As I Walked Out One Evening Man and the Natural World Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #4

I'll love you till the ocean
   Is folded and hung up to dry (13-14)

The lover's claims seem ridiculous: the jumping river, the singing mountain, and now this idea that the oceans can be handled like laundry. It makes us realize just how crazy it is to imagine that Love might conquer (outlast) Time. It's just not going to happen. (Apologies to all the lovers out there. We hate to burst a good bubble.)

Quote #5

   For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages, (18-19)

The lover calls his beloved, "The Flower of the Ages." Flattering? Sure. Not the cutest nickname, but we get the idea. Now, consider this: flowers are certainly beautiful, but they are typically a little weak in the endurance department. Flowers bloom, look pretty, and then they die. They loose their color, the petals fall off, they wrinkle up, get a bit stinky and a lot ugly, and that's it. Again, Shmoop apologizes for casting dark clouds over all this love stuff, but Auden is the one you should really be blaming. Shmoop is just the messenger.