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This Close Passage Analysis is a response to WH Auden’s ‘To Ask the Hard Question’.
Description
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In “To ask the hard question” the juxtaposition of “hard” and “simple” suggests that it is the act of listening rather than the act of initial engagement in conversation that is challenging. The reference to “acquaintance” rather than friend establishes a distant almost disengaged tone. This is supported by the reference to the questions “to what these go” “And how these do”. Our preoccupation with questions that are scientifically based, and our need for logical answers that make sense, is suggested in these lines. The questions relate more to functions and operations than feelings and emotions. The depersonalisation of the first stanza is compounded by the “confused will”. The deliberate ambiguity of the last line of the first stanza implies that questions are asked for the purpose of clarification “the simple act of the confused will”. The spontaneity of asking questions is almost instinctual, our desire to know, to discover, to uncover hidden truths about the world, is a fundamental part of our make-up as human beings.
