Both poems are ekphrastic, which means they are about a work of art. Both poems try to capture in words the effect of a painting. Both pick a painting by the same artist, Pieter Breughel. Auden's poem is about Breugel's "The Fall of Icarus," while Williams' is about "Kermesse."

Auden's poem argues that the "old Masters," the great painters from previous centuries in the European tradition, capture truths in their art that we might otherwise miss. Breughel's "The Fall of Icarus," for example, almost offhandedly captures the truth that the suffering of artists aiming at greatness goes unnoticed by the masses of ordinary people going about their daily business. Breughel captures this truth, Auden says, by putting the subject of his painting, Icarus falling into the sea, into a corner of a canvas dominated by everyday people people doing their commonplace things.

Williams conveys a different message as he writes a poem about the painting "Kermesse." He focuses on the surface of the painting. For him, sound and motion manage to permeate this still, silent canvas. He doesn't try to convey a deeper message from it: to him, it is a marvel that a painting can convey static images as if they were moving and making noise. This shows the power of the artist to transcend his medium.

Williams shows that great art transcends its limitations. Auden shows that painters can convey meanings that might otherwise be lost by how the set up a scene.