“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Introduction

• Read the full text of “Epitaph on a Tyrant”

“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Summary

“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Themes

• 

  Tyranny and Violence

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-6

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Epitaph on a Tyrant”

• Lines 1-2

  Perfection, of a ...
  ... easy to understand;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-4

  He knew human ...
  ... armies and fleets;

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-6

  When he laughed, ...
  ... in the streets.

  

  

  

  

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“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Symbols

• 

  Armies and Fleets

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Line 4: “And was greatly interested in armies and fleets;”

“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Repetition

  

  

  

  

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  Where repetition appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “And”
  • Line 4: “And”
  • Line 5: “When he,” “laughed,” “laughter”
  • Line 6: “And,” “when he”

• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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  Where allusion appears in the poem:

  • Line 5: “When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter,”
  • Line 6: “And when he cried the little children died in the streets.”

• Assonance

  

  

  

  

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  Where assonance appears in the poem:

  • Line 3: “knew human”
  • Line 5: “respectable senators”
  • Line 6: “cried,” “died”

• Caesura

  

  

  

  

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  Where caesura appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “Perfection, of,” “kind, was”
  • Line 5: “laughed, respectable”

“Epitaph on a Tyrant” 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.

• Poetry
• Folly
• Fleets
• Senators

• (Location in poem: Line 2: “And the poetry he invented was easy to understand;”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Epitaph on a Tyrant”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Speaker

“Epitaph on a Tyrant” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Epitaph on a Tyrant”

More “Epitaph on a Tyrant” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a reading of "Epitaph on a Tyrant."

  • About the Poet — Read a short biography of Auden at Poets.org.

  • An Auden Documentary — Watch a short film about Auden's life and career.

  • Auden at the Poetry Foundation — An exhibit on Auden's life and poetry.

  • Auden and Political Poetry — Background on Auden's opposition to the fascism of the 1930s and 1940s and his conflicted relationship with his own political poems.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by W. H. Auden

  • As I Walked Out One Evening

  • Funeral Blues (Stop all the clocks)

  • In Memory of W. B. Yeats

  • Lullaby

  • Musée des Beaux Arts

  • Partition

  • Refugee Blues

  • September 1, 1939

  • The Capital

  • The More Loving One

  • The Shield of Achilles

  • The Unknown Citizen