March 2, 2010: Difference between revisions
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About suffering they were never wrong, | About suffering they were never wrong, | ||
The Old Masters;{{refn|Auden’s meditation on human suffering places it in the realm of the everyday, and in the context of great tragedy. | The Old Masters;{{refn|Auden’s meditation on human suffering places it in the realm of the everyday, and in the context of great tragedy. Emig asserts, “normality and suffering coexist and may indeed be inseparable” ({{harvnb|Emig|2000|p=129}}).}} how well, they understood | ||
Its human position; how it takes place | Its human position; how it takes place | ||
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; | While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; | ||
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That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course {{ln|10}} | That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course {{ln|10}} | ||
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot | Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot | ||
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the | Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse | ||
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. | Scratches its innocent behind on a tree. | ||
In | In Breughel’s ''Icarus'', for instance: how everything turns away | ||
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may {{ln|15}} | Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may {{ln|15}} | ||
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, | Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, | ||
Latest revision as of 06:50, 16 March 2023
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About suffering they were never wrong, |
Notes and Commentary
- ↑ Reading Auden today for my 20th-century British Poetry and Prose class. I was particularly struck by this poem and its matter-of-fact tone. It seems to point out the indifference of the world, the universe, and other humans to individual suffering. And not only suffering, but the mundane aspects of daily life make us miss the wonders of the world around us. How much do we miss conducting the business of our lives, especially when the business seems the most important? I would ask our Georgia state legislators to consider this while they're crippling the university system. What do you think, Sonny? Do you see Icarus falling?
- ↑ Auden’s meditation on human suffering places it in the realm of the everyday, and in the context of great tragedy. Emig asserts, “normality and suffering coexist and may indeed be inseparable” (Emig 2000, p. 129).
Work Cited
- Emig, Ranier (2000). W. H. Auden: Towards a Postmodern Poetics. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
