Self Absorbed Humanity Analysis

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Self Absorbed Humanity
(An analysis of the messages from Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden)

“The rise of selfishness was apparently irreversible” (Star). Indeed, modernity has many faults, one being selfishness, and it is on the rise. Not only in the United States, but the whole world’s population, is comprised of very egotistical individuals. Only caring about what happens to them, what their needs are. The modern individual has the mindset of it’s not my problem, or out of sight out of mind, Which, is not benevolent or the correct way one should view the sufferings/burdens of the world and others. Maybe this is what is wrong with our society. Likewise, in Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden is a poem written like an essay that explores …show more content…
Auden was born in York, England in 1907 and passed away in 1973 in the United States. Auden had early dreams of becoming an engineer but instead gravitated to poetry. In 1939, Auden left England for the United States, and became an American citizen in 1946. In 1948, Auden won a Pulitzer Prize for the collection The Age of Anxiety. Ultimately, there are three essential messages that can be extracted from the poem Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden.
In Musée des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden an essential message that can be extracted from this poem is humans often think about their own personal sufferings. W. H. Auden relays in Musée des Beaux Arts, “How it takes place, While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;” (Auden 1177 lines 3&4). The prior quote explains that humans even at the strangest times think about their own personal sufferings. This is not tragic, just unfortunately a part of life. Life as a result is mostly suffering with a sprinkle or two of happiness to help us keep coexisting. For instance, most adolescents feel alienated during a major part of their adolescence. The …show more content…
“An Overview of ‘Musée Des Beaux Arts.’” Poetry for Students, Gale, Detroit. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420005897/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=316f5e7c. Accessed 2018.
Leimberg, Inge. “If and It and the Human Condition: Considerations Arising from a Reading of The Merchant of Venice.” Connotations, vol. 22, no. 1, Jan. 2012, p. 57. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A355248829/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=3930215b. Accessed 2018.
Phillips, Claude, and Claude Phillips. “Joy in Art.” Emotion in Art, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925, p. 97. LitFinder, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/LTF0000535199WK/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=4f9b0659. Accessed 2018.
Star, Alexander StarAlexander. “The Vulture of Narcissism.” The New Republic, vol. 205, no. 24, 9 Dec. 1991, p. 40. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420001790/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=3b82b90e. Accessed 2018.
Wasley, Aidan. “Auden and Poetic Inheritance.” Raritan, edited by Michelle Lee, vol. 19, no. 2, 1999, pp. 128–157. Literature Resource Center, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/H1420087357/GLS?u=wylrc_wyomingst&sid=GLS&xid=a2813c3d. Accessed

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