(b) How does the description of this house add to the mystery of the poem? The alliterative words are him, he, had and his. And nightly Icarus (It pays to have friends in high places. What is the theme Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the craftsman who built the Labyrinth (which featured in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur which weve discussed in a previous post). This is no ordinary partridge, but Talos, the nephew that Daedalus once tried to murder. In the poem, Icarus is not even recognized as a hero. (Or, as the Bible bluntly puts it, the love of money is the root of all evil.). Here, the reader is invited to make a connection between this Icarus and the mythological figure. [30][31] Seth Godin's 2012 The Icarus Deception, points to the historical change in how Western culture both propagated and interpreted the Icarus myth arguing that "We tend to forget that Icarus was also warned not to fly too low, because seawater would ruin the lift in his wings. PK ! Daedalus tries his set on and—OMG—they totally work. Explain. 1 / 14. 6 comments (6 reviews) "The Flight of Icarus". Can you spot Icarus? My perception of Icarus changed from thinking of him as a young boy in the myth who forgot to heed his father's warning and loses his life to someone who became fully aware of his actions and in failure actually gained wisdom and freedom. Auden. This question relates to war and civilian life. Daedalus warned: If they flew too low, the fog and spray would clog their wings, and if they flew too high, the heat would melt the wax. This Icarus, however, survives his fall and establishes a new life in the city. 17 terms. Since hope was found at the bottom of the box, hope could have been interpreted as either a virtuous or a malevolent force that lured humans to believe that they could manipulate their futures. That said, most writers of the classical era stick with the most familiar version: that Icarus and Daedalus literally did fly, and that Icarus died when he flew too close to the sun. )Icarus heeds his father's advice for a bit, but then he gets cocky. A brief introduction to the poet's work, plus additional poems, from the Poetry Foundation. Overcome by giddiness while flying, Icarus disobeyed his father and soared into the sky. He sacrificed his wings to Apollo, thereby emphasizing the ancient Greek value of humility. Mrs. Whiddon's Answer. The flight would not have resulted in death if Icarus hadn't given into heuristic temptation. But he realized that he had no feathers left and that he was flapping his bare arms. The ancient Greeks often told stories of men who sought to overpower the boundaries of mortality, therefore highlighting the value of the human form and intelligence. Keep at a moderate height, for if you fly too low, "The Flight of Icarus" emphasizes the magnitude of the ancient Greek's respect for elders. It will delve into each of the three stanzas in turn. He is foolish enough to melt his wings. Icarus wants to gain freedom and wisdom. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. But Icarus becomes transfixed with the sun and begins to soar upwards, ultimately causing his own death. But does the story really mean that? myth. The enjambment pulls us steadily through the poem as if on an easy drifting through the sky. A short film about the great painter. Daedalus found him, gathered his corpse in his arms, and flew to land. In the original tale, a young man named Icarus flies too close to the sun using wings held together with wax; when his wings then melt, Icarus falls to sea and drowns. The term Icarus complex is defined by NGHIALAGI.net as, "A form of overcompensation wherein an individual, due to feelings of inferiority, formulates grandiose aspirations for future achievement despite lacking proper talent, experience, and/or personal connections. (He and Ariadne leave Crete together. These values included: The above values are frequently expressed in Greek mythology. about the woman's house? William Carlos Williams wrote this poem upon seeing Pieter Bruegels Landscape With The Fall of Icarus. Test. Yes, we said bull.
