W. H. Auden
[Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone]

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

This is a poem of grief and the lamentation of love that is lost forever. The speaker reveals his feelings concerning the loss of a loved one. The poem begins with "stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone," meaning that time has stopped for the speaker. He does not want to communicate with anyone. "Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone" implies that all things that provide some sort of happiness or enjoyment has been taken from his life.

"Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead." The speaker wants the whole world to know this person is gone from his life. The next line implies he wants everyone to partake in this grief with him. The speaker wants everyone to feel the same sadness he does.

He has lost all direction by losing this person. "He was my North, my South, my East and West" implies this person was his compass and he is lost without him. This person was the speaker's everything in terms of where he sought enjoyment, and also provided comfort to the speaker. The speaker thought this love would last forever, but now that his lover is gone this love has ceased in existence. These lines could give insight into the speaker's views on what happens once a person dies. Many believe love goes on forever, even after a person leaves this world, but the speaker of this poem believes that love does not continue after this person has died.

The final stanza begins with the speaker removing the sources of light from his world. He says to put out the stars, pack up the moon, and dismantle the sun. By saying he no longer wants the stars could imply he no longer sees any hope or future for himself. Many people know the saying of, "wish upon a star," and if the speaker no longer wants stars in his life could imply he longer seeks for anything. The last line implies he no longer sees any positivity coming into his life.

Works Cited: 
Auden, W.H. "Stop the clocks, cut off the telephone." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. Alison Booth, Kelly Mays. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2011. 470-471. Print.