---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood /…"
description: "\"Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood / Of conscious evil runs a lost mankind, / Dreading to find its Father.\" — W. H. Auden"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png"
---

#  Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood / Of conscious evil…

![“Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood / Of conscious evil runs a lost mankind, / Dreading to find its Father.” quote by W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png)

> “Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood / Of conscious evil runs a lost mankind, / Dreading to find its Father.”

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The poem portrays humanity lost in evil, fearing to seek guidance or a paternal figure.

**In simple terms:** People feel lost and scared to find guidance.

Key Takeaway

Seek truth and courage.

Themes

existence fear search

Mood

somber thoughtful

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal crisis
- social unrest
- mental health

Key Concepts

spiritual emptiness alienation

Questions to Reflect On

- What 'Father' do you seek?
- How does fear shape your actions?

A Different Perspective

It may be metaphorical, not literal.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Dreadful Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreadful-wood-3991158/) [Dreading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreading/) [Dreading Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreading-father-3991159/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Lost Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost-mankind-3991160/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Mankind Dreading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind-dreading-3991157/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woods/)

## Related quotes

> [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [Well, I think again, the worst part of it was just leading up to it, before we got on set, at least for me...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tea-leoni/well-i-think-again-the-worst-part-of-it-was-just-leading-up-to-it/)

[Tea Leoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tea-leoni/)

> [As a 17-year-old, I remember positively dreading dance sequences. I would come to shoots, quaking with nervousness at the idea of making other artistes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hansika-motwani/as-a-17-year-old-i-remember-positively-dreading-dance-sequences-i/)

[Hansika Motwani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hansika-motwani/)

> [I take his hand, holding on tightly, preparing for the cameras, and dreading the moment when I will finally have to let go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/i-take-his-hand-holding-on-tightly-preparing-for-the-cameras-and/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“Every gathering has its moment. As an adult, I distract myself by trying to identify it, dreading the inevitable downsing that is sure to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/every-gathering-has-its-moment-as-an-adult-i-distract-myself-by/)

[David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/)

> [It's not helpful if we spend every day dreading tomorrow ~Jai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-pausch/it-s-not-helpful-if-we-spend-every-day-dreading-tomorrow-jai/)

[Randy Pausch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-pausch/)

> [Praying for the best, dreading the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/praying-for-the-best-dreading-the-worst/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I am dreading the publication, for it will be impossible not to mind what is said. I have exposed my heart to be shot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/i-am-dreading-the-publication-for-it-will-be-impossible-not-to-mind/)

[J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/)

> [“A man awaits his end Dreading and hoping all; Many times he died, Many times rose again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-b-yeats/a-man-awaits-his-end-dreading-and-hoping-all-many-times-he-died-many/)

[W.B. Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-b-yeats/)

> [Dreading that climax of all human ills the inflammation of his weekly bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/dreading-that-climax-of-all-human-ills-the-inflammation-of-his-weekly/)

[Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/)

> [“He worries she’s going to ask what happened. Why he isn’t dead. It’s a question he’s been dreading and preparing for all day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-crouch/he-worries-she-s-going-to-ask-what-happened-why-he-isn-t-dead-it-s-a/)

[Blake Crouch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-crouch/)

> [“Why was it that when you were looking forward to a specific day, it took forever to arrive, but when you were dreading a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-madow/why-was-it-that-when-you-were-looking-forward-to-a-specific-day-it/)

[Michelle Madow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-madow/)

> [I'm dreading the time that is not near As a man on a cross I have no fear I can't believe these words I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-frusciante/i-m-dreading-the-time-that-is-not-near-as-a-man-on-a-cross-i-have-no/)

[John Frusciante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-frusciante/)

> [“He cranks the condo’s AC way down at night and still most mornings wakes up soaked, fetally curled, entombed in that kind of psychic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/he-cranks-the-condo-s-ac-way-down-at-night-and-still-most-mornings/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [I'm dreading being on a ski cross with other skiers who don't know what they're doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-mills/i-m-dreading-being-on-a-ski-cross-with-other-skiers-who-don-t-know/)

[Heather Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-mills/)

