479 Auden and the Muse of History (with Susannah Young-ah Gottlieb)
The History of Literature
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The Duty of a Poet as a Citizen Is to Defend Language
The defense of language is something that has real-world political consequences. Poetry's role was not just changing hearts and minds or something, but defending language. If it's just a necessity, then it's not a matter of personal responsibility or decision-making. As for the second part of your question, did he think of it as a duty? It was a duty but a freely-taken up duty. Otherwise, it wouldn't be fulfilling the obligation that it has.
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