The quest dialectic : the Jungian and Kierkegaardian quest for unity in W.H. Auden's "The quest," New Year letter, and for the time being

The subject of this dissertation is W. H. Auden's use of the Jungian psychology of individuation and the Kierkegaardian theology of existence. Its purpose is to demonstrate the importance of Jungian and Kierkegaardian thought in poetry written during 1939 through 1942, the first four years of Auden's residency in the United States and the first four years of his return to the church. The purpose is achieved by applying a paradigm encompassing both psychology and theology to an analysis of Jungian and Kierkegaardian thought in the principal sonnets of "The Quest" and to a detailed explication of two longer poems, New Year Letter and For the Time Being.