Both a short story by Katherine Mansfield and a poem by WH Auden present beautiful pieces of literature, full of fine, captivating descriptions and high sensitivity. Both make us look at some things, which we have already seen or observed before differently, through the eyes of the authors. Both writers transform their perception to readers in a picturesque and delicate way, leaving no doubt that perception is in the eye of the beholder, we are told. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay A short story "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield tells readers about an afternoon in the life of Miss Brill. Readers don't have much information about Miss Brill: all we know is that she isn't very young yet, she gives some English lessons and that she likes to observe people. But even before this brief information about this lady is provided, readers already know the world of Miss Brill's senses: they already know how she perceives a beautiful Sunday afternoon, what colors the sky looks like and the air that Miss Brill she breathes in smells and flavours: for her it is "...like a shiver from a glass of ice water before sipping, and every now and then a leaf falls adrift". Readers also know how nice it feels to take an old fur coat out of the box and touch it again... From the beginning of the story the author creates a sense of presence; the images described are so vivid that readers have the feeling of being eyewitnesses of that Sunday afternoon. Later the readers get to know other people, listening to the band together with Miss Brill. But again no real information is given about these people, the "knowledge" occurs through Miss Brill's perception. Old men, sitting on a bench, couples, small children, a beautiful lady, throwing away a bouquet of violets - all these people appear to readers the way Miss Brill sees them, her attitude towards them is conveyed to readers, and readers make Miss Brill's perception their own. The sounds of the Sunday Band are also described in a very fine and enchanting way. Readers experience how Miss Brill's musical perception changes as her emotions change: "for even though the band played all year round on Sundays, out of season it was never the same." Maybe to someone else all the sounds played by the band would sound the same, otherwise they would change in some other way, but the readers perceive it as Miss Brill thinks. The feeling that Miss Brill experiences after listening to the conversation of a young couple is also described with the help of images: the way in which it is illustrated how Miss Brill refuses her traditional slice of honey cake and puts her beloved fur coat back in the box makes readers see how he felt. The poem "Musee des Beaux Arts" by WH Auden gives readers the author's perception of some masterpieces. It is delicately described how important every detail of those paintings is, how much meaning is contained in every movement of the brush. The author convinces readers that ancient painters truly "understand the human position." WH Auden has the great gift of seeing the whole story behind parts of paintings, and readers learn to make sense of the details of works of art as well. Reading the poem readers see (perhaps even for the first time, although perhaps they have already seen the painting) that the water, the sun, the sky and the ship in Brueghel's masterpiece are all combined in a special, careful way , to contribute to the general message that the painter wanted to express. Looking at this painting WH Auden can even feel.