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In "Musee des Beaux Arts" W. H. Auden describes the ordinary human indifference to suffering. His poem is an example of ekphrasis, poetry describing artwork. In this poem Auden utilizes an ironic duality in his expression and comprehension of human anguish. His poem is full of remarks that seem casual and accidental, and yet still accurate, definite and precise. He ponders the mystical qualities of "the miraculous birth" and "dreadful martyrdom" in the midst of normal, everyday scenes (7, 10). With an impressive balance of Apollonian and Dionysian elements Auden is able to express his thoughts on the lofty subjects of art and suffering, while maintaining a controlled, if subtle, poetic format. All of these dualities in Auden's poetry express his perception of indifference to the human condition, and ask the reader to question his or her own tendencies of apathy towards others. "Musee des Beaux Arts" shows how both the Old Masters and Auden perceived that it is human nature to remove oneself from the suffering of others.
The dramatic situation which Auden sets the poem in serves to illustrate his thoughts on the connections between art and suffering. The poem is incredibly visual as it follows the speaker's walk through a corridor in an art museum. This speaker passes by paintings of scenes such as "the miraculous birth" (6) of Christ and the scene of "children…skating / on a pond at the edge of the wood" (7-8) waiting for Christ's martyrdom. Auden deliberately removes the personal and individual qualities from these paintings, describing the suffering as it takes "place / While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully / along" (-5). This hasty summarization of how one perceives suffering suggests the speaker's brief glances as a museum goer, and his reactions as he "walks dully along" to look at other paintings (4-5). A minimal amount of attention is given to each highly crafted and detailed painting. In this sense the speaker's lack of concern translates into Auden's concern that individuality and uniqueness is threatened. In the World War II landscape that this poem was written in Auden is obviously worried about the minimalization and dehumanization of real human anguish. By describing the two magnificent pieces of art in less than nine lines Auden shows how one's quick glimpses and fleeting thoughts about each painting hardly do justice to the art and the message that the art is trying to give. The speaker in the poem gives no more attention to the suffering depicted in each scene than the children "skating on a pond" give to the torturer (7-8).
The apathetic condition of humanity is further emphasized in the poem as the speaker stops in front of Pieter Brueghel's painting, "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" which he simply calls "Icarus" (14). This truncation of the title is ironic because the poem deals with issues of indifference and Brueghel's original title emphasizes the landscape and how Icarus' suffering was not of the greatest importance in it. By changing the title to simply Icarus, Auden re-emphasizes Icarus in the painting, somewhat against the artist's original intentions. Although this may be partially due to issues of meter, the shortened title shifts the emphasis from the landscape to the pair of legs sinking in the ocean. Brueghel's title helped emphasize "how well they understood / It's human position," namely, the importance of the landscape over the position of suffering (-). It seems that the dramatic situation here attempts to show how art, especially visual images, can aestheticize suffering, and Auden, by forcing Icarus to be the focus of the painting again emphasizes that it is he who deserves the attention, but normally does not get it. Brueghel's painting captures the myth of Icarus and all of his suffering, and condenses it into a single "snapshot" scene. Similarly, Auden's poem attempts to condense the paintings and all of their implications into a single, short poem. Auden, like Brueghel, presents to the observer a reflection of what they might be unconsciously doing to human suffering, namely, ignoring it.
Auden in his own poem attempts to understand and express the "human position" of suffering as the great masters did (). He is acutely aware that pain usually happens unnoticed, in the margins of everyday activities. Auden makes this reduction of importance evident, for instance, when he manages to condense a hugely important myth, the fall of Icarus, into less than one line "a boy falling out of the sky," (0). Auden's short descriptions of the scene seem like a casual commentary, the "white legs disappearing into the green / Water" (18-1). Auden's detached and unpretentious language makes the poem act in a similar manner to Breughel's painting. The poem, like the paintings magnifies the event of suffering, paradoxically, through ironic understatement. The poem serves then as its own message as an example of the threat to humanity.
