What is a summary of the poem Musee des Beaux Arts by WH Auden?

W.H. Auden's "Musée des Beaux Arts" is a meditation on human indifference and the way we often fail to acknowledge the suffering of others. The poem examines the famous painting "The Fall of Icarus" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, where Icarus's dramatic fall into the sea is depicted in the background of a seemingly uneventful landscape.

Auden uses the painting as a springboard to explore the human tendency to focus on our own lives and concerns, even when tragedy is happening around us. He suggests that people continue to go about their daily routines, seemingly unconcerned with the suffering of others. The poem's central message is that suffering, while significant, often takes place in the background of human experience, disregarded and overlooked.

The poem's tone is reflective and philosophical, prompting the reader to consider their own response to suffering and the importance of recognizing the pain of others, even when it might seem distant or insignificant.