The following poem, written by Edward Field, makes use of the Greek myth of Daedalus and Icarus.* Read the poem carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how Field employs literary devices in adapting the Icarus myth to a contemporary setting.
Icarus
Only the feathers floating around the hat
Showed that anything more spectacular had occurred
Than the usual drowning. The police preferred to ignore
The confusing aspects of the case,
5 And the witnesses ran off to a gang war.
So the report filed and forgotten in the archives read simply
“Drowned,” but it was wrong: Icarus
Had swum away, coming at last to the city
Where he rented a house and tended the garden.
10 “That nice Mr. Hicks” the neighbors called him,
Never dreaming that the gray, respectable suit
Concealed arms that had controlled huge wings
Nor that those sad, defeated eyes had once
Compelled the sun. And had he told them
15 They would have answered with a shocked, uncomprehending stare.
No, he could not disturb their neat front yards;
Yet all his books insisted that this was a horrible mistake:
What was he doing aging in a suburb?
Can the genius of the hero fall
20 To the middling stature of the merely talented?
And nightly Icarus probes his wound
And daily in his workshop, curtains carefully drawn,
Constructs small wings and tries to fly
To the lighting fixture on the ceiling:
25 Fails every time and hates himself for trying.
He had thought himself a hero, had acted heroically,
And dreamt of his fall, the tragic fall of the hero;
But now rides commuter trains,
Serves on various committees,
30 And wishes he had drowned.
Ok. In this poem I see uses of figurative language (actually a lot of it), some contrasting points with a little bit of irony in them, and last but not least a rhetorical question.
ReplyDeleteIn the first stanza, there is some contrast with the words "gang war" in line five. It seems like these words would be contrasting because the "gang war" is not actually a legitimate war. Instead, it is the differences between modern day and old life. The witnesses are battling with their past. It seems as if they want to tell the police something, but they don't. Maybe they want to help them or not tell them that Icarus got away.
In the second stanza, the police reports were forgotten about, which suggests irony in the passage. If this man was from Greece or Rome, was a hero as suggested later in the passage, and was well known, then that suggests a breach in the flow of the story. Usually people sing about the Greeks for a while, especially when they are not heroes, after their deaths. How was it that he swam away and started to live a new life without any suspicion? Comparing this to a modern day situation, technology and social media let us know where everyone is at most of the time. This is an ironic line, suggesting that this man is forgotten and now living a new life.
The speaker asks a rhetorical question when he says "Can the genius of the hero fall To the middling stature of the merely talented?" The point in asking this question is that the powerful sometimes get caught up in their pride, and when they are downsized, they are remorseful and sad because they lost what was happy to them. If they knew God then they might give their stuff to the poor and follow him, even though they might die. This seems like the case of Icarus. He is caught up in his pride and hasn't found God.
Lines 20 and 21 explain the two faced life Icarus is living. At night when he is secluded from his new world, he reflects upon and remembers the old one, where he was a hero. Now he is aging in suburbia while working in a woodshop to make his living.
Near the end, he reflects on his old life and has allusions of being a hero, but pictures his downfall as something related to death. Icarus would have never guessed that his downfall would be "commuting on trains". It is unfortunate for the character to make the realization that his downfall would be no reputation. Usually Greek and Roman heroes strive for fame. Now this man is living a life without any, something he is not used to.
Matt Bobby,
DeleteNice job finding the figurative language. I liked your example of the line with "gang war." I did not see that until you pointed it out. I also thought that your analysis of why the author used the rhetorical questions was very interesting. Nice job!
Matt Bobby,
DeleteI think that some of your interpretations are very interesting, especially the ones about the "gang war" and the modern technology. I don't know if I will ever truly understand your thought process! Haha! But I like it. It's different. I also like how you incorporated some things about God into the rhetorical question section. Nice blog, Bobby!
This poem is full of literary devices. The most common devices that I found were irony, rhetorical questions, and imagery.
