The Poems “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “Musee des BeauxArts” by W. H. Auden describes how people don’t care about each other andthat world is cruel. In “My Last Duchess” the guy is talking the messengerfrom the duchess about how he killed his wife and was happy about it, whereas in”Musee des Beaux Arts” the kid is dying in water but his father or not eventhe people in the ship care about him, they just let him drown in the water andlastly the poem “The Sick Rose” by William Blake has perfect metaphorreflecting the behavior and feeling of a human being by comparing love to aninvisible worm, which destroys people lives. This three poem reflects peoplejust don’t care about each other and people have lost the meaning of love. In”My Last Duchess” the guy is describing to his how he killed his ex-wife andthat he was happy about it.
He liked a girl and girl was beautiful and young. She liked to flirt around and liked everything in this world. She liked all menand women. She smiles at everyone and like everyone around her. She smiled atthe guy too but he is not happy about it because he thinks that she is his womanand she should not look at anyone else except him.
Even the guy said to themessenger that, “Will’t Please you sit and look at her?” (Browning 550),which shows she was beautiful and one’s eyes would just stare at her for along time. He also said, “Her mantle laps Over my Lady’s wrist too much,”or “Paint Must never hope to reproduce the faint Half-flush that dies alongher throat” Parekh 2 (Browning 550) which shows she was courteous, disciplinedand beautiful. She had a good heart, which loved everyone and made everyone gladbut the author did not like the fact she considers everyone same as him and thatshe does not pay more attention to him than others. The author also gave her agift but she considered all the gifts as the same and did not differentiatebetween a bad and a good gift. In other she did not care about author’sfeeling and the love that author had for her.
The author says, “Just this Orthat in you disgusts me; here you miss, Or there you exceed the mark”(Browning 550) which represents that she treats everyone equal and did not givemore importance to author. She considers author as one of nine hundred men thatshe likes. And after a while she passed the author without a smile, and thatoffended author because he really liked her and she did not cared about him. Theguy was angry with the lady and he commanded his men to kill her to show hispower over the lady.
The guy says, “I gave commands; Then all the smilesstopped together. ” (Browning 550) this shows that the author proved his powerover the lady by killing her. The guy wants her command over the lady so hekilled her and now he is regretting for his deeds. And now he asks the lady inthe picture to come back to him. He says, “Will’t please yourrise?”(Browning 550) this shows the guy cares from her now, after she is dead.
This whole scenario reflects that people don’t care about each other. Theduchess loved everyone but the guy wanted her but did not achieve her so heParekh 3 killed her. This is a selfish and cruel world we live in. People justdon’t understand the feeling and the type of relationship that the otherperson is trying to follow. On the other hand the poem “Musee des BeauxArts” shows that people around the world don’t care about each other even ifthe person is dying.
The kids father made him a like wings out wax so he couldfly but he warned him by saying not to fly near sun or near water, but the kidflew near the ocean water and the wax melted and the kid fell into the ocean andwas drowning. Although the kid was drowning nobody was even trying to help himsave. His father was busy ploughing the field he did not care either. The sheepwere grazing; the dog was scratching himself on a tree; the sailor was sailinghis ship he did not want himself to get wet and did not want water on hisexpensive ship. Everyone around there was selfish and nobody cared about thekid’s drowning. The author says, “and, the delicate ship that must have seenSomething amazing, a boy falling out off the sky, Had somewhere to go to andsailed calmly on.
” (Auden 592) this shows nobody cares about the boy in thewater. The author also says, “Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughmanmay Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an importantfailure. ” (Auden 592) this reflect the ploughman did care about the boy justbecause it was not important to him; it was not a great failure or loss to theploughman. Nobody understands the meaning of humanity or mankind towards his orher fellow beings.
This poem reflects that people love and talk to each otheronly for their own interest and not for being Parekh 4 generous or helpful. Themost amazing thing about this poem is people are following their daily routineand a boy is drowning in the ocean and nobody cares about it. This is utmostdisturbing situation. People have lost the meaning of humanity and mankind. Thepeople in the whole scenario as described by Auden reflects that people are justdully walking away doing their daily business and they assume that nothing ishappening around them as if it is just a normal day and its normal for a kid todrown in water.
This is the most dreadful scene. And lastly the poem “The SickRose” by William Blake describes people have lost the meaning of love makingthem selfish and cold-hearted people. Blake says, “And his dark secret loveDoes thy life destroy”(Blake, 539), which show love is an evil thing and coulddestroy ones life. He also says, “O, Rose, thou art sick! The invisible wormThat flies in the night” (Blake, 539), which reflects that people have lost hemeaning of love and have become cold hearted. Love is compared to a sick roseand our love for others have become sick and weak.
And in terms of feeling, weabsolutely have no love and even if we do, it is for some selfish purposethat’s why Blake calls love a sick rose. Love is like an evil spirit that in ahowling storm destroying everything that comes in its way. Thus Blake reflectsthrough this poem that everyone in the world is cold-hearted and nobody caresabout each other. According to me, all of these three poems reflect as to howpeople have become selfish and cold hearted for their own interests. In “MyLast Duchess” the guy is crazy and kills the duchess just prove his power butfails to reflect care, compassion and love for human being; also in “Musee desBeaux Arts” the kids father, the sailor and even the Parekh 5 people aroundhim do not care about he kids drowning. Everyone is doing their work as ifnothing is happening there and lastly “The Sick Rose” which reflects howlove has lost it’s meaning and people have destroyed their lives without loveand compassion.
Thus according to me all the people in the world are selfish anddon’t care about other people’s feeling and don’t have affection towardthemBibliography1). Blake, William. “The Sick Rose. ” Literature and the Writing Process.
Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River:Prentice, 1999. 539-540. 2). Browning, Robert.
“My Last Duchess. ” Literatureand the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5thed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1999. 539-540.
3). Auden, W. H. “Musee desBeaux Arts.
” Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan XDay, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1999. 539-540.
