"As I Walked Out One Evening" is W.H. Auden's song of disillusionment, mortality, and love. The poem's speaker wanders out for an evening stroll and overhears a kind of debate between a young lover, who believes that "love has no ending," and all the city's clocks, which counter that "you cannot conquer time." These personified clocks sing of all life's disappointments and endings—but also suggest that, in spite of the fact that love does have an ending, one must nevertheless go on trying to "love your crooked neighbor / With your crooked heart." Love isn't a liberating, all-conquering force, this poem says: it's a humble, brave task, taken on in the face of death itself. This poem first appeared in Auden's 1940 collection Another Time.
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The Full Text of “As I Walked Out One Evening”
The Full Text of “As I Walked Out One Evening”
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Summary
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Themes
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The Power of Love vs. the Power of Time
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-60
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “As I Walked Out One Evening”
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Lines 1-4
As I walked ...
... of harvest wheat. -
Lines 5-12
And down by ...
... in the street, -
Lines 13-20
"I'll love you ...
... of the world." -
Lines 21-24
But all the ...
... cannot conquer Time. -
Lines 25-28
"In the burrows ...
... you would kiss. -
Lines 29-32
"In headaches and ...
... To-morrow or to-day. -
Lines 33-36
"Into many a ...
... diver's brilliant bow. -
Lines 37-40
"O plunge your ...
... what you've missed. -
Lines 41-44
"The glacier knocks ...
... of the dead. -
Lines 45-48
"Where the beggars ...
... on her back. -
Lines 49-56
"O look, look ...
... your crooked heart." -
Lines 57-60
It was late, ...
... river ran on.
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Symbols
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The River
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Line 5: “down by the brimming river”
- Line 60: “the deep river ran on”
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Personification
Where personification appears in the poem:- Lines 21-24: “But all the clocks in the city / Began to whirr and chime: / "O let not Time deceive you, / You cannot conquer Time.”
- Lines 25-28: “"In the burrows of the Nightmare / Where Justice naked is, / Time watches from the shadow / And coughs when you would kiss.”
- Lines 31-32: “And Time will have his fancy / To-morrow or to-day.”
- Lines 35-36: “Time breaks the threaded dances / And the diver's brilliant bow.”
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Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Line 1: “As I walked out one evening,”
- Line 2: “ Walking down Bristol Street,”
- Lines 13-16: “"I'll love you till the ocean / Is folded and hung up to dry / And the seven stars go squawking / Like geese about the sky.”
- Lines 46-48: “ And the Giant is enchanting to Jack, / And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer, / And Jill goes down on her back.”
- Lines 55-56: “You shall love your crooked neighbour / With your crooked heart."”
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Simile
Where simile appears in the poem:- Lines 15-16: “And the seven stars go squawking / Like geese about the sky.”
- Line 17: “"The years shall run like rabbits,”
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Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Lines 3-4: “The crowds upon the pavement / Were fields of harvest wheat.”
- Lines 18-19: “ For in my arms I hold / The Flower of the Ages,”
- Lines 41-44: “"The glacier knocks in the cupboard, / The desert sighs in the bed, / And the crack in the tea-cup opens / A lane to the land of the dead.”
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Repetition
Where repetition appears in the poem:- Line 1: “walked”
- Line 2: “Walking”
- Line 9: “"I'll love you, dear, I'll love you”
- Line 13: “"I'll love you”
- Line 23: “Time”
- Line 24: “Time”
- Line 27: “Time watches”
- Line 31: “Time will have”
- Line 35: “Time breaks”
- Line 46: “And”
- Line 47: “And”
- Line 48: “And”
- Line 49: “look, look”
- Line 50: “look”
- Line 51: “blessing”
- Line 52: “bless”
- Line 53: “stand, stand”
- Lines 55-56: “You shall love your crooked neighbour / With your crooked heart."”
- Line 57: “late, late”
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Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 12: “salmon sing,” “street”
- Line 15: “seven stars,” “squawking”
- Line 16: “sky”
- Line 17: “run,” “rabbits”
- Line 24: “cannot conquer”
- Line 28: “coughs,” “kiss”
- Line 30: “life leaks”
- Line 31: “Time”
- Line 32: “To-morrow,” “to-day”
- Line 35: “dances”
- Line 36: “diver's,” “brilliant bow”
- Line 43: “crack,” “cup”
- Line 44: “lane,” “land”
- Line 45: “beggars,” “banknotes”
- Line 53: “stand,” “stand”
- Line 54: “scald,” “start”
- Line 57: “late,” “late”
- Line 58: “lovers”
- Line 60: “river ran”
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Assonance
Where assonance appears in the poem:- Line 4: “fields,” “wheat”
- Line 5: “brimming river”
- Line 14: “hung up”
- Line 29: “headaches”
- Line 30: “Vaguely,” “away”
- Line 31: “have,” “fancy”
- Line 45: “raffle,” “banknotes”
- Line 46: “enchanting,” “Jack”
- Line 59: “ceased”
- Line 60: “deep”
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Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “Bristol Street”
- Line 3: “pavement”
- Line 4: “harvest wheat”
- Line 5: “brimming river”
- Line 7: “Under,” “arch,” “railway”
- Line 12: “salmon sing,” “street”
- Line 15: “seven stars,” “squawking”
- Line 16: “geese,” “sky”
- Line 17: “run,” “rabbits”
- Line 19: “Flower”
- Line 20: “first love”
- Line 24: “cannot conquer”
- Line 26: “Justice,” “is”
- Line 28: “coughs,” “kiss”
- Line 29: “headaches”
- Line 30: “Vaguely life leaks”
- Line 33: “valley”
- Line 34: “appalling”
- Line 35: “threaded dances”
- Line 36: “diver's,” “brilliant bow”
- Line 40: “wonder what”
- Line 41: “knocks,” “cupboard”
- Line 42: “desert sighs”
- Line 43: “crack,” “tea-cup,” “opens”
- Line 44: “land,” “dead”
- Line 45: “beggars,” “banknotes”
- Line 46: “Giant,” “enchanting,” “Jack”
- Line 47: “Lily”
- Line 48: “Jill”
- Line 53: “stand, stand”
- Line 54: “tears,” “scald,” “start”
- Line 60: “river ran”
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Brimming
- The Flower of the Ages
- Burrows
- The diver's brilliant bow
- Jack
- The Lily-white Boy
- Roarer
- Jill
- Scald
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(Location in poem: Lines 5-6: “And down by the brimming river / I heard a lover sing”)
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “As I Walked Out One Evening”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Speaker
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“As I Walked Out One Evening” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “As I Walked Out One Evening”
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More “As I Walked Out One Evening” Resources
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External Resources
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Auden's Influence — Read an appreciation of Auden that discusses his lasting influence.
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A Brief Biography — Learn more about Auden's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.
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Auden on Film — Watch footage of Auden reciting some of his light verse (and enjoy both his sense of humor and his wonderfully craggy face).
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The Poem Aloud — Listen to Auden himself reading this poem out loud.
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Auden and Music — Visit the British Library's website to learn more about how popular music influenced Auden's poetry—including this poem, which was originally titled "Song."
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LitCharts on Other Poems by W. H. Auden
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