Auden masterfully uses language in the poem, choosing words heavily charged with social ideas to emphasize his meaning. His diction seems simultaneously conversational and meticulous. He uses the word "anyhow" to describe where the "dreadful martyrdom" must occur. "Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course / Anyhow in a corner" (10-11). Without the word "anyhow" the line would flow without interruption. However, the word interjection "anyhow" throws off the stream of speech, and focuses the awareness on the incredible juxtaposition of torture and nonchalance. The exact location of where the torture happens is unimportant, "some untidy spot," (11) it only reiterates how well the "Old Masters" understood the issue (). Another important word is "amazing" in the lines "must have seen / Something amazing" (1-0). Those on the ship saw, and did not stop for "a boy falling out of the sky" (0). The word "amazing" here further demonstrates the incredibility of indifference to suffering. Also, the word "amazing" draws in a reference to the myth of Icarus, as he was trapped with his father in a labyrinth when they designed the wax wings to escape. That the ship in Breughel's painting does not stop to notice even "something amazing" proves that that Old Master truly understands the "human position" on suffering ().
Auden's semi-religious upbringing also shows through in the heavily Biblical diction of the poem. The "dreadful martyrdom" goes on unnoticed by the children or animals (10). The dogs, horse and children who are nearby are described as "innocent" (1). Here, the adjective "innocent" makes a reference to Biblical passages about the innocence of children, like animals. It is important to note that the term "innocent" does not necessarily forgive the children for their indifference, it only partially explains it. The word "forsaken" is also highly charged with Biblical themes (16). Not only does the word "forsaken" work because it condenses the main theme of the poem, but also because it echoes Christ's last words, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 746). In Auden's poem it is the plowman who "may / Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry" (15-16) and it is this common, hard-working person who could have done something, reacted to the pain, but instead chose to continue his own self-serving labor. Auden's choice of words such as "martyrdom," "innocent," and "forsaken" all draw a parallel between the suffering that Jesus went through, the suffering that Icarus dies from and the suffering of the "others" as observed by Auden and his contemporaries.
The poem also has a sense of development that guides both the speaker and the reader towards a better appreciation of the victim of suffering. There is a physical sense of movement as the speaker literally walks down the corridor of the museum as there is also a poetic unfolding of the situation and argument. As the poem develops it moves from a plurality to singularity of sufferers. Auden leaves "the aged" without any description and the "children" as nameless and faceless ice skaters (5,7). From there it moves on to the singular "torturer" whose horse "scratches its innocent behind on a tree" while again, whoever the torturer is abusing remains unknown (1-1). However, in the final part of the poem we are given far more specific details. The name of the final sufferer is given, Icarus, and he is described, "white legs disappearing into the green / Water" (18-1). This focus on detail at the end of the poem draws the reader closer to the situation and is perhaps Auden's way of forcing the reader to acknowledge the suffering, at least temporarily.
There is also a shift in the diction as Auden uses more artistic, visual words. Icarus is depicted in "green" water, with "white" legs. The passing ship is "delicate" and "expensive" (1). These details help emphasize the composition of the painting and draw attention back to the actual artwork being referred to. The poem climaxes briefly in line 0 when the ship sees "a boy falling out of the sky" but then appropriately drops back to the anticlimactic and uncaring line "had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on" (1). This let down is fitting to the theme of the poem, drawing attention to the intense suffering that is briefly observed then immediately forgotten and moved away from. By ending with this downcast line Auden's poem reflects the indifference he writes about.
"Musee des Beaux Arts" comes across initially as a poem praising the understanding and craftsmanship of the painters. However, as the poem moves onward the focus shifts from the actual art to the message contained in the paintings. Auden claims that the Old Masters understood suffering because they portray it as ignored, unimportant to others, casual, commonplace. This insight is what Auden finds remarkable in the paintings. He asserts that those artists "were never wrong" and never will be (1). The paintings which depict scenes that took place so long ago are still accurate in their portrayal of human indifference. Auden admires this perception of human nature, and, in tribute to their acuity he too crafts a piece of art which is detailed, precise and beautiful, and hopefully alerts the careful observer to consider his or her own position towards suffering. The speaker of the poem, the museum patron, mirrors the role of the innocent children who numbly go through the course of their day, or the plowman who chooses to ignore the pain which is occurring so near to him. In the same way that this speaker can be seen as those in the paintings he can also be amplified to represent people, especially those persons that Auden observed around him, in general. The poem, through it's mock concern of details, accurate commentary on the nature of people and beautiful artistry shows that Auden too was one of the "Old Masters" concerned about, and able to accurately portray suffering as it truly occurs in the human tradition.
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