A Comparative Analysis of Robert Browning's Poem My Last Duchess and W. H. Auden Musee Des Beaux Arts

World Without Love

The Poems My Last Duchess by Robert Browning and Musee des Beaux Arts by W.H. Auden describes how people dont 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 dont 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, Willt Please you sit and look at her? (Browning 550), which shows she was beautiful and ones eyes would just stare at her for a long time. He also said, Her mantle laps Over my Ladys wrist too much, or Paint Must never hope to reproduce the faint Half-flush that dies along her throat 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 authors 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, Willt please your rise?(Browning 550) this shows the guy cares from her now, after she is dead. This whole scenario reflects that people dont care about each other. The duchess loved everyone but the guy wanted her but did not achieve her so he killed her. This is a selfish and cruel world we live in. People just dont 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 dont 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 kids 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 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 thats 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 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 its meaning and people have destroyed their lives without love and compassion.

Thus according to me all the people in the world are selfish and dont care about other peoples feeling and dont have affection toward them