Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, 1554
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium
by Pieter Brueghel Oil on canvas

In Ancient Greek mythology, Icarus succeeded in flying, with wings made of feathers secured with wax, but he flew too close to the sun, melting the wax, and fell into the sea and drowned. His legs can be seen in the water, just below the ship.

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
by William Carlos Williams (1883 – 1963)

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 wings’ wax

unsignificantly off the coast there was

a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning

Hello, and welcome back again to Poetry Wednesday 11/18/09.

You can sign in today and take the tour thru Thursday, so take your time.

I’ll be your hostess again this week. My sister, Sans Souci, is on a break, but she will check in.

Before we get started, please make sure that your post has a link to get back to this page to make it easier to take the tour:
1) Copy and paste the following link that I have provided for you from this page to somewhere on your poetry post.

Link back to the Poetry Wednesday tour on Laurita’s page

2) Leave the link of your poetry post in the comments section below. This is the link guests will click on to read your poem.

Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

is also a poem by the 20th-century American poet William Carlos Williams that was written upon seeing Pieter Brueghel’s painting,Landscape With The Fall of Icarus.

The poem touches upon the Greek myth of the tragedy of Icarus. Icarus, son of Daedalus, took flight from imprisonment wearing the fragile wings his father had fashioned for him. Heedless of his father’s warning to keep a middle course over the sea and avoid closeness with the sun, the soaring boy exultantly flew too close to the burning sun, which melted his wings so that Icarus hurtled to the sea and death.

The death of Icarus, the poet tells us “According to Brueghel,” took place in spring when the year was emerging in all its pageantry. The irony of the death of Icarus, who has always been an emblem for the poet’s upward flight that ends in tragedy, is that his death goes unnoticed in the spring–a mere splash in the sea. The fear of all poets–that their passing will go “quite unnoticed”–is an old and pervasive theme. That Williams reiterates the theme is significant in the life of a poet who always felt the world had never fully recognized his accomplishments. ~ Audrey T. Rogers, http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/williams/icarus.htm

You are are listening to:

Icarus by The Paul Winter Consort

Let’s start the tour…

…but don’t fly too close to the sun !

[mp3j track=”Icarus.mp3″]

deletereply starfishred wrote on Nov 16, ’09 very good laurita http://starfishred.multiply.com/journal/item/2029/POETRY_WEDNESDAY-CARL_SANDBURG

deletereply parsonsblvd wrote on Nov 16, ’09 Excellent….you know I like this song. And the mythology around Icarus is always fascinating as well. : )

deletereply gileson wrote on Nov 16, ’09 I was in Cleveland OH last week and made a trip over to Kent, OH to visit the memorial to the Kent State Massacre of May 4, 1970. I have posted a refresher for the memory to those of us who vaguely remember (it has been nearly 40 years ago, after all) and maybe some new information for those who don’t remember how we ended up with FOUR DEAD IN OHIO

deletereply sanssouciblogs wrote on Nov 16, ’09 Excellent! I’ll try not to fly too close…sort of might have a poem cooking…gotta do more thinking… I love Brueghel’s art. there’s something cartoonish about it that always fascinated me. Great page. Also love William Carlos Williams. Oh yes, love YOU too.

deletereply madisonpooface wrote on Nov 16, ’09 Love the poem, sad.

editdeletereply lauritasita wrote on Nov 16, ’09 I love how the painting, poem, and music all seem to blend in together.

deletereply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Nov 16, ’09 My link for the week is here: http://sweetpotatoqueen.multiply.com/journal/item/340/Poetry_Wednesday_Words_of_Wendell_Berry_Heather_Small Be back to take in this beautiful post later! As always,thanks for hosting Laurita!

deletereply sassyangelac wrote on Nov 17, ’09 http://sassyangelac.multiply.com/journal/item/640/Poetry_Wednesday–Ancient_Voice

deletereply fransformation wrote on Nov 18, ’09 Fascinating presentation. I very much enjoyed my time here. http://fransformation.multiply.com/journal/item/387/Poetry_Wednesday

deletereply welshdoug wrote on Nov 18, ’09 A re-post http://welshdoug.multiply.com/journal/item/417/Poetry_Wednesday_Re-Post

deletereply sweetpotatoqueen wrote on Nov 19, ’09 Laurita: I finally made it back to enjoy the poem and the wonderful music. I’ve always enjoyed mythology and the explanation quite interesting. Little did this Carlos Williams know how his writing lives on long after his death! Enjoyed this Laurita!