The Full Text of “Partition”
The Full Text of “Partition”
-
“Partition” Introduction
-
-
“Partition” Summary
-
-
“Partition” Themes
-
The Violence and Hubris of British Colonialism
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-25
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Partition”
-
Lines 1-4
Unbiased at least ...
... and incompatible gods. -
Lines 5-7
"Time," they had briefed ...
... lies in separation. -
Lines 8-12
The Viceroy thinks, ...
... rest with you." -
Lines 13-16
Shut up in ...
... Of millions. -
Lines 16-19
The maps at ...
... Contested areas. -
Lines 19-22
The weather was ...
... or worse divided. -
Lines 23-25
The next day ...
... might get shot.
-
-
“Partition” Symbols
-
The Lonely Mansion
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 13-15: “Shut up in a lonely mansion, with police night and day / Patrolling the gardens to keep the assassins away, / He got down to work”
-
-
“Partition” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Asyndeton
Where asyndeton appears in the poem:- Lines 15-16: “He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate / Of millions.”
- Lines 18-19: “But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect / Contested areas.”
- Lines 21-22: “But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided, / A continent for better or worse divided.”
-
Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 2: “partition”
- Line 3: “peoples,” “odds”
- Line 4: “different diets,” “gods”
- Line 5: “short,” “It's too late”
- Line 6: “mutual reconciliation or rational debate”
- Line 7: “only solution now lies in separation”
- Line 8: “Viceroy thinks,” “see,” “letter”
- Line 9: “less,” “seen”
- Line 13: “police”
- Line 14: “Patrolling”
- Line 16: “millions,” “maps”
- Line 17: “Census,” “Returns,” “almost certainly incorrect”
- Line 18: “time to,” “check,” “time to inspect”
- Line 19: “Contested”
- Line 20: “dysentery kept,” “constantly,” “trot”
- Line 21: “done,” “decided”
- Line 22: “divided”
-
Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 2: “partition”
- Line 3: “peoples”
- Line 4: “different,” “diets”
- Line 7: “solution,” “separation”
- Line 13: “police”
- Line 14: “Patrolling,” “assassins,” “away”
- Line 16: “millions,” “maps”
- Line 17: “incorrect”
- Line 18: “inspect”
- Line 21: “done,” “decided”
- Line 22: “divided”
-
Irony
Where irony appears in the poem:- Lines 1-2: “Unbiased at least he was when he arrived on his mission, / Having never set eyes on the land he was called to partition”
- Lines 19-22: “The weather was frightfully hot, / And a bout of dysentery kept him constantly on the trot, / But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided, / A continent for better or worse divided.”
-
-
“Partition” 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.
- Unbiased
- Partition
- Fanatically at odds
- Incompatible
- Briefed
- Mutual reconciliation
- Viceroy
- Accommodation
- Hindu
- Moslem
- Census Returns
- Contested
- A bout of dysentery
- On the trot
- Frontiers
-
(Location in poem: Line 1: “Unbiased at least he was when he arrived on his mission,”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Partition”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Partition” Speaker
-
-
“Partition” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Partition”
-
-
More “Partition” Resources
-
External Resources
-
A Succinct Overview of India's Partition — Watch a TedEd video explaining the British partition of India, its bloody aftermath, and how its effects are still felt today.
-
The Poet's Life and Career — Read a Poetry Foundation biography of Auden.
-
A 2018 Humanities Feature on Auden — Read an article juxtaposing the poet's disheveled persona with his disciplined literary output.
-
"Children of Partition" — Watch a video in which five childhood survivors of the 1947 Partition describe how the event changed their lives.
-
The Joy of Reading Auden — Susan McDonald writes in the Guardian about the lasting impact of Auden's poetry.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by W. H. Auden
-
