The Orators

The Orators: An English Study is a long poem in prose and verse by W. H. Auden, first published in 1932 and regarded as a major contribution to modernist poetry in English. The work is divided into three main sections, framed by a "Prologue" and an "Epilogue", each a short poem. The first part, "The Initiates", comprises four speeches in dramatic prose; the second, "Journal of an Airman", takes the form of a diary by an airman, or by someone who fantasizes about being one, with interpolated verses; the third, "Six Odes", is entirely in verse. Auden slightly revised the book for a second edition in 1934. For a third edition in 1966 he added a brief foreword, omitted one of the odes, and made minor cuts and changes throughout.