurrection and the Life” (139-140) because Victor is fulfilling a family obligation to follow the Bible. Victor reads about Jezebel, a character from the Old Testament who killed the Lord's prophets, promoted Baal worship, and was eaten by the dogs after her death for her wickedness (I Kings 18:4, I Kings 16:32-33, II Kings 9:30-37). From Victor’s perspective, Anna encapsulates the wickedness and shamefulness of Jezebel. And according to what Victor was taught as a youngster, “Blessed are the pure in heart” (12). When he discovers that his love, Anna, is not pure in heart because she has cheated on him, Victor remembers what he was taught and seeks revenge. The author uses several other biblical allusions throughout the poem. In the end of the poem, the terms “Alpha and Omega” (162), “Son of Man” (159), and “Resurrection and the Life” (146) are used to illustrate the point that Victor feels he is each of these descriptions after the murder of the supposed adulteress. Victor fulfills what he deems to be his moral obligation, and thus he feels he is the essence of each of the descriptions used to define Jesus in The New Testament. Finally, poetic devices add to the overall meaning and interpretation of the poem immensely. The “Time” (27) spoken of seems to symbolically relate to death, which may, in turn, be a forewarning of Victor’s future destructive streak. That leads to the “Ace of Spades reversed” (118), the very dagger which Victor slaughters Anna with (142). The coat of fur (51) Anna wears appears to symbolize her cold, bitter actions, which harm Victor just as Helen of Troy harmed citizens in her time. The simile “She gave him a kiss like a blow on the head” (69) illustrates that Victor doesn’t have the capacity to comprehend real affection. His lack of capacity and lack of warmth is what sparks his jumping to the conclusion that Anna has cheated on him. Meanwhile, Anna is referred to as Victor’s Helen of Troy (74), an ironic allusion to the beautiful wife of Menelaus who began the Trojan War. Similar to the killing that occurred due to Helen of Troy’s elopement of with Paris to Troy, killing also occurs because of Anna’s adulterous behavior. When Victor persists in asking God questions, he does so at a variety of localities. The vast irony is that from the time he stood in the sunset (91) to the time he came to the river (107), the locations of his pleas gradually fall from the greatest to the least powerful points. And by the end of the poem, the only thing poor Victor can relate to is the “woman of clay” (161), personification which represents the only thing Victor can possibly relate to in life. All else has failed Victor. To summarize the poem, poor old Victor starts out as a mostly normal individual (though a bit “mousey”) who falls in love with Anna, who means the world to him. However, when he discovers her unfaithfulness, he takes control of his universe and judges that she must be killed for it. The idea that something starting out as pure and joyful as love and then progressing into something as horrific as murder encapsulates the immense irony of Auden’s poem. From Victor’s naming of Anna as “Helen of Troy” (74) to his “woman of clay” reference (161), irony persists throughout the poem. Among W.H. Auden's greatest accomplishments as a poet was that of reconciling tradition and modernism. According to Auden (1907-1973), "Time is always guilty. Someone must pay for Our loss of happiness, our happiness itself" (Mendelson). Anna pays the price in “Victor”. The uniqueness of “Victor” can be summed up by the lucid references outside the text to imagery, biblical citations and symbolism which characterize Victor, Anna and Victor’s father. These literary devices pave the way for the blood that terminates the once passionate relationship and the woman of clay, a cold, sterile symbol of the love Victor craves. Works Cited Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures. Torah, Nevi’im, Kethuvim. The Jewish Publication Society: New York. 1988. Leviticus 20:10. Page 187. Mendelson, Edward (Editor) and W.H. Auden (Author). Collected Poems. Detective Story. Vintage Books: Vancouver, Washington. 1991. |
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Poetry |