ReplyDeleteThe poem begins by saying "the feathers floating around the hat." This is immediately an example of imagery. The author used this to set the scene for the reader. He continues by saying that the police filed the report, but forgot about the case and did nothing else. This is an example of irony because police do not forget about what cases they were working on. They also mention that the case was miss titled by saying "Drowned" because the man had swam away rather than drowned.
The next example of irony comes when the people of the city say "That nice Mr. Hicks." This is ironic because the reader knows that the man has committed some sort of crime, and was not "nice Mr. Hicks." This knowledge that the reader has is the only reason that this is ironic. Next the author says that the man has "controlled huge wings." This is a metaphor because the man does not actually have wings, but the author is using this metaphorically speaking.
The author continues by using a series of rhetorical questions. He asks: "What was he doing aging in a suburb? Can the genius of the hero fall? To the middling stature of the merely talented?" These three rhetorical question gives the reader insight not only into what the character in the poem is thinking, but also insight into what the author is thinking. These rhetorical questions have a great purpose in the poem.
Finally, the author ends the poem by saying "tragic fall of the hero." This is a very ironic statement because from what the reader knows the man is not a hero, but rather a criminal. The author is now calling him a hero which makes the statement ironic.
Kraus,
DeleteEven though I forgot to comment on this earlier cause I was caught up in a soccer game, it was a good blog. Anywho the last example you put was good. The tragic fall of the hero in my opinion was a great example of irony. Instead of being a hero he was actually a criminal. Nice job.
Luke Kraus,
DeleteNice blog! But I have a question, did you look up the story of Icarus? He was sort of a criminal, but the problem was that he did not obey his father. He ended up falling to his demise because of it. The first part about your irony is correct, but I am not sure if your concluding statements are correct. Other than that, great literary device hunting, Kraus!
Field uses the tragic story of Daedalus and Icarus to contrast the life of a failed hero with the normal everyday life. Field uses understatement, rhetorical questions and syntax to convene a deeper in the poem.
ReplyDeleteField uses several understatements in the poem when contrasting Icarus’ life with the everyday life of our own. The first lines of the poem themselves creates an understatement, “Only the feathers floating around the hat. Showed that anything more spectacular had occurred. Than the usual drowning.” This an complete understatement because in the myth Daedalus had constructed wings for him and his son, Icarus to escape, Minos who was searching for Daedalus. They flew with their wings, which were a magnificent creation, the Icraus destroyed by flying to close to the sun. The few feathers floating around as describe in the poem do not give enough acknowledgment to the beautiful creation that the wings were. Another understatement in the poem is, “No, he could not disturb their neat front yards;” which means that Icarus could not disturb the monotonous life with his own eccentric past. He could reveal who he really is otherwise more than his neighbors’ front yards would be disturbed.
The rhetorical questions are directed towards Icarus and his plans for his future. Surely a legend such as his could not be stuck in the modern world that is much less magical than his old world. So the begging question is,” What was he doing aging in a suburb?” He seems to be stuck here as he cannot find his way back which is evident in the following lines. This may be his punishment for not listening to his father, if he had he would still be in the world of the Greek gods instead of taking a train to his job and leading and everyday life.
Field uses syntax when describing Icarus’ new life in modern world. Such as, “Where he rented a house and tended the garden.” this employment of syntax suggests the dull life of the modern world. This type of sentence structure also serves as a contradiction to Icarus’ past life. In the past he was a hero and lead an extravagant life. This modern world is a prison for Icarus because he is forced to conform to the monotony of our modern world and his past experiences will be of no use to him.
In the poem Field contrasts the life of the extraordinary with the ordinary. Icarus represents a character out of time and place showing that the extraordinary in the modern world is often repressed because it too extravagant to be believable .This is why Icarus is forced to work in secret. For him this world is a prison because he cannot boast of his heroism otherwise he would likely be locked up.
