Modern Life"Musee des Beaux Arts" is a poem written by WH Auden in December 1938, while he was in Brussels, Belgium. The poem "Musee des Beaux Arts" means "Museum of Fine Arts" in French, he composed it after visiting the museum in Paris. This poem may be difficult to understand the first time you read it and it feels much older than 77 years old. Although this poem is very complex, it is still relative and can be applied to our modern life. Many issues and problems that the world had 80 years ago still exist today, and will continue to exist for another 80 years after us. After reading "Musee des Beaux Arts" you may find the symbolism of this poem obvious; or you may need to take a minute to think. This is something common in modern life and dates back to the beginning of humanity. Let's look at a recent example of this in modern life: There was a video in the news of a woman being raped on the beach during spring break. While this young woman was raped and exploited, the others separated, filmed and enjoyed themselves. In this situation obviously something horrible was happening to this young woman, but nevertheless the good moments continued to happen around her. Some viewers may be unaware of what is happening, while others may see it and not care. While this may seem irrelevant after the fact, it is a flaw in humanity that he noticed in 1938 when he wrote this poem. This flaw still exists today, I bet if he were in a crowded mall today and fell to the floor and clutched his chest, there would be some people who wouldn't have helped him. Some would be scared, some would just not pay attention, some would only worry about themselves and not even think twice, and there will be someone to help. While he is suffering on the other side of town, there will be a party and no one will know. This was relevant then, and still is today. WH Auden knew this and summarizes it in a nutshell in lines 13-14 states; In Breughel's Icarus, for example: How everything turns its back QuiteH. Auden's "Musee des Beaux Arts", states; How, when the elderly wait with reverence and passion for the miraculous birth, there must always be some children who don't particularly want this to happen, skating on a pond at the edge of the forest. These lines are very well thought out and apply to everyone in this modern world. This is something you may have experienced as a child or adult. She may have been eagerly awaiting the birth of a child, while her other children went about their daily activities. It could also have been that child who didn't want his brother's birth to happen. Older adults have a different excitement about life and new birth than a baby. Again, this is something that happens daily in the modern day