I would argue that the artists used different media to tell the same story: Brueghel is using a visual image and Auden is using words, but both seem to interpret the subject in the same way: in spite of the tragedy (the death of Icarus due to his imprudent act), life continues, since people seem to be indifferent to other people's suffering. Whereas Brueghel suggests this idea by depicting the fall of Icarus almost as an anecdote, in a small area of the canvas, in order to stress that it went unnoticed by a farmer, a shepherd and a fisherman that worked nearby, Auden actually reflects upon it at length, since half of his poem describes the painting, while the other half praises the ability of the old Masters (such as Brueghel and some of his contemporaries) to understand and convey the human condition - one that often ignores others' suffering.