Final answer:
After WWII, W.H. Auden's poetry reflected the radical cultural shifts in American literature, aligning with the informal styles of jazz, abstract painting, and street language, and embodying the transition to a confessional mode of expression prevalent among contemporary poets.
Step-by-step explanation:
After World War II, W.H. Auden's poetry evolved significantly, and this shift can be seen in the broader context of American literature during the postwar era. The period was marked by a radical cultural transformation, challenging traditions and established norms. In literature, this resulted in a more personal and confessional mode of poetry, with poets like Theodore Roethke, Sylvia Plath, and indeed Auden sharing intimate details from their lives and reflecting the stresses and instabilities of the nuclear family. Parallel to these personal explorations, Auden's work exemplified the newfound freedom of expression that resonated with contemporary movements like the improvisatory solos in jazz, the spontaneity of abstract expressionist painting, and the colloquial language of American street talk.
While American writers grappled with the exterior pressures of the Cold War and the internal injustice of racial segregation, they also witnessed the nation's transformation into a multicultural superpower. Consequently, the literature of the era recorded and contributed to this societal redefinition, moving from modernist uniformity to a postmodernist variety of voices and experiences. Auden's increased informality in style and subject matter reflected this change in American literature, echoing the broader cultural dynamics of the time as authors portrayed a nation in flux.