Michaela,
DeleteYou did a wonderful job this week. I applaud you for analyzing syntax, something I choose to avoid. You are absolutely correct in saying that it is a model of society today. I also agree that there wings were magnificent. Wouldn't be insane to touch the sky? Anyway, really great job!
Wow, Michaela, you really took this prompt and ran with it.
DeleteYou're discussion on syntax was fantastic and entirely spot on! I never ever can think like that for some reason. Syntax just goes right over my head! But you did really great! Additionally, you seemed to really enjoy this poem and that showed in your writing because you has a lot of intelligent and personal comments to say about it. It made for a very good blog.
Great job!
The story of Icarus and Daedalus is used in this poem to show how a failed hero must return to normalcy, even when it seems that it is the impossible task.
ReplyDeleteOne rhetorical device employed in this poem is the rhetorical question. One of them being "What was he doing aging in a suburb?". This is an important question because Icarus knows that he is destined to do so much more in his life than rot away hidden as the ordinary man. This question is him asking himself why he accepts to aging in a state of conformity when he could achieve greatness by being different. Another question is "Can the genius of the hero fall to the middling stature of the merely talented?" It seems like there is so much more inside of Icarus that is waiting to break free, but the society in which he lives is keeping him from being a true hero.
There is also an abundance of imagery within this poem. Starting at line 21 the imagery is abundant. It tells the story of Icarus toiling to make wings so that he may fly away. Each time he fails he hates that he has even attempted it all. This imagery is astounding because as it is being read one can picture the small room where Icarus works to build wings. One can almost picture a table with tools strewn about it, a man hunched over the table constructing metal wings, and thick black curtains drawn to shut out the world. One can almost see Icarus, in a fit of rage, throw the broken wings and berate himself for attempting to fly. This is important because it shows how segregated Icarus really is from the people that he is surrounded by. If they knew what he was doing, would they shun him? Would they send him away for attempting to be different, to be a hero? Icarus is separated from these people because he is longing for something more.
This story also has a lot of comparison in it. The life of Icarus, after his wings had melted, is very much like the lives of people today. One line in this poem that stands out greatly is "concealed arms that had controlled huge wings." This line shows that Icarus is now hiding what makes him different. This is a direct parallel to the society of today. So many hide what makes them different because it does not seem to fit in with the rest of the people. Icarus knows that he will never be accepted if he were to reveal his true self. He also knows, however, that he is worth more than what this society claims. He knows he has more to offer, but also knows that as soon as he shows it he will be rejected.
Icarus wants to be a hero, but he knows that that isn't a possibility. People would treat him poorly, and therefore he is forced to work in secret. He is a man that is not given the chance to excel because he is too different to be accepted. Icarus is the tragic hero because he never got the chance to show his true self.
Megan,
DeleteI really enjoyed the literary devices that you picked out of the poem.I personally like rhetorical questions because they are so easy to pick out of the poem. I also agree that there is a lot of comparing in the poem this is because Icraus is so different to the normal life of today. Well anyway great job!
Megan,
DeleteI thought that you found some interesting rhetorical devices in this. The main one that I also found was rhetorical questions. I think that they were the most obvious. I also thought that the imagery was pretty self explanatory. I found your paragraph on comparison to be very interesting. Nice job!
This is my very to-the-point, (hopefully brief) essay about Field's poem, Icarus.
ReplyDeleteField uses literary devices such as allusion, irony, and satire to demonstrate the demise of a mythological hero into the mundane and modern world.
Let's face it, this entire poem is an allusion, practically. It alludes to the story of Icarus and how he flew to close to the sun, and melted the wax wings that his father so strategically designed. Then, he crashed down to earth, and so the poem comes in. The words that directly allude to Icarus and the life that he once lived are "feathers floating", "compelled the sun", "construct small wings", and "the tragic fall". These allusions add the dimension to the poem of the myth of Icarus, and how it relates to where his now - in a modern, boring world.
