About suffering they were never wrong,
The old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position: how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
The old Masters: how well they understood
Its human position: how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water, and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.
REACTION
This poem is the epitome of depression. The author discusses nothing but pure suffering and its place in mankind. The author must be looking at a painting from the master painters of the Renaissance or from some other time period. There seems to be no obvious rhyme scheme to this poem. The author does a great job alluding to the story of Icarus. Throughout the entirety of this poem the reader cannot shake the feeling of sadness.
PARAPHRASE
The old Masters were always right about suffering and they understood its place in mankind well; how it happens while nobody is paying attention. They understood that while the older people are happily waiting for the birth of a child, there must be a child who doesn’t want that child to be born. The Masters never forgot that even martyrdom must run its course even out of the mind of others, in some dirty spot where dogs are dogs and the torturer’s horse scratches its butt on a tree. In Pieter Breughel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus," for instance everything simply turns away from disaster; the plowman may have heard the splash but it’s not important to him; the sun shone on the man and on the ship that must have seen Icarus fall, but had somewhere to be so it sailed calmly away.
SWIFTT:
Syntax/Word Choice- The author uses very complex and long sentences in this poem. The poem itself is a free verse poem and does not have an apparent rhyme scheme. The author chooses the words for this poem carefully as to create an ominous feeling throughout the poem. The over use of the word “suffering” is there to ensure that the reader never forgets the focus of the poem. The words and sentences are also chosen in such as manner as to create the illusion that the poem is in itself the author’s as he looks out onto these paintings done by the Masters.
Imagery-The author does an exquisite job with imagery in this poem. When the author discusses the times human suffering takes place the reader truly feels as though they are suffering with people all around and no one person is paying attention. Later, the reader is drawn to the image of “skating/On a pond at the edge of the wood.” Then, the reader pictures a martyr suffering in a corner while a dog is doing dog things and the torturer’s horse is scratching its butt. Finally, the entire last stanza is an image strong enough for the reader to envision Pieter Breughel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" having never seen the painting.
Figurative Language- There is no apparent use of figurative language in this poem.
Tone- The tone of this poem is depressing and ominous. The author is constantly discussing suffering and its place in mankind. The author discusses a torturer at one point and the painting of the fall of Icarus.
Theme- The theme of this poem is suffering. The entire poem is based on the idea that a man is looking at paintings by the Masters and in them he sees the epitome of human suffering. This is made apparent in the opening lines when the author says “About suffering they were never wrong…”
CONCLUSION
My initial stance on the poem was not far off in the least. This poem is the epitome of depression. Suffering and its place in mankind is the main theme of this poem. As it turns out, the poem is written as though it were the thoughts of a man looking at paintings done by the Masters. There is no obvious rhyme scheme to this poem. The author does a great job alluding to the story of Icarus.
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