The Poems “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning and “Musee des Beaux
Arts” by W.H. Auden describes how people don’t care about each other and
that world is cruel. In “My Last Duchess” the guy is talking the messenger
from 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 even
the people in the ship care about him, they just let him drown in the water and
lastly the poem “The Sick Rose” by William Blake has perfect metaphor
reflecting the behavior and feeling of a human being by comparing love to an
invisible worm, which destroys people lives. This three poem reflects people
just 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 and
that 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 men
and women. She smiles at everyone and like everyone around her. She smiled at
the guy too but he is not happy about it because he thinks that she is his woman
and she should not look at anyone else except him. Even the guy said to the
messenger 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 a
long 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 along
her throat” Parekh 2 (Browning 550) which shows she was courteous, disciplined
and beautiful. She had a good heart, which loved everyone and made everyone glad
but the author did not like the fact she considers everyone same as him and that
she does not pay more attention to him than others. The author also gave her a
gift but she considered all the gifts as the same and did not differentiate
between a bad and a good gift. In other she did not care about author’s
feeling and the love that author had for her. The author says, “Just this Or
that 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 give
more importance to author. She considers author as one of nine hundred men that
she likes. And after a while she passed the author without a smile, and that
offended author because he really liked her and she did not cared about him. The
guy was angry with the lady and he commanded his men to kill her to show his
power over the lady. The guy says, “I gave commands; Then all the smiles
stopped together.” (Browning 550) this shows that the author proved his power
over the lady by killing her. The guy wants her command over the lady so he
killed her and now he is regretting for his deeds. And now he asks the lady in
the picture to come back to him. He says, “Will’t please your
rise?”(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. The
duchess loved everyone but the guy wanted her but did not achieve her so he
Parekh 3 killed her. This is a selfish and cruel world we live in. People just
don’t understand the feeling and the type of relationship that the other
person is trying to follow. On the other hand the poem “Musee des Beaux
Arts” shows that people around the world don’t care about each other even if
the person is dying. The kids father made him a like wings out wax so he could
fly but he warned him by saying not to fly near sun or near water, but the kid
flew near the ocean water and the wax melted and the kid fell into the ocean and
was drowning. Although the kid was drowning nobody was even trying to help him
save. His father was busy ploughing the field he did not care either. The sheep
were grazing; the dog was scratching himself on a tree; the sailor was sailing
his ship he did not want himself to get wet and did not want water on his
expensive ship. Everyone around there was selfish and nobody cared about the
kid’s drowning. The author says, “and, the delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out off the sky, Had somewhere to go to and
sailed calmly on.” (Auden 592) this shows nobody cares about the boy in the
water. The author also says, “Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman
may Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important
failure.” (Auden 592) this reflect the ploughman did care about the boy just
because it was not important to him; it was not a great failure or loss to the
ploughman. Nobody understands the meaning of humanity or mankind towards his or
her fellow beings. This poem reflects that people love and talk to each other
only for their own interest and not for being Parekh 4 generous or helpful. The
most amazing thing about this poem is people are following their daily routine
and a boy is drowning in the ocean and nobody cares about it. This is utmost
disturbing situation. People have lost the meaning of humanity and mankind. The
people in the whole scenario as described by Auden reflects that people are just
dully walking away doing their daily business and they assume that nothing is
happening around them as if it is just a normal day and its normal for a kid to
drown in water. This is the most dreadful scene. And lastly the poem “The Sick
Rose” by William Blake describes people have lost the meaning of love making
them selfish and cold-hearted people. Blake says, “And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy”(Blake, 539), which show love is an evil thing and could
destroy ones life. He also says, “O, Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm
That flies in the night” (Blake, 539), which reflects that people have lost he
meaning of love and have become cold hearted. Love is compared to a sick rose
and our love for others have become sick and weak. And in terms of feeling, we
absolutely have no love and even if we do, it is for some selfish purpose
that’s why Blake calls love a sick rose. Love is like an evil spirit that in a
howling storm destroying everything that comes in its way. Thus Blake reflects
through this poem that everyone in the world is cold-hearted and nobody cares
about each other. According to me, all of these three poems reflect as to how
people have become selfish and cold hearted for their own interests. In “My
Last Duchess” the guy is crazy and kills the duchess just prove his power but
fails to reflect care, compassion and love for human being; also in “Musee des
Beaux Arts” the kids father, the sailor and even the Parekh 5 people around
him do not care about he kids drowning. Everyone is doing their work as if
nothing is happening there and lastly “The Sick Rose” which reflects how
love has lost it’s meaning and people have destroyed their lives without love
and compassion. Thus according to me all the people in the world are selfish and
don’t care about other people’s feeling and don’t have affection toward
them
Bibliography
1). 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.” Literature
and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 5th
ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1999. 539-540. 3). Auden, W.H. “Musee des
Beaux Arts.” Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X
Day, and Robert Funk. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice, 1999. 539-540.
