“Bruegel’s paintings have inspired many poems. It is not surprising that in last year’s Seminar 3, ‘About Bruegel They Were Never Wrong’, too many poems in my handout went unread. Hunters in the Snow, and the poems of Walter de la Mare, William Carlos Williams and John Berryman occupied most of the hour and a half. This time I’d like to begin with Landscape with the Fall of Icarus – the painting first, and then W. H. Auden’s, Williams’ and Michael Hamburger’s poems about it. (I’ve included two other Icarus poems, by Anne Sexton and Gareth Owen). From Icarus I hope we can move to Williams’ poem titled ‘Haymaking’, and the paintings it may have in mind. I ask you to read also Williams’ ‘The Adoration of the Magi’, which is beautiful, and illuminates some of the assertions in ‘Haymaking’. Lastly, a poem by the American poet Norman Dubie, ‘February: The Boy Bruegel’. Both ‘Haymaking’ and ‘February: The Boy Bruegel’ seem to me to invite comparison with Auden’s ‘Musée des Beaux Arts’.”

The seminar will take place at 5.30 pm on Thursday 14th November 2024 in The Pusey Room at Keble. Free entry, all welcome, no tickets or booking required. Link to handout: www.keble.ox.ac.uk/teaching-research/poetry-at-keble/poetry-painting