The following paper compares Ambrose Bierce's short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" where a young man faces execution, to W. H. Auden's poem "Musee des Beaux Arts" which describes Breughel's painting, "Fall of Icarus".
Abstract This paper examines how both Bierce's short story and Auden's poem imply that humankind is cruel at best, indifferent at worst. However, the author discovers how these pieces also differ from each other in many ways. This essay distinguishes between the way in which Bierce sees death as a 'dignitary' who must be met with certain rituals as compared to Auden who sees death as haphazard, accidental, occurring without ritual or even much notice.
From the Paper ?Bierce and Auden seem to take a similar dim view of human nature. In the early paragraphs of ?An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,? Bierce shows the condemned Farquhar to be a loving husband and father. (?He closed his eyes in order to fix his last thoughts upon his wife and children.?) Bierce also describes Farquhar as having a ?kindly expression.? However, this does nothing to soften the hearts of his captors. ?The liberal military code makes provision for hanging many kinds of persons, and gentlemen are not excluded,? Bierce tells the reader. Not only are the officers committed to hanging Farquhar, they make every possible effort to kill him following his ?escape.?
This paper reviews W.H. Auden's poem, "Musee de Beaux Arts", an analysis of a motif from Pieter Brueghel's paintings that humans continue their lives despite events of human suffering.
Abstract This paper discusses Auden's poem "Musee de Beaux Arts", which presents the idea that Breughel's work depicted everyday events but in the corner of the painting is a small depiction of human suffering such as the crucifixion of Jesus. The author asks "What can any one man do to make a difference in the face of human tragedy?" and states that Auden's answer would be: Tell the tale, paint the picture, write the poem describing the human suffering to rouse others to consciousness and involvement.
From the Paper "The first painting, Auden passes,, depicts an example of 'human position" of suffering, a moment of pain, which also is a moment of glory: The birth of Christ. While a woman struggles in labor, the old men, indifferent to her suffering, 'reverently, passionately (await)" (line 6) the product of her labor, and children already born, "who did not specially want it to happen" (lines 7-8) go on with their play, "skating on a pond at the edge of the wood" (lines 8-9)."
Abstract This paper proves how the poem's text can be called into question because it contains oppositions and gaps that are left to be filled in, creating a different analysis from the normative reading. Auden said that the Old Masters believed that tragic events experienced by individuals are viewed with apathy by others. This paper proves quite the opposite.
From the Paper "The theme of the poem "Musee des Beaux Arts" by W.H. Auden can be interpreted to reveal that the most tragic and miraculous events experienced by individuals is viewed with apathy by others, according to the Old Masters. The poem reads, ?About suffering they were never wrong,/ The Old Masters; how well, they understood/ Its human position.? However, a closer examination of this poem proves quite the opposite. First, The Old Masters did not agree on this "human position". There are many opinions to take into consideration. Secondly, further analysis reveals that the broad consensus of the Old Masters is that the majority of humans do pay attention and feel for those that experience such events."
Abstract This paper explicates "Winter Landscape" line by line, examining the construction of the poem - how it moves through the story - and Berryman's use of imagery and repetition to explore themes of human history and ultimately death.
From the Paper "In addition to choices of form and meter, there are also decisions to be made as to the shape of a poem. Is there a linear progression through the piece as in Coleridge's Lime Tree Bower? Is the poem modular with each unit or strophe capable of standing alone as in Stevens' Blackbird? At first reading, John Berryman's "Winter Landscape," an ekphrastic work based on Breughel's painting "Hunters in the Snow," appears to be linear with three men returning to a village after a hunting expedition. However, through the repetition of images, Berryman turns the poem back on itself into a circle, a move which provides the reader with the clear progression afforded by a linear journey but also with a sense of satisfaction and completion through this final circular transit."
