POEM
According to Brueghel
when Icarus fell
It was spring
a farmer was ploughing
his field
the whole pageantry
of the year was
awake tingling
near
the edge of the sea
concerned
with itself
sweating in the sun
that melted
the wing’s wax
unsignificantly
off the coast
there was
a splash quite
unnoticed
this was
Icarus drowning
PAINTING REPRESENTED IN THE POEM
(EKPHRASIS) “sweating in the sun”
–Fifth stanza.
“a splash quite
“that melted the wings
unnoticed” –Seventh
wax” –Fifth stanza.
stanza.
“it was spring”
“Icarus drowning”
–Seventh stanza.
–First stanza.
“the edge of the sea”
-Forth stanza.
“a farmer was
ploughing his
field the whole
pageantry”
–Second stanza.
“concerned with
itself” -Forth
stanza.
THESIS
♥William Carlos Williams uses ekphrasis to illustrate that
sadly our pride sometimes makes us fall all the way back,
after being up so high, after trying to achieve one thing,
and not focusing on the million others.
UNKNOWN TERMS
♥Ploughing: takes action when soil is loosened with a plowing tool (tractor), for it to
be prepared for the growing season to take place. (SPRING) ♣
♥Pageantry: ceremony,
♥Tingling: sensation of slight prickles (sharp points), stings, or tremors (shaking;
coldness, terror, etc) from cold, a sharp blow, excitement, etc.
LANGUAGE
♥LITERARY DEVICES!
-Imagery; Shown in every stanza, except on the sixth one.
-Irony; Shown by contradiction. (oxymoron)
-Symbols; Sun (“brightens up” life; reality, but at the same time with all the light
and shine being so bright, it blinds us from all the other stuff around us) & Sea
(drowning us down, pushing us down, consequences)
STRUCTURE & STYLE
♥Seven stanzas
♥Three lines in each stanza
♥No punctuation at all –Makes the readers confused, because of the fact that there are no
pauses, so it makes all of us wonder of where an idea stops, and where another idea
begins.
♥Each line is five words, or less
♥Told in third person
♥Enjambment is used throughout the whole poem
♥Free versed
♥Allusion: based on Brueghel knowledge of what happened, sea (setting)
♥Theme: Falling
♥Tone: Pre-Cautious
♥Juxtaposition: places the sea on the last word of the first line of the forth stanza, and then
on the stanza after that one (fifth) in the same position the sun is mentioned.
(Comparison of both symbols)
Sound: ♥Rhyme Scheme; Couplet. (First stanza)
♥Slant Rhyme
♥Mood.
♥Pun: “Pageantry” –Second stanza
TECHNIQUE
♥The author made a really smart remark while writing the poem.
-Mentioning ‘the fall’ at the very beginning, but making us think of a physical fall
rather than an emotional fall, the one which relates to EVERYONE, not just a few.
Having so much faith and focusing your all on one thing, and forgetting about the
million others.
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
♥How does the tittle relate to the overall meaning of the poem?
♥Was your understanding of the poem, changed after hearing more about it & being
compared to life as a whole; if yes how?
♥What were you first thoughts, after hearing the first stanza; regarding with the fall?
♥Did you guys find any meaning to the poem not having punctuation?