For the final assessment for this unit, you will write a short essay (3-4 paragraphs) in which you answer the following question: What is the SUBJECT, TONE, and THEME of W. H. Auden’s famous poem “Musee des Beaux Arts” (145-6)?
Make sure you take a good look at Peter Brueghel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, which is pictured in this link:
http://www.bouwman.com/netherlands/Landscape.html
To answer this question fully, you will want to do most, if not all, of the following:
Read and re-read the poem, taking time to look up words and phrases you don’t understand
Think about the possible meaning(s) of this poem. What might this poem be describing? What might the tone be?
In an essay of 3 or 4 paragraphs, explain what this poem tells us. Make sure you explicitly mention SUBJECT, TONE, and THEME. Your theme should be a complete sentence that relates to both the poem and the world outside the poem.
