Like Rumens’s “The Émigrée,” W. H. Auden presents a speaker who flees from his country of origin in the poem “Refugee Blues.” In both poems, the country of origin still exists but is forever altered by political agendas, war, and tyranny. The lack of a valid passport prevents the speakers in Rumens's and Auden’s poems from returning to their homes. In their new countries, the speakers face discrimination and persecution. Particularly in “Refugee Blues,” borders and rules of migration are shown to be human-made as the speaker goes to a consul, a committee, and a public meeting attempting to advocate for his rights.
One difference between the poems is that Auden specifies that the speaker is a Jewish refugee fleeing Hitler’s regime in Germany while Rumens leaves the context in “The Émigrée” open and applicable to any instance of political turmoil and resulting emigration. Auden’s poem also takes the form of a blues rhythm, with its three-line stanzas consisting of four beats per line. In contrast, Rumens’s poem consists of two octets and one nonet composed in free verse.
“Refugee Blues” and “The Émigrée” were written by British poets who did not personally experience a refugee crisis, but the poems serve to create empathy for those who do.