Pasiphae's union with the bull results in a horrible half-man, half-beast called the Minotaur. Explain the effect of the alliteration. controlled huge wings. You could even attend the Vulcan Academy of Science (vas)andtakecoursessuchasthermodynamics,VolcanologyI,andlogic(10)\overset{(10)}{\underline{\text{(vas) and take courses such as thermodynamics, Volcanology I, and logic}}}(vas)andtakecoursessuchasthermodynamics,VolcanologyI,andlogic(10). When one pair successfully carried him into the air, he created another pair for his son and taught him how to fly. Check out the famous paintingby Pieter Bruegel the Elderthat inspired the poem. Find the sentence that begins within line 18. When Icarus saw the sun, he became mesmerised by the light and began to soar closer. that Icarus has finally attained what he wanted. syllables called? It is said that he buried Talus body, and also that Athena transformed Talus into a partridge. However, the theme of the poem is test your limits Pindar refers to Daedalus's success in crafting weapons such as swords with his metal-smithing ability, which he is described as having in other sources. Well those are very different endings.Either because he was feeling guilty or because he was banished, Daedalus leaves Athens and heads to the island of Crete.While he's hanging out there, Daedalus befriends King Minos, the island's ruler. More About Bruegel scarred as Ulysses, goddess-debauched, pale glowworm agleam with a tale of panache. They read: He had thought himself a hero, had acted heroically. 5And thewitnesses ran off to a gang war. Icarus's father Daedalus, a very talented Athenian craftsman, built a labyrinth for King Minos of Crete near his palace at Knossos to imprison the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull monster born of his wife and the Cretan bull. )Daedalus tries to save his son, but it's too late—he has drowned. Stephen Dobyns (b. The Fall of Icarus (1700): 17th-century relief with a Cretan labyrinth bottom right (Muse Antoine Vivenel), Close Up of the Labyrinth in "The Fall of Icarus," 1700, "The Fall of Icarus" (1606) by Antonio Tempesta Italian (Florence, Italy 1555 - 1630 Rome, Italy) from Illustrations to Ovid's "Metamorphoses" Print Italian , 17th century Etching 10.5 x 12 cm (4 1/8 x 4 3/4 in, In that high sculpture you, too, would have had. HS19qLiPSX ^pi'&b={
-]Hl PK ! [14], Ovid's version of the Icarus myth and its connection to Phaethon influenced the mythological tradition in English literature[15] reflected in the writings of Chaucer,[16] Marlowe,[17] Shakespeare,[18] Milton,[19] and Joyce.[20]. [28] The term Icarus complex is defined by NGHIALAGI.net as, "A form of overcompensation wherein an individual, due to feelings of inferiority, formulates grandiose aspirations for future achievement despite lacking proper talent, experience, and/or personal connections. Some sources say that Apollo, the god of the Sun, saw Icarus' actions as hubris, since flying was seen as a right only given to the gods, who wanted to keep a strict divide between mortality and divinity. In gymnasiums (palaestra), the Greek men showcased their bodies and exercised excessively. A soldier, a hero, has experienced war and the heightened state it brings. No. who fully understands his actions and gains wisdom Stephen Dobyns has published over a dozen volumes of poetry, including Concurring Beasts (1972), The Balthus Poems (1982), Cemetery Nights (1987), Velocities: New and Selected Poems (1994), Pallbearers Envying the One Who Rides (1999), and The Day's Last Light Reddens the Leaves of the Copper Beech (2016). A Look at the Poet's Career What is the difference between a line and a stanza? think the poet uses alliteration here? Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. Twice your father had tried to shape your fall, (Virgil, Aeneid, 6.47-50, translated by Fitzgerald), The Aeneid by Virgil: Aeneas Meeting Daedalus. The word comes from the Greek ek and phrasis, out andspeak respectively, verb ekphrazein, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name. For the given underlined group of words, choose the letter of the correct revision. So, Icarus is trying to be the same as other people. Forced to live a normal existence, the hero is out of place and alienated from society. When King Minos comes searching for Daedalus, Cocalus takes pity and hides the inventor. [13] Augustan writers who wrote about it in Latin include Hyginus, who tells in Fabula of the bovine love affair of Pasipha, daughter of the Sun, that resulted in the birth of the Minotaur, as well as Ovid, who tells the story of Icarus at some length in the Metamorphoses (viii.183235), and refers to it elsewhere. of Virginia E-Text Center", "CommonLit | The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus by Ovid", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Icarus&oldid=1140057050, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles to be expanded from January 2011, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 05:53. V [Content_Types].xml ( ]O0'?Dl65} ?