Here's why:
* The poem focuses on paintings depicting suffering: The speaker observes paintings depicting various scenes of hardship, like Icarus falling from the sky, and the crucifixion of Christ.
* The paintings show a lack of dramatic response: The paintings portray the events calmly, without any exaggerated reactions from the surrounding figures. The world continues as normal.
* The speaker's perspective shifts to a broader view: The speaker initially focuses on the suffering individuals in the paintings, but then expands his perspective to include the "old Masters" who created them. This broader perspective suggests that suffering is a constant, a part of the human experience, and that the universe itself is indifferent to it.
* The poem highlights the contrast between human suffering and the indifference of the world: The stark contrast between the suffering depicted and the quiet, unperturbed world around it is the central theme. The speaker ultimately concludes that "In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away / Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may / Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, / But for him it was not an important failure."
The poem forces us to confront the reality of suffering and the indifference of the world, leaving us with a sense of both melancholy and acceptance.