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Fall of icarus11/2/2023 ![]() ![]() Tone- The tone- joyous, merry- seems to be ironic considering the turn of events towards the end of the poem. The figures on land feel indifferent about this tragedy. Williams writes that the world which Icarus falls to is “concerned with itself”. Title- The death of Icarus goes almost unnoticed and doesn’t get as much attention as the surrounding landscape and activity. Symbol- “a splash quite unnoticed”- translated into- a death goes unnoticed Rhyme/Rhyme scheme- Free verse, no specific rhyme scheme As the reader gets further and further into the story, he or she is falling from the sky and getting closer to the death of Icarus. “sweating in the sun that melted the wings’ wax” From the beginning of the poem, the reader is involved with Icarus’ flight through the sky. Williams tells us of Icarus’ fall and includes many contextual details. In my opinion these words about Icarus are the most powerful. The reader would think the last line would continue to be about the landscape. Strangely enough, the last line is “this was Icarus drowning”. Throughout the entire poem, Williams is “painting a picture” for the reader and illuminates the natural world. Irony- Williams describes the landscape and surrounding community as “awake tingling” which is ironic the poem is supposed to be about death. ![]() ![]() This takes away from the seemingly tragic death of Icarus, and overrides it with something as average as landscape. Image- Williams creates a vivid image of the surrounding landscape. This is the poem with a brief analysis:Īlliteration- “wings wax”, “sweating in the sun” The American poet William Carlos Williams wrote “The Landscape With The Fall of Icarus” upon seeing the painting by Bruegel. Last week, I was talking to my art history teacher about the artist and his influence on today’s modern art and literature. Beautiful use of light and color- the sun in the background illuminates the painting and gives a sense of new life and warmness.Sense of scale- Small figures in the distance vs.One can even interpret the placement of Icarus as a last-minute addition to the composition of the painting. There is a larger focus on the shepherd tending to his animals than there is on Icarus’ drowning scene. Bruegel was more interested on depicting the average worker, the lower class in the correct light. Although it would seem that the painting’s subject is Icarus, this is not the case. None of the onlookers stop and try to save him. His legs are dangling in the air as he drowns in the lower right hand corner. Icarus is not the focus of the painting.Perspective- seen from above, Daedalus’ viewpoint.Demonstrates Bruegel’s awareness of folklore stories, as well as the classical stories. ![]() In the 1560’s, Bruegel painted “Landscape With The Fall of Icarus”. In all his paintings, human activity is the dominant theme. Towards the end of his career, Bruegel became increasingly interested with the human figure and its relationship with the natural world. His works displayed honest depictions of the peasant life and the rural country sides. Bruegel’s genre and landscape scenes are what inspired him the most and earned him the name “Peasant Bruegel”. He is often remembered as the greatest painter to emerge from the 16th century. I’ve been studying the life and works of the Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder for a few months now. Disobeying his father, Icarus flew towards the sun, melted his wings, and fell into the sea below and drowned. Daedalus warns Icarus not to fly too close to the sun. The feathers of the wings were made out of wax. Icarus’ father, Daedalus, gives him wings. The story of Icarus and Daedalus, a Greek myth: ![]()
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