$'c[? Are you a followerofTheNextGeneration,deepspacenine,Voyager,ortheoriginalStarTrek(1)\overset{(1)}{\underline{\text{follower of}~{ The~ Next~ Generation~, deep~ space~ nine~, Voyager~, or~ the~ original~ Star~ Trek~}}}followerofTheNextGeneration,deepspacenine,Voyager,ortheoriginalStarTrek(1) series with captainJamesT.Kirkascommandingofficer(2)\overset{(2)}{\underline{\text{captain James T. Kirk as commanding officer}}}captainJamesT.Kirkascommandingofficer(2) of the starship Enterprise? Flying was an activity of the gods, but despite this, he took his son on a flight to escape Minos captivity. it was spring, the whole pageantry As they flew, Daedalus looked back every now and then to check on his son. Listen to a reading of the poem set to music. 1941) has written numerous, critically acclaimed poetry collections. Icarus was bewitched with newfound freedom as he flew closer to the sun, unaware that the wax that held his wings together was melting. In the myth, Icarus is portrayed as a little boy who And sure enough, after Theseus kills the Minotaur, he is able to escape. Flying too low is even more dangerous than flying too high, because it feels deceptively safe. descent. Poem Analysis, https://poemanalysis.com/edward-field/icarus/. The Icarus and Daedalus myth, also called the "Legend of Icarus," is a story that involves Daedalus being commissioned by King Minos for his expertise in invention and construction. The most notable is an Academy Award for writing narration for the documentary film, To Be Alive (1965). The tale is often interpreted as being fundamentally about the dangers of hubris, with Icarus flight a metaphor for mans overreaching of his limits (and coming to a sticky end as a result). A brief introduction to the poet's work, plus additional poems, from the Poetry Foundation. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sign up to unveil the best kept secrets in poetry. This displacement mirrors the displacement in bringing the mythological Icraus into a modern context. He called Icarus to his side and, putting his arm round the boy's shoulders, said, "Icarus, my son, we are about to make our flight. )</p><p>Icarus heeds his father's advice for a bit, but then he gets cocky. But anything worth doing is worth doing badly. Daedalus and his son were imprisoned after assisting the hero, Theseus, to kill the Minotaur. Learn. Before they flew from the tower, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun or sea. Similarly, Narcissus, in another famous Greek myth, actually shunned other people before he fell in love with his own reflection, and yet we still talk of someone who is obsessed with their own importance and appearance as being narcissistic. "On doute que l'excution soit de Pieter I Bruegel mais la conception Lui est par contre attribue avec certitude". Afterwards, it was Helios who named the Icarian Sea after Icarus. Every single person that visits Poem Analysis has helped contribute, so thank you for your support. )(Some versions of the story say that King Minos actually imprisoned them in a tower. ')Du}+X'*$UJ 7'$sK kplzmeA\Ar-w6Hm}h^
ZyP~;2]@gC@rg!0Uv X#E}+U=#l0C#B7;n]#t;7[a5ScIyE .mf|[.dklEL4!8B'N 3:1: :):t6G?-2#?52pcGJ$|{+~z7ph)2qLi Collections: Icarus's Flight Poem. - The Flight Of Icarus Story Summary What Myth Daedalus Tells - BersamaWisata Why do you As mentioned, when looking at literary devices, Field uses anachronism. Icarus by Edward Field places the Icarus of Greek mythology in a modern context to explore themes of alienation and displacement. The poem Icarus acted fearlessly because he fly to The Poem Out Loud Aldiss shows a different side of Icarus, showing the bright side of him, his flight, rather than about his great fall. What's up now, humans?In all the excitement, Icarus forgets his father's warning and starts to fly higher. where is the "exact point where freedom stopped"? It is through you visiting Poem Analysis that we are able to contribute to charity. 0]&AD 8>\`\fx_?W ^a-+Mwj3zCa"C\W0#]dQ^)6=2De4b.eTD*}LqAHmc0|xp.8g.,),Zm> PK ! What idea does this alliteration emphasize or draw This citation establishes knowledge of Daedalus' story in the Archaic era, giving a general idea of when "The Flight of Icarus" story took place. [3] Daedalus warned Icarus first of complacency and then of hubris, instructing him to fly neither too low nor too high, lest the sea's dampness clog his wings or the sun's heat melt them. The ocean covers a third of the entire relief. Daedalus lived in Athens where he pushed his nephew, Talus, off the Acropolis in response to a surge of envy when the apprentice was inspired by the function of a snakes mouth to invent a saw. Whether powerful or weak, noble or flawed, these characters have a hold on writers' imaginations. Got it? strong and weak flight. advice. [27] In psychology, there have been synthetic studies of the Icarus complex with respect to the alleged relationship between fascination for fire, enuresis, high ambition, and Ascensionism. or draw attention to? 15They would have answered with a shocked. A soldier may describe war, and it may shock civilians, but they will never be able to understand it. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. (read the full definition & explanation with examples). Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital), Instant downloads of all 1699 LitChart PDFs And the soldier would not tell them anyway, as shown in the eighth line of the second stanza: No, he could not disturb their neat front yards; So, Icarus will not disturb the civilians with tales of war. The value of hope was important for Greek society, illustrated by the myth of Pandoras box. Here, the hero, alienated from a society that cannot understand him, dreams of a heros death. words. He flies on to Sicily, where he mourns Icarus and builds a temple in honor of the god Apollo.The Less Short Story
