Why would W.H. Auden write about the distant past?
I think Auden is trying to say that suffering makes for great art- because people don’t stop to appreciate it for what it is when it’s happening- they don’t take notice of it, so when they’re forced to take a long hard look at it (such as in paintings or in other forms of art- like literature), they’re struck by the sad beauty of it. For that matter, he’s writing about “The Old Masters” because he’s making a point that history repeats itself- though suffering strikes a chord with people of every age, the cycle of ignoring it continues- the only time we really notice it is in art.
