Dogs and Foxes in D.H. Lawrence and W.H. Auden

Abstract

In writing 'The Fox' and 'Kangaroo', Lawrence was much preoccupied with the mentality of what one may roughly call "meddlers" and "authorities" on the one hand, and the fate of their victims on the other; the first group, described collectively, are "dogs", the second "foxes". As we shall see, Auden was interested in Lawrence's dichotomy and the bestiary images, but, in adapting it for his own purposes, he gives it a significantly different twist, showing his partial disagreement with Lawrence's values and attitudes.