Talk:W. H. Auden/Archive 6

Erika Julia Hedwig Mann
It is strange that we have an article about Erika Julia Hedwig Mann, WH Auden's wife, but no mention of her here. DOR (HK) (talk) 00:35, 20 May 2011 (UTC)
 * But of course she is mentioned in the article. Simply search for "Erika Mann" on the article page. You'll find her immediately, with exactly the emphasis that her marriage-of-convenience to Auden requires in an article like this one. 01:46, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

"Beat Generation was partly a reaction against his influence"
I'm not sure about this apparently unsourced line of the article: "His manner was so pervasive in American poetry that the ecstatic style of the Beat Generation was partly a reaction against his influence." Ginsberg, I would say, seems like he was influenced by Auden. Auden himself sometimes wrote in a radical style that might seem like a precursor to Beat. I'm not sure, though. Could anyone shed some light on this for me? --IronMaidenRocks (talk) 02:25, 19 February 2012 (UTC)

York images
Here are some (rather low quality) images of Auden's birthplace and plaque, at 54 Bootham in York, that could be used in the article. If considered suitable, higher quality images might be forthcoming. But there might be better ones available at Commons or at geograph already. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:41, 30 March 2012 (UTC)


 * I have just taken a look at Commons and I think it's fair to say that I have never seen a more dismal collection of images for any leading British or American poet (no offence to the uploaders of those). Perhaps they have just not all be categorised properly. Oh well. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:14, 22 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Done. Thank you. Macspaunday (talk) 00:49, 23 July 2012 (UTC)
 * Have now updated. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:20, 6 April 2013 (UTC)
 * I would dispute that there were "two photos of Auden's birthplace". While I accept that he moved from the house when aged only two, I think the significance is that it was his birthplace (as the placement of the plaque there seems to support). And a plaque is not really "a birthplace", is it? The plaque isn't really visible in that other image unless you open and really enlarge it. There is a real paucity of images at Commons and was trying to have something that was suitable for "Reputation and influence", i.e. legacy. But now it's simply been discarded. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:18, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

You are quite right about the lack of images in that section. I've now added two images that are highly suitable to "Reputation and Influence" but do not duplicate a detail of another image already present on the same page. I shall endeavor to find a photo of Auden's memorial plaque in Westminster Abbey (if any editor can supply one, that would be very helpful) and of the other plaques in Britain and the US that commemorate places where Auden wrote his works. Macspaunday (talk) 17:15, 8 January 2014 (UTC)
 * The two new ones are very good. Sorry, but I'm still not wholly convinced by your argument on "duplicating a detail of another image" in this case. But I'm obviously biased, haha. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:19, 8 January 2014 (UTC) p.s. I think some of the background on that Brooklyn Heights one could be trimmed.

Origin of the name Wystan - Should footnote reference be moved?
The first sentence describing Auden's childhood includes a footnote reference that is unrelated to the sentence. As of 29 May 2014, the opening sentence of that section is:
 * Auden was born in York, England, to George Augustus Auden, a physician, and Constance Rosalie Bicknell Auden, who had trained (but never served) as a missionary nurse.

but here's the text of the footnote:
 * The name Wystan derives from the 9th century St Wystan, who was murdered by Beorhtwulf, king of Mercia, after Wystan objected to Beorthtwulf's plan to marry Wystan's mother. His remains were reburied at Repton, Derbyshire, where they became the object of a cult; the parish church of Repton is named St Wystan's. Auden's father, George Augustus Auden, was educated at Repton School.

IMHO, the origin of Wystan Hugh Auden's first name is sufficiently interesting, but I feel it belongs right at the beginning of the whole article, at the introduction of the subject's first name. Currently, the footnote reference is positioned after a sentence that doesn't mention the name Wystan. Even if it did, the footnote reference would seem to be better placed at the first mention. Thoughts? Opinion? Does it even matter?

ChrisJBenson (talk) 01:51, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Yes, indeed. Done. - Macspaunday (talk) 17:40, 30 May 2014 (UTC)

Last image
File:Auden1970ByPeter.jpg How come this image won't get any bigger? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:22, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Because that's the only size we have. Click on it and you'll see the words "No higher resolution available." An editor who calls himself Toronto Peter posted the image and there's nothing to be done about it unless he should someday decide to post something with a higher resolution. - Macspaunday (talk) 22:20, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Does resolution determine physical size as per "360px"? Presumably Toronto Peter found this image somewhere. Although the source says "own work", I think it's unlikely he took this 1970 photo himself? Who knows. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:30, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
 * You can't make an image display with more pixels than it already has (unless you want to make it look like a bad xerox copy of an old newspaper photo). And, yes, I know for a fact that Toronto Peter did indeed take the photograph himself (and he would have had no moral or legal right to upload it if he hadn't). - Macspaunday (talk) 22:59, 30 May 2014 (UTC)
 * Am very intrigued. I think this one does already look like a bad xerox copy of an old newspaper photo. Indeed Wikipedia has a deliberate policy of using low quality images in many cases, which I find somewhat bizarre. But here there is not much choice, is there. Martinevans123 (talk) 08:07, 31 May 2014 (UTC)