The poetic technique used by the poet is a mix of blues and ballad. Blues were popular in America and ballads were popular in Ireland and Britain. Auden had mixed the two together to bring out the main political situation which was prevalent at the time he was living in America, which was the pathetic condition of Jewish refugees who were homeless and lived in constant fear of death. The first two lines of every stanza rhyme and the third line is repetitive and brings out the style of blues lyrics. The use of refrain(customary to Blues) is used to bring about the realization of the harsh truth of the narrator's and his lover's plight.