The Paradoxical Paradigms of An Ode to Terminus

An Ode to Terminus is an exemplary demonstration of the artful combination of science, poetry, religion and philosophy by W.H. Auden. His mastery in literary control of language and flow of the poem creates a delightful play of words, with the subtle shifts in subject matter and bold acclamations resonating the intellect of the poet behind the poem’s production.

The poem begins with the proclamation that the great scientific discoveries and theories, some of which are sometimes held to the regards of being godlike or even above that, are often not given importance by the common people. Simply put, the elegance and sophistication of science, even when it wreaks havoc in nature, is not paid heed as normal people do not want to exhaust their resources in matters beyond their comprehension.

Auden then moves onto the absurdity of the explanations provided by scientific evidence about the origins of life, stating, ‘a Thingummy so addicted to lethal violence should have somehow secreted a placid tump with exactly the right ingredients to start and to cocker Life’. He expresses his feelings of disapproval towards the growing culture of using science to explain the wonders and mysteries of life, which he feels might lead to the loss of imagination and art and result in the creation of a monotonous way of life where there is no place for wonderment. Categorizing every single being into a tiny box according to its function and have a monotonously literal perspective towards everything will cause the world to lose its humor, art, metaphor, beauty and at long last, its sanity as well.

Auden then calls upon Terminus, the Roman God of boundaries, to help this generation in turning away from the self-destructive path that they are on towards the creation of a mechanical world. He praises the deity, asking it to save us by providing limitations to amount of human knowledge, as there can be such a thing as too much knowledge. If we know every single thing there is to be known, plundering and extracting from all there is in the universe, then life falls into the despair of hopelessness and meaninglessness, the fire of curiosity extinguished by the flood of knowledge. Here is where the paradox arises, how much knowledge is too much, and if knowledge will be our ultimate downfall, then why bother pursuing it at all?

There is a need for scientists to provide a fair warning to people, as expressed in the last few lines of the poem, that nothing they proclaim should be taken as the absolute truth, and to, instead, view them as a ‘tall story’. Of course, there is still a necessity for the pursuit of knowledge, but in this pursuit, we should not forget or deject our artistic branches. Auden fears of a dreary future with the advancements in technology and the growth of discoveries leaving no room for creativity, art and imagination to prosper. The important message that can be taken from this poem can be summarized by a quote from the Dead Poets Society – ‘Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are all noble pursuits, and are necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.’