- Daedalus is an Athenian craftsman, famous for his ability to invent and build things. That depends on which version you read. The myth gave rise to the idiom, "fly too close to the sun. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem. Alienation and displacement are two themes in the poem. Daddy Daedalus warns his son to fly at a middle height: the seawater will dampen the wings and the sun will melt them. [11][12], Icarus' flight was often alluded to by Greek poets in passing and was told briefly in Pseudo-Apollodorus. Explain the poet's approach to Icarus's decision. Moreover, the witnesses running off to a gang war relates to other soldiers seeing the accident but continuing to fight. There was no escape at sea, which was dominated by seafarers who were loyal to Minos. Describe the conflict of the poem. Have a specific question about this poem? He is displaced from one context and placed into another. Icarus was excited by flying too far. Icarus, disregarding his father's wishes that . The sun shone on the bright feathers; the breezes ruffled them. Daedalus wept for his son and called the nearest land Icaria (an island southwest of Samos) in memory of him. While he is also the author of other popular works of fiction, including . Icarus Explain the poet's approach to Icarus's decision. The Norwegian Axel Jensen used Icarus as a metaphor for troubled modern young men, in the 1957 novel Icarus: A Young Man in Sahara. K= 7 ppt/slides/_rels/slide4.xml.rels This further places Icarus in a modern context. fail than not try at all. Fields takes up the story here and adapts it to a modern context. His father saw this and tried to follow him, but he was heavier and his wings would not carry him fast enough. Daedalus took those feathers and used hot wax to create a structure in the shape of wings. It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed, "Sooo much more helpful thanSparkNotes. They escaped and flew up into the sky. [3] Icarus ignored Daedalus instructions not to fly too close to the sun, causing the beeswax in his wings to melt. How Field's Experiences Shaped His Poetry, Field Discusses the Birth of the Gay Literary Scene in New York. msclakers2008. The poem, as indicated by the title, touches upon the Greek tragedy of Icarus, the story in which Icarus, the son of Daedalus, took flight from prison wearing wings made from wax and feathers. In the Dust of Snow poem, the poet has . Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art. The second stanza shows Icaruss alienation and makes further reference to war. Daedalus challenges his mortal limitations by defying aerodynamics and gravity by building his own wings. Nor, perhaps, is Icarus overreaching himself really the moral of the tale. What idea does this alliteration emphasize And this points up an important fact about the Greek myths, which is that, like Aesops fables which date from a similar time and also have their roots in classical Greek culture, many of these stories evolved as moral fables or tales designed to warn Greek citizens of the dangers of hubris, greed, lust, or some other sin or characteristic. Landscape with the Fall of Icarus rings true to William Carlos Williamss style of poetry a style that employs enjambment and meter to illustrate the message of the poem as much as if not more so than traditional plot and imagery. Now, of course, Icarus name is a byword for one of the Greeks most favourite themes: hubris, or overreaching oneself. If so, you may be interested in conventions sponsored by Starfleet: The InternationalStarTrekFanAssociation(3)\overset{(3)}{\underline{\text{International Star Trek Fan Association}}}InternationalStarTrekFanAssociation(3). Poetry AnalysisBy: Manuela R, Ana C, Lorenzo M, Juan Felipe T.Let's take a look at this poem.This poem is about Icarus, the fallen angel. Therefore, the myth provides insight into the negative perception the Greeks had developed in regard to the value of hope. The. de Vries, Lyckle (2003). Icarus flaps his bare arms, then falls, drowning in the sea. Such a person often exhibits elitism fueled by hubris and detachment from social reality. By enjoying the simple moments of life, we can get rid of our day-to-day problems and worries. Natural elements in the relief, such as the ocean, exceed Daedalus and Icarus in size, which in contrast makes them appear inferior. This little surprise at the end mirrors Icaruss own supposed surprise. If Seth closes his eyes and thinks hard enough, he can hear the spit and crackle of the flames and once again he is three years old, listening to his grandmother tell him a story. Any way you look at it, Daedalus and Icarus are trapped on Crete. The messages they impart are therefore timeless and universal, and this helps to explain why, more than two millennia after they were first written down, they remain such an important influence on Western culture. In his poem, Icarus does not drown but swims away and rents a house in the city. He believed that he could control nature, which consequently led to his hubristic sin. Teacher Editions with classroom activities for all 1699 titles we cover. According to Brueghelwhen Icarus fellit was spring, a farmer was ploughinghis fieldthe whole pageantry, sweating in the sunthat meltedthe wings wax, a splash quite unnoticedthis wasIcarus drowning.
