Title: Airplane in Auden’s Poetry and the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression

Abstract: Airplanes serve as a unique thread to understand Auden’s writings about the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. During the First World War, the strategic significance demonstrated by airplanes led the British government to resolve to build a “new world order.” The “air-mindedness” vigorously promoted by the government coincided with Auden’s passion for airplanes. The bird’s-eye view from flying not only directly inspired Auden’s poetic imagination but also gave rise to his poetic idea of “maintaining a distance from the times and society.” Together, these two aspects shaped the unique perspective from which he later observed and wrote about the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. After Auden witnessed frequent Japanese air raids in China, the image of airplane in his poems evolved from a perspective into a sharp weapon for openly criticizing the perpetrators, powerfully denouncing the Japanese military’s aggressive acts. It can be said that research on the imagery of airplanes in his poetry not only injects new intellectual substance into Auden studies but also enriches perspectives on the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

Keywords: Auden, airplane, “air-mindedness,” the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression

Authors: Lingli Huang, Lecturer, College of Foreign Languages, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Xiangtan, Hunan, China; Qiang Hu, Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, Hunan, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2025.03.001