If I Could Tell You
W-h-auden
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If I Could Tell You by W. H. Auden
Release Date
Performed by
W-h-audenAbout
Dated October 1940, during the early years of WWII.
This type of poem is called a villanelle, a form that consists of 19 lines of 5 tercets followed by a quatrain, and two repeating rhymes–strictly the first and third line of the third stanza.
For Auden to use such a strict structure for a poem sho...
If I Could Tell You Annotated
Time will say nothing but I told you so,
Time only knows the price we have to pay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know.
The winds must come from somewhere when they blow,
There must be reasons why the leaves decay;
Time will say nothing but I told you so.
Perhaps the roses really want to grow,
The vision seriously intends to stay;
If I could tell you I would let you know.
Suppose the lions all get up and go,
And all the brooks and soldiers run away;
Will Time say nothing but I told you so?
If I could tell you I would let you know.
If I Could Tell You Q&A
When did W-h-auden release If I Could Tell You?
W-h-auden released If I Could Tell You on Tue Oct 01 1940.
What is the tone of the poem? What is the overall theme of the poem?
Auden uses a lyrical and uncertain tone and a very organized and repetitive form—the Villanelle—to convey the theme of the continuous and unforgiving nature of Time, and how humans and nature submit to its unpredictability.