The poem is written in six stanzas, each consisting of four lines. The rhyme scheme is ABAB, which creates a sense of unity and cohesion throughout the poem. The first stanza introduces the setting and the tone of the poem:
**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.**
The speaker immediately creates a sense of urgency and solemnity by asking for everything to be stopped or silenced. The funeral procession is about to begin, and the community is preparing to pay their respects. The second stanza describes the mourners, who are dressed in black and walking slowly behind the coffin:
**Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.**
The speaker uses hyperbole and imagery to convey the extent of the grief. The airplanes are circling and moaning overhead, as if they are mourning the loss. The doves are wearing black bows, and even the traffic policemen are wearing black gloves. The entire community is affected by this death, and the speaker is calling for a collective expression of grief.
The third stanza focuses on the coffin, which is carried by six pallbearers:
**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 speaker describes the deceased person as being their everything. They were their compass, their source of comfort, and their inspiration. The speaker is now realizing that love is not eternal, and they are devastated by the loss.
The fourth stanza is a powerful indictment of death, which is personified as a cruel and relentless force:
**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.**
The speaker is so overwhelmed by grief that they wish to extinguish all light and beauty in the world. They feel that nothing matters anymore, and that life is meaningless without the person they have lost.
The fifth stanza is a plea for the deceased person to return, even if it is just for a moment:
**He shall come like a bridegroom to his bride,
He shall come like the bridegroom comes to his bride;
He shall come like a bridegroom to his bride
When the eve is long and the night is wide.**
The speaker is longing for their loved one to come back, even if it is only for a brief moment. They imagine the deceased person as a bridegroom, coming to them in the night. This stanza offers a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness of grief.
The sixth and final stanza brings the poem to a close with a powerful affirmation of love:
**We must love one another or die.
We must love one another or die.**
The speaker ends the poem with a simple but profound message: that love is the only thing that can save us from the darkness of grief and death. We must love one another, or we will surely perish.
"Funeral Blues" is a powerful and moving poem that captures the essence of grief and loss. Auden's use of imagery, hyperbole, and personification creates a vivid and unforgettable picture of a funeral procession in Harlem. The poem is a reminder of the fragility of life and the importance of love.