We are the Music Makers by O’Shaughnessy
About the Poem
“We are the Music Makers” by Arthur O’Shaughnessy is among the most upbeat and optimistic poems ever written on art. O’Shaughnessy dedicates his work to the artists, authors, painters, and those who have lived in fantasy and created realms beyond their own.
The phrase “We are the Music Makers” can be taken as a call to the Music Makers of the world to bring amusement and break up the monotony of people’s lives through the use of music. Our auditory senses are stimulated by the power of music. Music is a worldwide language that, in one dialect or another, provides everyone delight and pleasure. We create music because it provides us joy, as it is a powerful language to which we can all relate. O’Shaughnessy notes the similarities between the characteristics of the Music Makers, who bring music into people’s lives, and the creative entertainers they are.
The poem is a story and assertion of the identities of the creative “Music Makers.” The premise of the poem is diversity, regardless of how similar the *Music Makers are in the poem; there are numerous distinctions in the styles of each music maker, achieving the purpose of creating music for the audience.
One of the themes of the poem is to illustrate how dissimilar the lives of brilliant musicians are to those of people who are engaged in the world’s typical rat race. Through the poem’s description and rhyming scheme, O’Shaughnessy creates a lyrical mood in “We the Music Makers.”
Throughout the poem, the focus has been on the life of musicians and their powers, which could be viewed as an impossibility for regular employees. In addition to focusing on the lives of the creators, notable works by the creators that have had a similar impact on the public as the Music Makers’ have been mentioned.
Summary of We are the Music Makers
“We Are the Music Makers,” published in 1873, is classified as an “Ode.” This particular poem is a celebration of the accomplishments of artists from all disciplines. It highlights the artist’s life, the beauty of their artworks, and their impact on their surroundings and the outside world.
In the opening stanza, the poet addresses artists of all disciplines. The artists live in their own world of imagination, and it is because of their creative imagination that they can create incredible works of art. The artists stroll alone down the shoreline and sit alone by the streams. Thus, artists have a life filled with adversity, which inspires their creativity. They must abandon the world and civilization in order to produce remarkable works. The phrase “pale moon” might represent the difficult lives of artists and their meagre pay. However, the artists are the ones who create a difference. They constitute the “movers and shakers” Through their efforts, they have the ability to alter the world and make it a more creative place to live.
Critical Analysis of We are the Music Makers
The poem “We the Music Makers” by Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy has three stanzas, each of which has eight lines. Arthur O’Shaughnessy wants to make it apparent in the first stanza that being an artist demands sacrifice, and that sacrifice frequently entails living in seclusion. To recognise the beauty in human nature, it is practically necessary to be outside of human conflict and error. Arthur O’Shaughnessy wants it known that although if most artists are beyond of society’s grasp, this does not in any way imply that they are forgotten or readily replaced. The poet considers the music of makers to be enormous, with each making every effort to bring joy and light to the world through his or her music. The poet envisions makers leaving the corporate music behind in order to follow their passions.
In the second stanza, O’Shaughnessy writes, expressing the magnificence of what artists are able to accomplish. “With wonderful deathless ditties…We built up the world’s great cities…And out of a fabulous story…We fashion an empire’s glory”. The poem thus honours fantasy and the power of stories to advance society, both of which are inherent to creation. This poem aims to be extremely obvious that artists have been the driving force behind society’s advancement. O’Shaughnessy praises the power of artists once more in the third stanza. He makes references to Nineveh and the city of Babel to support the notion that art is a nearly divine creation that produces divinity on its own. Therefore, art cannot be destroyed. Music and dreams are all that the world has left to offer.
No matter how much we may humiliate ourselves and occasionally feel unheard or unrepresented, the phrase “We are the music-makers…And we are the dreamers of dreams” gives off a good vibe and emphasises the importance of not just individuals but of all of us.
Questions and Answers
Think and answer the questions
1. Who are the World-losers and world-forsakers in the poem? What do you understand by these phrases?
Answer: The Music Makers are the World-losers and world-forsakers in the poem.
‘World-losers and World-forsakers’:-
These phrases are dedicated to such artists, poets, writers and musicians who may not have been very successful in their lives. Nonetheless, their visionary creations led to great social change. They become world-losers when they meet failure instead of appreciation and sometimes they become forsakers too, that is, even they have to give up their valuable things like time, energy, money, family, etc. but they still get failure.
2. What could the music makers do to an empire?
Answer: The Music Makers could fashion an empire’s glory with a dream of pleasure and would go forth and conquer a crown. On the other hand, they could trample an empire down if they dream at agony.
3. How did the music makers build Nineveh and Babel?
Answer: The Music Makers had built Nineveh with their sighing so the city was collapsed and doesn’t exist today but on the other hand Babel has an existence because they had built the city with their mirth.
4. What did each age signify according to the music makers?
Answer: According to the music makers each age signifies a dream that is dying or a dream that is coming to birth.
