To make the point that Britten throughout his vocal works shows an astonishing mastery of words, and an extraordinary capacity for putting them to musical use, would be to labour the obvious and accepted. No one doubts his capabilities in this direction, and his operas and song-cycles are full of examples the apt beauty of which defy analysis; unless they are first felt by the listener they might as well go verbally unremarked and unrecognised. Nevertheless the Wedding Anthem, Op. 45, happens to provide a remarkable instance of Britten's understanding of the musical possibilities offered by the poetic image, an example the significance of which can be made clear by brief analysis and which may prove to be a useful guide when considering like aspects of Britten's style.