Landscape With The Fall of Icarus

Thesis

• William Carlos Williams uses imagery to portray the tragic downfall of Icarus with hubris and failed ambition.

Background

• In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned. The myth shares thematic similarities with that and is often depicted in art.

Overall Interpretation • Title:

• Landscape With The Fall of Icarus • Williams begins to take away from Icarus’ death.

• A response to Brueghel’s painting;According to Brueghel (1)• All the images signify the landscape;A farmer was ploughing his fieldthe whole pageantry(4-6)• Icarus appears;a splash quite unnoticedthis wasIcarus drowning(19-21)

Sense: Meaning and Language • Speaker: Narrative

• Point of View: Third Person

• Internal monologue: Responsive

• Mood: Ignorant

• “the farmer was ploughing his field”(4-5), “concerned with itself” (11-12)

• Tone: Seems to be ironic considering the turn of events towards the end of the poem. The poem is about death. However, the tone is not depressing or gloomy.

• Diction:

• “According”, “Concerned” , “Itself”, “Unsignificantly”, “Quite unnoticed”

• Allusion: References Brueghel’s painting…”According to Brueghel”

• Repetition

• Icarus x2

Sense: meaning and Language

• Purpose/Effect:• Williams wants the reader to understand the ignorance of some people to the

extent to where they don’t care about other person dying. The use of the narrative speaker is for Williams to get his point across to his response to Brueghel.

Sense: Imagery and Symbols• Springtime Imagery;

“It was spring”

The new plants are starting to grow and wake from their winter slumber

• Sensory Imagery;

“A farmer was ploughing”

“The edge of the sea”

“Sweating in the sun that melted the wings’ wax”

“ A splash quite unnoticed” • Symbol:

Icarus

Sense: Imagery and Symbols

• Purpose/Effect:• These images evoke the thought of no one noticing Icarus and make them

focus on the springtime surroundings. This is significant because it gives an idea about the nature of the poem. This also gives a perspective on the nature of human beings.

Style: Poetry techniques• Personification;

• “The edge of the sea concerned with itself”

Symbol;

“a splash quite unnoticed”- a death goes unnoticed

Pun;

“Pageantry”

Juxtaposition:

Places the sea on the last word of the first line of the forth stanza, and then on stanza five in the same position the sun is mentioned. (Comparison of both symbols)

Structure: Form, Organization, and pattern

• Stanza: Each stanza was very short, usually containing a sentence or less, and included many enjambments.• "a farmer was ploughing/ his field/ the whole pageantry", "of the year was/

awake tingling/ near".

• Syntax: The poem doesn’t use punctuation or capital letters • The structure causes us to pause between different elements of Icarus’

story.

Sound: Musicality and Auditory Techniques

• Alliteration;• “sweating in the sun” “wings’ wax”

Rhyme:• No set rhyme scheme or meter, free verse poem.

Consonance;• “spring”, “sea”, “sweating”, “sun”, and “splash”

Group Activity (4-5 minutes)

Compare the picture to the poem and see what you notice from the painting that isn’t present in the poem. Then discuss with people in your group and be ready to share.

Connection to Other Poetry

• The use of Ekphrasis in common:Parable of the Blind

Peasant Wedding

• The use of springtime imagery:The widow’s lament in SpringtimeThe Bitter World of Spring

Conclusion

William Carlos Williams uses imagery to portray the downfall of Icarus and shows that people are self concerned with everyday life and shows that every painting can tell a story about particular things, for example Icarus' ambition.