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Johnson13 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Auden must work here exceptionally hard precisely because of the tight, epigrammatic, spell-blinding beauty of the previous quatrain.

A sentence: Auden must work here exceptionally hard precisely because of the tight, epigrammatic, spell-blinding beauty of the previous quatrain.(from 'On "September 1, 1939" by WH Auden)

I think here MUST WORK is ambiguous;

1. MUST can mean a guess (eg You must be from a wealthy family.)
2. MUST can mean a requirement (eg You must pass the exam.)

Do you agree? Of course it's unfair to view a sentence in isolation, but even with the context I can't figure out the meaning of the sentence.
  

Top answer

Johnson13 I think here MUST WORK is ambiguous Much of any language is ambiguous for those who do not think about the logical choice of meanings in context. Which do you think a critic of poetry would mean? He is speaking about work on the present quartrain as influenced by work on the previous quatrain.

— Mister Micawber

  • Johnson13 I think here MUST WORK is ambiguous Much of any language is ambiguous for those who do not think about the logical choice of meanings in context.
  • Which do you think a critic of poetry would mean?
  • He is speaking about work on the present quartrain as influenced by work on the previous quatrain.
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1 Answers
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Johnson13I think here MUST WORK is ambiguous
Much of any language is ambiguous for those who do not think about the logical choice of meanings in context. Which do you think a critic of poetry would mean? He is speaking about work on the present quartrain as influenced by work on the previous quatrain.
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