This blog is based on I.A. Richards Figurative language ( Practical Criticism ) and this task was assigned by Dilip Barad sir.
Musée des Beaux Arts
( Museums of Fine 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 Brueghel'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.
W. H. Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" can be a difficult poem to understand due to its complex themes, subtle metaphors, and shifting perspectives. Here are some of the difficulties that readers might encounter, along with questions that might arise about the poem:
1. What is the significance of the poem’s title, "Musée des Beaux Arts"?
2.Why does Auden choose to focus on the “Old Masters” in the poem?
3. "how it takes place / While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along": What does this line suggest about the nature of human suffering in everyday life?
4. What is the significance of the "miraculous birth" mentioned in the poem?
5. How does Auden use the imagery of the "torturer's horse" and "dogs" in the poem?
6.How does the ploughman's reaction to Icarus's fall reflect the poem’s theme?
7. What is the significance of the sun shining on the drowning Icarus?
8. How does the ship's reaction to Icarus's fall reinforce the poem’s message?
9. What does the ship's calmness symbolize in this context?
Let's defend the question through New Criticism, focusing on close reading, textual autonomy, and intrinsic value in a compelling way.
The title, referencing a museum, frames the poem as a reflection on how suffering is often viewed passively, as an aesthetic object rather than a call to action. According to I.A. Richards' criticism, this mirrors society’s tendency to distance itself from political and social crises, treating them as objects for contemplation rather than active engagement.
The "Old Masters" in Auden’s poem represent artists who depicted human suffering, highlighting how such pain often goes unnoticed in daily life. Drawing on I.A. Richards' criticism, this suggests that Auden uses their work to critique society's tendency to ignore suffering, treating it as something detached from the present, much like the passive observation of art. The Old Masters' portrayal of suffering serves as a reminder of humanity's historical indifference to real-world pain.
Miraculous Birth - Christ's birth
The "torturer's horse" and the dogs continuing their "doggy life" symbolize the indifference of life to human suffering. Drawing on I.A. Richards' criticism, these images emphasize how nature and daily routines persist unaffected by violence or pain, reflecting society’s desensitization to suffering, especially in political contexts.
Icarus - Greek Mythology
References :
Barad, Dilip. “Just Poems.” Dilip Barad | Teacher Blog, 23 September 2015, https://blog.dilipbarad.com/2015/09/just-poems.html. Accessed 28 December 2024.
Barad, Dilip. “(PDF) I.A. Richards - Figurative Language - Practical Criticism.” ResearchGate, 5 January 2024, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377146653_IA_Richards_-_Figurative_Language_-_Practical_Criticism. Accessed 28 December 2024.
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