- In a fit of jealousy, Daedalus throws Talos off the Acropolis, a tall monument in Athens. of the poem? . In his 1938 poem Muse des Beaux Arts, W. H. Auden addresses the Icarus myth via a painting often attributed to Brueghel the Elder: Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (pictured below right) shows the tiny white legs of Icarus plummeting into the green water of the Aegean, while a ploughman carries on with his business and a nearby expensive delicate ship (which must have witnessed the tragedy) sails calmly on. Moving on, the following lines place Icarus in a modern context. Other writers, attempting to rationalise the fanciful story of men flying, included Cleidemus and Diodorus, the latter of whom maintained that Icarus was killed while disembarking from the boat he took to escape Crete. He ends up in the city and rents a house. downward motion. paragraph. He's having so much fun flying that he forgets the warning and flies too close to the sun. The Icarus myth is a story that warns about the dangers of hubris. Because if had he told them, [t]hey would have answered with a shocked, / uncomprehending stare. This is easily related to war. Both Bruegel's painting and this poem depict the death of Icarus, the mythological figure who died after flying too close to the sun, in a rather unusual way: in both works, Icarus's deathcaused by a fall from the sky after the wax holding his artificial wings together meltedis hardly a blip on the radar of the nearby townspeople, whose Icarus is trying to fit in with everyone else. Whats more, some of them, such as the idea that the story of the Golden Fleece arose from real practices which involved panning for gold using wool, seem plausible enough and may carry at least a grain of truth, much as religious writers of the past sought to explain natural phenomena with reference to divine beings. The first three lines read: That nice Mr. Hicks the neighbors called, Never dreaming that the gray, respectable suit, Concealed arms that had controlled huge wings. The poet then suggests that there are two ways that this could happen: through fire or ice. K= 7 ppt/slides/_rels/slide3.xml.rels The alliterative words are flew and flutter. The wax holding the wings together melted, he plunged to the sea, and drowned. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Daddy Daedalus warns his son to fly at a middle height: the seawater will dampen the wings and the sun will melt them. Icarus had a habit of flying too far. Daedalus, being a skilled craftsman, built two sets of mechanical. That's what got him into this mess to begin with.