Icarus is a significant figure, who obviously held a higher position in the mythological world than he does in the world of reality he lives in now. How can I tell? The irony is a perfect demonstration. In the poem, depreciating titles and phrases such as "filed and forgotten" and "drowned but it was wrong" are ironic because they are used to describe "the genius of the hero", or what he used to be. Also, that he wears a "respectable, gray suit" and "rides commuter trains" like typical human beings also adds an ironic dimension. Perhaps the most ironic is that his neighbors address him as "nice Mr. Hicks" but the reason why he is stuck at earth is because he disobeyed his father.
Field's uses the point of view of third person omniscient in almost a satirical way by the way he references the aspects of the modern world. When he mentions "their neat front yards", how Icarus is "aging in a suburb", "the middling stature of the merely talented", and how he "rides commuter trains and serves on various committees", Field's is obviously poking fun at the modern world and the boring simplicity of it through the eyes of a fallen mythological hero. It is obvious when the closing words of the poems are "wishes he had drowned" instead of living a mundane life in the modern world.
Rachel,
DeleteI am glad that you wrote about the allusion. I actually really like the story of Icarus for some reason. I think that you were also correct with your discussion of irony. They think he is such a good man, but he is there because he did something bad. Nice job!
Rachel,
DeleteI completely agree with you that the whole poem is an allusion. I love how you discussed the third person omniscient point of view. I thought that was very interesting and really does add to the poem. The irony in the poem is also very profound. I think that you did an excellent job!
Rachel,
DeleteWhat's that quote from Hamlet about brevity and wit? Well, your blog proves it. I agree with your statements on the entire poem being an allusion. I also discussed this as it is a very intrinsic part of the piece and I found that I really enjoyed reading the original source material because it added so much to the piece. Also, you're comment on the point of view as very good.mi always forget about stuff like that. Nice job!
Alright, kids, let's do this.
ReplyDeleteThis is an allusion. One gigantic allusion. Previous to reading the poem I looked up the myth of Icarus and found that he was the son of Daedalus. They were in the captivity of Crete. Daedalus crafted wings of wax and cautioned his son not to fly to close to the sun. Icarus got a little zealous and did it anyway, falling into the sea.
The poem begins with referencing what the police thought of this "drowning" and the police investigating the occurrence. Field takes his own liberty with the story, making it a modern tale of Icarus' fall from grace. Allusion is the most notable feature of the poem. Field makes reference to the story while incorporating the entirely mundane quality of modern human life.
I feel that Field uses the idea of a foolish hero to depict the idea of falls form grace. People on the highest mountain have the most to lose and using a hero from the days of old is about as "high" as you can get. The way Icarus is so miserable with his ordinary life and his sad attempts at "flying" mirror the way humans attempt to reach the top. People who aspire for greatness are often faced with the most crippling depression when their life only yields ordinariness.
Field uses a great deal of visual imagery (shocker). Who doesn't like visual imagery? In this case the poem is very much a story. We are able to track Icarus through his life after the stories ended. Field describes the "respectable gray suit" and "those sad, defeated eyes" so that the reader gets a very real sense of how Icarus is feeling. Like all great descriptions, readers must be shown something, not told what is happening. In this case, Field uses visual descriptions of Icarus to convey his most deep sadness and disregard for life.
The whole poem is very statical as a whole. As stated previously this poem is obviously not just a silly story of a modernized god. No, this piece is a statement on the cycle of human aspiration and discontentment. The ideas of Icarus being miserable in his new human life humorously pokes fun at the activities that people take part in everyday. The last stanza really brings to consummation those idea of satire when Field references "taking the commuter train" and "serving on various committees."
I really liked this poem. Just saying.
Danielle.
DeleteYes this poem was a gigantic allusion to Greek and Roman mythology. I just watched a movie like this the other night that was called Gladiator and it kind of reminds me of that movie, with the criminal and the hero and all of that jazz. And yes there was a lot of visual imagery in this too. Nice blog!