Line-by-Line Meaning of W.H. Auden’s ‘The Night Mail’
Let’s break down “The Night Mail” by W.H. Auden line by line:
4 min readMar 10, 2024
This is the night mail crossing the border,
- The poem begins with an introduction to the night mail train, indicating its journey crossing the border, presumably between England and Scotland.
Bringing the cheque and the postal order,
- The train is carrying valuable items such as cheques and postal orders, symbolizing financial transactions and communication.
Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,
- The train carries letters addressed to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds, emphasizing the universality of communication.
The shop at the corner, the girl next door.
- The mail includes correspondence for various recipients, from local businesses to neighbors, illustrating the breadth of its reach.
Pulling up Beattock, a steady climb:
- The train begins its ascent up Beattock, a hill in Scotland, symbolizing the physical and metaphorical journey ahead.
The gradient’s against her, but she’s on time.
- Despite facing an uphill climb, the train remains punctual and on schedule, demonstrating its reliability and efficiency.
Past cotton-grass and moorland boulder,
- The train travels through landscapes featuring cotton-grass and rocky moorlands, evoking the rugged beauty of the Scottish countryside.
Shovelling white steam over her shoulder,
- The train emits white steam as it moves forward, symbolizing its power and determination.
Snorting noisily as she passes
- The train emits loud noises as it travels, indicating its presence and movement through the landscape.
Silent miles of wind-bent grasses.
- The train passes through stretches of grassland shaped by the wind, creating a sense of serenity and solitude.
Birds turn their heads as she approaches,
- Wildlife reacts to the train’s passing, indicating its disruption of the natural environment.
Stare from the bushes at her blank-faced coaches.
- Birds and other creatures observe the train from the safety of bushes, highlighting the contrast between nature and technology.
Sheep-dogs cannot turn her course;
- Even sheepdogs are unable to deter the train’s path, symbolizing its unstoppable momentum.
They slumber on with paws across.
- Despite the noise of the train, the dogs continue sleeping, unaffected by its passing.
In the farm she passes no one wakes,
- The train passes by farms without disturbing the inhabitants, illustrating its ability to travel quietly through inhabited areas.
But a jug in the bedroom gently shakes.
- The train’s passing causes a jug in a bedroom to shake, indicating its impact on the surroundings.
Dawn freshens, Her climb is done.
- As dawn breaks, the train completes its ascent, signaling the beginning of a new day.
Down towards Glasgow she descends,
- The train descends towards Glasgow, indicating the continuation of its journey.
Towards the steam tugs yelping down the glade of cranes,
- The train approaches Glasgow’s industrial area, where steam-powered tugs and cranes operate along the river.
Towards the fields of apparatus, the furnaces
- The train approaches areas of industrial activity, symbolized by fields of machinery and furnaces.
Set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen.
- The industrial landscape is compared to a giant chessboard, emphasizing its vastness and complexity.
All Scotland waits for her:
- The entire nation of Scotland anticipates the arrival of the train, underscoring its importance in facilitating communication and commerce.
In the dark glens, beside the pale-green sea lochs
- People across Scotland eagerly await the arrival of the train, including those living in remote glens and along the coast.
Men long for news.
- The people eagerly anticipate receiving news and correspondence delivered by the train.
Letters of thanks, letters from banks,
- The mail includes letters expressing gratitude and financial correspondence from banks.
Letters of joy from the girl and the boy,
- The mail includes letters of happiness from individuals of all ages, symbolizing the diverse emotions conveyed through communication.
Receipted bills and invitations
- The mail includes paid bills and invitations to events, reflecting various aspects of daily life.
To inspect new stock or to visit relations,
- The invitations may be for purposes such as inspecting new merchandise or visiting family members.
And applications for situations
- The mail includes job applications, highlighting the role of communication in seeking employment opportunities.
And timid lovers’ declarations
- The mail includes declarations of love from shy individuals, underscoring the role of communication in expressing emotions.
And gossip, gossip from all the nations,
- The mail includes gossip and news from around the world, illustrating the breadth of communication facilitated by the postal system.
News circumstantial, news financial,
- The mail includes both incidental news and financial updates, reflecting the diverse content of correspondence.
Letters with holiday snaps to enlarge in,
- The mail includes letters containing vacation photographs, inviting recipients to share in the sender’s experiences.
Letters with faces scrawled in the margin,
- The mail includes letters adorned with doodles or sketches, adding a personal touch to the correspondence.
Letters from uncles, cousins, and aunts,
- The mail includes letters from extended family members, maintaining connections across generations.
Letters to Scotland from the South of France,
- The mail includes letters from individuals in exotic locations, highlighting the diversity of communication facilitated by the postal system.
Letters of condolence to Highlands and Lowlands
- The mail includes letters expressing sympathy to individuals across Scotland, illustrating the role of communication in providing support during difficult times.
Notes from overseas, from the islands
- The mail includes notes from overseas territories and islands, reflecting the global reach of the postal system.
To the shore of the Bann from the Long Mynd,
- The mail reaches recipients along the shores of the Bann river and the Long Mynd, symbolizing its extensive distribution network.
Letters of love from the sex mad rabbit,
- The mail includes humorous letters, such as those purportedly written by a lustful rabbit, adding a whimsical touch to the correspondence.
“Please, Mrs. Mac, I’m sorry to trouble you,
- The poem ends with a humorous plea from a fictional character, adding a light-hearted conclusion to the enumeration of letters.
But the line at Kelvin Hall tonight
- The poem concludes with a reference to Kelvin Hall, a venue in Glasgow, suggesting that even at night, the postal system remains active and bustling.
Is a mile and a half.”
- The final line emphasizes the efficiency and reach of the postal system, even at late hours.