- Daedalus names the part of the ocean where Icarus fell the "Icarian Sea." Awoken from his slumber, he sought out an adventure, from which he never would return. The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning That Williams reiterates the theme is significant in the life of a poet who always felt the world had never fully recognized his accomplishments. Check out the famous paintingby Pieter Bruegel the Elderthat inspired the poem. It is spoken by Queen Gertrude. "Icarus by Edward Field". Older men would often marry and educate younger men while young girls were confined at home. Oh, and according to Ovid, a partridge watches Daedalus as he does all this. However, they capsized, and although Daedalus survived, Icarus drowned. Greek mythology detailed the metaphysical relationship the Greeks had with the gods and conveyed their values and the world they lived in. When his nephew (Talus) invents the saw, Daedalus realizes that the boy might be more talented than he is. What In the detailed analysis, the poem will be viewed through the lens of war. But after Daedalus aided Ariadne by telling her how Theseus could escape the Labyrinth he'd designed, King Minos locked Daedalus and his son, Icarus, inside the maze. Dobyns proposes a very different and radical interpretation of the myth, "The Flight of Icarus." This study guide will hep students to decipher the poem. But others argue that Talos died and that Daedalus tried to hide the murder by burying him. Obviously an Icarus almost certainly never existed in the first place, and if he did, he never flew, but written accounts of the fictional story of Icarus vary in terms of their details, as Pierre Grimal notes in his entry for Icarus in The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology (Penguin Dictionary). He attempted "twice to shape his fall in gold, but twice his hands dropped" in an insurmountable agony of grief. Icarus dies as a result of not minding his elders, leaving Daedalus in a state of pathos. Both Bruegel's painting and this poem depict the death of Icarus, the mythological figure who died after flying too close to the sun, in a rather unusual way: in both works, Icarus's deathcaused by a fall from the sky after the wax holding his artificial wings together meltedis hardly a blip on the radar of the nearby townspeople, whose attention is turned instead toward the rhythms of daily life. His attempt resulted in the death of his son, whose wings collapsed when he flew too close to the sun. Audens poem, and the original painting, suggest, on the one hand, that the tragedy is not some great event but something that went unobserved or unremarked by those who witnessed it; but on the other hand, such an interpretation reinforces the point of the myth, which is about mans smallness and the dangers of his overreaching himself. In Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus (c. 1558) the fallen Icarus is a small detail at lower right. How is Icarus's character portrayed Oh, and even better, King Cocalus' daughters kill King Minos with scalding water, freeing Daedalus from his hunt forever. 17No, he could not disturb their neat front yards; 18Yet all his books insisted that this was a horrible mistake: 21To the middling stature of the merely talented? 23And daily in his workshop, curtains carefully drawn, 24Constructs small wings and tries to fly. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. Icarus' flight. The poem, as indicated by the title, touches upon the Greek tragedy of Icarus, the story in which Icarus, the son of Daedalus, took flight from prison wearing wings made from wax and feathers. This analysis will consider Icarus as a soldier returning from war. Definitions and examples of 136 literary terms and devices. Virgil's poem was heavily influenced by Roman values, which could have led to biased elements within the poem, as it was also written from the perspective of a Trojan wanderer and was furthermore intended for Roman audiences. to gain knowledge. Seeing Icarus' daring, Apollo melted his wings. Poem by Stephen Dobyns. Instant PDF downloads. differently in each of them? In Icarus by Edward Field, the gray, respectable suit represents conformity. Name_Section_Date_ "Icarus's Flight" by Stephen Dobyns What else could the boy have done? This is picked up in the third stanza. The Greeks adored the human physique and valued human intelligence, and these ideals can be seen in classical sculptures, gymnasiums, and symposiums. ' Icarus ' by Edward Field takes the Icarus of Greek mythology and places him in the modern world. It is out of reach, however, and the mere act of trying conjures strong emotion. He was thrown into captivity with his father after Daedelus gave Theseus the secrets of the labyrinth. Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the craftsman who built the Labyrinth (which featured in the story of Theseus and the Minotaur which we've discussed in a previous post). The wax melted and he fell and drowned in the water below. An interview in which Field discusses his upbringing, his heritage, his time serving as a pilot in WWII, and his experiences as a gay man in New York City after the war. A 16th century print of Icarus falling.[25]. In "The Flight of Icarus," Daedalus created wings out of wax and seagull feathers in order to escape captivity. In the poem, Field imagines Icarus living a normal life in the suburbs. 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' (1960) is a poem by American poet William Carlos Williams. ifyourethinking,"Thatwouldbeinteresting,"I(4)\overset{(4)}{\underline{\text{if you're thinking, "That would be interesting," I}}}ifyourethinking,"Thatwouldbeinteresting,"I(4) would like to tell you about some contests held at such conventions. The poem is a work of ekphrasiswriting about a piece of visual artand is part of a cycle of 10 poems inspired by the paintings of 16th-century artist Pieter Bruegel (or Brueghel) the Elder. The Trojan War allegedly took place in the 11th or 12th century, and implies that "The Flight of Icarus" took place before the war. 6So the reportfiled and forgotten in the archives read simply, 8Had swum away, coming at last to the city. "[29] In the psychiatric mind, features of disease were perceived in the shape of the pendulous emotional ecstatic-high and depressive-low of bipolar disorder.