Icarus By Edward Field Essay

In the poem, “Icarus”, by Edward Field, an allusion to the Greek myth of Daedalus and his son Icarus is present in the setting of a modern society. In the original story, the father and son developed wings to fly away from the prison they were trapped in. When Icarus attempted to achieve greatness by soaring too close to the sun, his wings melted and he plummeted to his death in the sea. However, in Field’s poem, Icarus did not drown and is surviving in a contemporary setting in which he feels imprisoned. In order to reveal the allusion and its purpose, Edward Field makes use of specific literary devices, including jarring diction, vivid imagery, a reminiscent tone, and distinct contrast. Edward Field paints images throughout the poem to portray Icarus’ unhappiness in his average present-day lifestyle. With his images, he employs specific allusions to the Greek myth in order to connect it to Icarus’ suburban nightmare. In lines 1-2, Field mentions, “only the feathers floating… showed that anything more spectacular had occurred”, unveiling the images of Icarus’ past achievements. The floating feathers …show more content…
His application of these devices allows the readers to fully understand the concept of his poem, “Icarus”. With striking imagery, the readers are able to view the direct connection among the modern aspects of the poem to the events that transpired in the myth of Icarus. The harsh word choice speckled within the stanzas encloses a reminiscent tone and unveils Icarus’ true feelings about the suburban prison he flew to. Juxtapositions in the poem reveal a distinctive change in the events of the myth and give insight to Icarus’ view on his life in the suburbs. Each of these techniques give the work an overall meaning that a Greek hero cannot happily survive in a contemporary setting simply because they expect nothing but eminence from