## More by W. H. Auden

> [Pleasure is by no means an infallible critical guide, but it is the least fallible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/pleasure-is-by-no-means-an-infallible-critical-guide-but-it-is-the/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [The commonest ivory tower is that of the average man, the state of passivity towards experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-commonest-ivory-tower-is-that-of-the-average-man-the-state-of/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Harrow the house of the dead; look shining at New styles of architecture, a change of heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/harrow-the-house-of-the-dead-look-shining-at-new-styles-of/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Most poetry is the utterance of a man in some state of passion, love, joy, grief, rage, etc., and no doubt this is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/most-poetry-is-the-utterance-of-a-man-in-some-state-of-passion-love/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/men-will-pay-large-sums-to-whores-for-telling-them-they-are-not-bores/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [If age, which is certainly Just as wicked as youth, look any wiser, It is only that youth is still able to believe It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/if-age-which-is-certainly-just-as-wicked-as-youth-look-any-wiser-it/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [“Those to whom evil is done, do evil in return”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/those-to-whom-evil-is-done-do-evil-in-return/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [I and the public know What all schoolchildren learn, Those to whom evil is done Do evil in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/i-and-the-public-know-what-all-schoolchildren-learn-those-to-whom/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [How happy the lot of the mathematician. He is judged solely by his peers, and the standard is so high that no colleague or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/how-happy-the-lot-of-the-mathematician-he-is-judged-solely-by-his/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/perhaps-there-is-only-one-cardinal-sin-impatience-because-of/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [The windiest militant trash Important Persons shout Is not so crude as our wish: What mad Nijinsky wrote About Diaghilev Is true of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/the-windiest-militant-trash-important-persons-shout-is-not-so-crude/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [Time and fevers burn away Individual beauty from Thoughtful children, and the grave Proves the child ephemeral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/time-and-fevers-burn-away-individual-beauty-from-thoughtful-children/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [To hunt for symbols in a fairy tale is absolutely fatal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/to-hunt-for-symbols-in-a-fairy-tale-is-absolutely-fatal/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

[Explore all 344 W. H. Auden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

## More Conscious quotes

> [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/)

[John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/)

> [Woman, in short, has an unconscious life, man a conscious life, and the genius the most conscious life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/woman-in-short-has-an-unconscious-life-man-a-conscious-life-and-the/)

[Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/)

[Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/)

> [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/)

[Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/)

> [To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-a-negro-in-this-country-and-to-be-relatively-conscious-is-to-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

> [If you are not conscious of all of the different parts of yourself, the part of yourself that is the strongest will win out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-zukav/if-you-are-not-conscious-of-all-of-the-different-parts-of-yourself/)

[Gary Zukav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-zukav/)

> [One of the noblest words in our language is "grace," defined as "unearned blessing." We live by grace far more than by anything else.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-elton-trueblood/one-of-the-noblest-words-in-our-language-is-grace-defined-as-unearned/)

[D. Elton Trueblood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-elton-trueblood/)

> [Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability To lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/repugnant-is-a-creature-who-would-squander-the-ability-to-lift-an-eye/)

[Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/)

> [The goal of the Creator is for each entity to make a conscious choice to again seek Oneness, out of our own free will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/the-goal-of-the-creator-is-for-each-entity-to-make-a-conscious-choice/)

[David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/)

> [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/)

[Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/)

> [All black people who are even minimally conscious, black people who have ever experienced Europe's technological power crusading in the vanguard of a civilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-nkosi/all-black-people-who-are-even-minimally-conscious-black-people-who/)

[Lewis Nkosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-nkosi/)

> [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [I don't think my paintings are self-conscious but you feel the consciousness of them. Without them being self-conscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-schnabel/i-don-t-think-my-paintings-are-self-conscious-but-you-feel-the/)

[Julian Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-schnabel/)

[Browse all 3,716 Conscious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood / Of conscious evil runs a lost mankind, / Dreading to find its Father.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "W. H. Auden"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-conscious-evil-runs-a-lost/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conscious"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-conscious-evil-runs-a-lost/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/121/w-h-auden-856_conscious_alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-c_2069728.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood / Of conscious evil runs a lost mankind, / Dreading to find its Father.” — W. H. Auden",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "W. H. Auden",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Alone, alone, about the dreadful wood...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-conscious-evil-runs-a-lost/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/alone-alone-about-the-dreadful-wood-of-conscious-evil-runs-a-lost/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
