"Epitaph on a Tyrant," one of W. H. Auden's best-known political poems, appears in the collection Another Time (1940). Written months before the outbreak of World War II, it assesses the career and psychology of a dictator in dry, satirical tones. It portrays the dictator as a skilled manipulator, a ruthless warmonger, and a murderous narcissist who punishes his country when he's in a bad mood. Though it doesn't name a particular leader or setting, it's often read as a comment on the dictators of Auden's era, including Hitler and Mussolini. At the same time, it seems to sum up the nature of tyrants in all times and places.

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

• “Epitaph on a Tyrant” Summary

• “Epitaph on a Tyrant” Themes

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    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

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    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

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