Auden ended up hating this poem. He refused to have it published. Eventually he relented, but demanded a disclaimer saying her rejected the poem and regreted wr

Auden ended up hating this poem. He refused to have it published. Eventually he relented, but demanded a disclaimer saying her rejected the poem and regreted writing. One of his complaints was that “we must love each other or die” is stupid because we all die regardless. I think he buried some landmines so deep that he ended up stepping on them.