"Museum Piece" by Richard Wilbur -- Ars Poetica

Richard Wilbur was born March 1st, 1921, in New York City.  He is an accomplished poet and literary translator, having been nominated the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress and rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry twice.


The good gray guardians of art
Patrol the halls on spongy shoes,
Impartially protective, though
Perhaps suspicious of Toulouse.                        4


Here dozes one against the wall,
Disposed upon a funeral chair.
A Degas dancer pirouettes
Upon the parting of his hair.                              8


See how she spins! The grace is there,
Bit strain as well is plain to see.
Degas loved the two together:
Beauty joined to energy.                                  12


Edgar Degas purchased once
A fine El Greco, which he kept
Against the wall beside his bed
To hang his pants on while he slept.                16
                                                                   [1950]


Richard Wilbur does not take an indirect approach in this poem.  The candid tone of the poem makes it clear that this piece will take a strong stance towards classical art and how it should be treated.  Which way, however, is slightly ambiguous, as he spends a good portion the poem eloquently describing what the pieces are valued for (“See how she spins! The grace is there”), but spends the remainder of the poem describing blatant maltreatment and disrespect ironically to such treasured and respected paintings.  Upon closer inspection, it almost seems that Wilbur’s perspective on this form of art is less than appreciative; in fact, immediately after describing how a Degas piece is beautiful and energetic, he remarks that Degas himself “purchased once/A fine El Greco, which he kept… To hang his pants on while he slept.”  Even the artists themselves show about as much respect to famous paintings as some underpaid night time security guards, only the security guard has his head resting on the painting; Degas rested on it his clothing which covers the place where the sun don’t shine.  It almost makes the third stanza seem heavily sardonic and cold, that such a vibrant and lively picture was in fact made by an artist who, besides figuratively using El Greco as toilet paper, is described as one who sleeps.  One gets the idea from this blunt, biting tone that the poem is not a cry for better treatment of such paintings, but a scornful laugh and a dismissal of that art form.  In Wilbur’s eyes, these paintings may only be used practically as an uncomfortable pillow for the person it gives a job to, or a fancy decoration which serves little purpose in and of itself.


(Poem is copied off of worksheet)