Wh auden musee des beaux arts summary. Literary Elements: List, Examples and Definitions 2022-11-08

"Musee des Beaux Arts" is a poem written by W.H. Auden in 1938. The poem is a reflection on the theme of suffering and how it is often overlooked or ignored by the rest of society.

The poem takes its name from the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, which is known for its collection of Flemish paintings. The speaker in the poem visits the museum and is struck by the way the paintings depict suffering, particularly in the works of Pieter Bruegel the Elder. In one painting, the speaker sees a scene of the fall of Icarus, in which the young man falls into the sea after flying too close to the sun. In another painting, the speaker sees a scene of the Crucifixion of Jesus.

As the speaker contemplates these paintings, they are struck by the fact that the suffering depicted in them is often ignored or overlooked by the people in the paintings themselves. In the scene of Icarus's fall, the ploughman and the sailor continue their work, seemingly unaware of the tragedy happening right in front of them. In the Crucifixion, the people in the painting are either indifferent or actively mocking Jesus as he is being crucified.

This idea of suffering being ignored or overlooked is extended to the larger world as well. The speaker mentions the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War and how it received little attention from the rest of the world. The speaker also mentions the plight of the Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe and how their suffering was largely ignored until it was too late.

In the end, the speaker concludes that suffering is a universal experience and that it is often ignored or overlooked by those who are not directly experiencing it. The poem serves as a poignant reminder to pay attention to the suffering of others and to not turn a blind eye to the struggles of those around us.