Musee de Beaux Arts (W. H. Auden)

Linda Arellano
Srygley, Cheryl
AP Literature
Musee des Beaux Arts
W. H. Auden
About suffering they were never wrong,The old Masters: how well they understoodIts human position: how it takes placeWhile someone else is eating or opening a window or just
walking dully along;How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waitingFor the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skatingOn a pond at the edge of the wood:They never forgotThat even the dreadful martyrdom must run its courseAnyhow in a corner, some untidy spotWhere the dogs go on with their doggy life and the
torturer's horseScratches its innocent behind on a tree.

In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything
turns awayQuite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman mayHave heard the splash, the forsaken cry,But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shoneAs it had to on the white legs disappearing into the greenWater, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seenSomething amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
1. First impression: Musee de Breaux Arts, or Museum of Fine Arts in French, is a very elegantly and deep poem about the author’s reaction to art that is being displayed at the Museum. There is a lot of imagery and specific references to certain works of art. The author vividly describes what he sees, and constantly refers to the artists as “they”. The poem can be very confusing if one is not familiar with the works of art through the centuries. For example, “The old Masters” were fully trained European painters of skill before the 1800’s.
2. Paraphrased:
a. Artists were never wrong about suffering
b. The “old Masters’’ understood it very well
c. Its human position takes place very well
d. While other people are caring about their business
e. How, when the aged are waiting patiently
f. For the birth of Christ, there always must be
g. Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
h. On a pond at the edge of the wood:
i. They never forgot
j. That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
k. Anyhow in a corner, some dirty spot
l. Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse
m. Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
n. In Breughel’s Icarus, for example: everything turns away
o. Quite leisurely from chaos; the ploughman may
p. Have heard the splash, the cry for help,
q. But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
r. As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
s. Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
t. Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
u. Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
3. Syntax: The syntax in this poem is very straight-forward, the words used in this poem were not in the least flamboyant. At times it was even childish; “Where the dogs go on with their doggy life”. The language used is very vivid and colorful and highly descriptive of the events that occur in the art. The title as well as various references to specific artists (The Old Masters) and works of art (Breughel’s Icarus) ties the overall idea of the significance of this ‘Museum of Fine Arts’. There is no sentence structure and no rhyming scheme.
4. Imagery: The poem talks about art; therefore imagery is a key element in describing its main purpose. In the first stanza the author opens the author opens the poem talking about the old masters and how well they have depicted suffering throughout the years. He also shared the child like image of a dog and his “doggy life”. In the second stanza the author talks about Breughel’s Icarus, and employs imagery at its best. From the color of the water to the content of the image itself, the reader can easily picture what the painting is before even taking a look at it.
5. Figurative Language: In the first stanza of this poem, the author uses allusions to Christ and his birth; “passionately waiting/ for the miraculous birth”.
6. Tone: The tone of this poem is not happy, nevertheless it is not somber. The author has a rather careless point of view for the topic just like everything he is talking about.
7. Theme: The theme of this poem greatly refers to human greed; people go about their own business without even realizing the happenings that occur right in front of their very eyes. The author uses the example of Icarus in his painting. No one really seems to notice his tragedy as he gasps for someone to come to his aid. Everyone in the painting is truly concentrated in their own issues and endless to-do lists.
8. Conclusion: The poem has a rather deeper message than simply just the idea of art. The poem interprets and rather dissects art in a broader sense and then zooms into this one particular aspect of human greed and selfishness. The imagery used in this poem immediately cancels out the need to use the picture but if both are handy, the reader can almost instantly pinpoint the exact location he is referring to as the poem continues.