Musee des Beaux Arts
By W. H. Auden
About suffering they were never wrong,
The old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position: how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.In Breughel’s Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
Summary of Musee des Beaux Arts
The Musee des Beaux Arts was written in 1938 while Auden visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lille. The poem reflects on how the Old Masters captured human experience in their paintings. It is not merely about art; it is about how art reveals truths about the human condition, especially our detached and often indifferent responses to suffering.
The central idea of the poem is the everyday context of suffering. Auden argues that pain and tragedy rarely occur in isolation. They unfold alongside the mundane realities of daily life – eating, opening windows, walking. The poem illustrates that even grand events, such as the birth of Christ, do not halt the rhythms of everyday existence. It is a meditation on the banal indifference of the world to profound events and the common tendency to prioritize personal concerns over the suffering of others.
A key element of the poem is its reference to Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s painting of Icarus. Auden uses this painting as a prime example of how disaster can occur in the periphery of everyday life, unnoticed by those preoccupied with their own tasks. This illustrates a profound point about human nature – our tendency to be absorbed in the mundane, even in the face of tragedy.
Analysis of Musee des Beaux Arts
Understanding the Poem’s Structure and Voice
The poem is written in free verse, meaning it does not follow a strict rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This contributes to a conversational, thoughtful tone. Auden is not delivering a dramatic pronouncement; he is offering a quiet observation, a meditation on art and life. The poem unfolds as a series of statements and examples, building toward a cumulative effect of profound, if understated, insight.
Exploring the Central Theme: Suffering and Indifference
The opening lines, “About suffering they were never wrong / The old Masters: how well they understood / Its human position,” immediately establish the poem’s core concern. Auden suggests that the Old Masters possessed a unique understanding of suffering, not as an isolated event, but as an integral part of human experience. The phrase “human position” is crucial; it implies that suffering is not merely an abstract concept but is fundamentally tied to our place in the world, to our everyday lives.
Further lines elaborate on this idea: “how it takes place / While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along.” The juxtaposition of suffering and mundane activity is deliberately jarring. It highlights the poem’s central argument: that tragedy and normalcy coexist, often simultaneously. Auden is not suggesting that people are deliberately callous, but that life simply goes on, even in the face of pain.
The example of the birth of Christ emphasizes this point: “How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting / For the miraculous birth, there always must be / Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating / On a pond at the edge of the wood.” The miracle of Christ’s birth is framed alongside the innocent, carefree activity of children skating. This is not meant to diminish the miracle but to illustrate that even the most extraordinary events do not necessarily disrupt the flow of everyday life. The children, oblivious to the sacred event, represent the indifference of the world to grand occurrences.
The Power of Bruegel’s Icarus
The second stanza shifts focus to Bruegel’s painting of Icarus, using it as a powerful and concrete example of the poem’s central theme. “In Bruegel’s Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away / Quite leisurely from the disaster.” The poem emphasizes the casual indifference of the world to Icarus’s tragic fate. The ploughman, hearing a splash, does not recognize it as a sign of catastrophe. He simply continues ploughing his field. The ship, preoccupied with its journey, sails calmly on, seemingly unaware of the boy falling from the sky.
The key is not that these figures are malevolent, but that they are absorbed in their own lives. Their indifference is not a deliberate act of cruelty but a consequence of their limited perspective. They are too focused on their immediate tasks to notice or acknowledge the tragedy unfolding around them. Auden uses phrases such as “quite leisurely” and “somewhere to get to” to emphasize this sense of detached normalcy. The sun “shone / As it had to,” suggesting the indifference of nature itself. The world continues, regardless of human suffering.
Literary and Poetic Devices at Play
Auden masterfully employs various literary and poetic devices to convey his message.
- Juxtaposition: The poem relies heavily on juxtaposition, contrasting suffering with everyday activities to highlight the central theme.
- Imagery: Auden uses vivid imagery to create a strong sense of place and atmosphere. Examples include the “white legs disappearing into the green / Water” and the image of the ploughman ploughing his field.
- Understatement: The poem’s tone is remarkably understated. Auden does not express outrage or condemnation; he simply observes and describes. This restraint amplifies the poem’s impact.
- Free Verse: The use of free verse contributes to the conversational and thoughtful tone, allowing Auden to explore his ideas with fluidity and flexibility.
- Enjambment: The use of enjambment, where a phrase or sentence runs over multiple lines, creates a sense of natural speech and encourages the reader to move fluidly through the poem.
Quote to be Used
The following lines offer a compelling commentary on the indifference of the world to suffering and are useful when discussing the poem’s central theme:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
This excerpt emphasizes that even in the midst of profound suffering, life continues, often in mundane and unaffected ways. This poignant observation encapsulates the poem’s central message about the human condition and the prevalence of indifference in the face of tragedy.