Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts" exemplifies the human nature of indifference towards various events that the writer has evidenced in the publication. The most significant and notable aspect of this poem is the application of allusions to develop both the direct and indirect connotations within the poem. Allusions in poems are described as concise and indirect phrases acquired from another individual's work or a citation of historical accounts or renowned icons in a bid to draw parallelism between the current situation and the referenced information or individual (Wilfred 689). Auden applies both Christian and Greek allusions in Musée des Beaux Arts for both plot progression and the formation of irony.
The initial use of allusion in the poem is the phrase "The Old Masters" (Auden 2) a term used to refer broadly to European painters and artists prior to the nineteenth century. Auden reminisces on the fact that the early painters, "about suffering they were never wrong," (Auden 1) giving the inference that their art acted as a succinct reflection of the misery facing humanity. To amplify this position, Auden cites Brueghel famously known for his Icarus painting in the last stanza to ensure that the reader grasps a concise message within the poem. The painting allusion therefore is used to accord a contrast between the current nature of humans and that which the painters depicted. The latter chose to address the problem of suffering in timeless canvases persisting over the generations as opposed to the present indifference attributed to egocentricity.
The second allusion is the "miraculous birth" (Auden 6) used to draw a parallelism in the poem with the Christian account of Christ's birth. The writer notes that the birth had been eagerly waited upon as imagery to humanity's consistent yearning for a miracle that would offer permanent redemption from the bondage of torment.
Views on Death Distinguishing a poets" rhetoric styles on death such as, "Death, Be Not Proud," by John Donne, shares his view on death as a transformation into eternal life. "Ozymandias," by Pearce Bysshe Shelly, uses his poem to describe what was once a powerful figure now has all been forgo...
Both Thomas's "The Hunchback in the Park" and Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts" send a clear message to the reader that art can exist in the modern world; however, for each poet, it exists in two entirely different manners. ... That is not the case in Auden's "Musee Des Beaux Arts." ... After close examination of the two poems, "Musee des Beaux Arts" and "The Hunchback in the Park", characteristics of each man's slanted view of how art can exist in the modern era leap at the reader, the most obvious of which relates to the idea of suffering in the modern world. ...
In 1938, Auden visited the Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels and views a painting called "Fall of Icarus" by Peter Brueghel. ... There are many striking religious metaphors in Auden's Musee des Beaux Arts, and it seems as though he would suggest that perhaps we have strayed too far (ironically, much like the author) from the guidelines and redemption of Christianity, and that, without our devotion religion is therefore powerless. ...
Many authors have voiced their ideas about how human suffering is not only all over the world, but is largely ignored by people who are not affected by it. W.H. Auden's Mussee des Beaux Arts is a prime analysis of this theory of suffering and other people's attitudes toward it. It uses several small...
Henri Matisse, celebrated as one of this century's greatest colorists, is also now recognized for the brilliant invention he brought to his sculptural compositions. Born in La Cateau-Cambrésis, in northern France, Matisse first studied law before taking up painting at the age of twenty-one, and in...
After winning the Pairs Prize William Van Alen continued his education in architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. ... He also taught sculpture in New York at Beaux Arts Institute of Design. ... After the death of his wife Elizabeth the estate was administered to the Beaux-Art group. In 1995 the Beaux-Art group became known as the Van Alen Institute to honor William Van Alen for his contribution. ...
Edgar Degas painted the impressionist piece The Dancing Class in 1871. The painting is oil on canvas that is approximately 85 X 75 cm. Edgar Degas was a French artist, acknowledged as the master of drawing the human figure in motion. Degas worked in many mediums, preferring pastel to all others. H...
