The Full Text of “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”
The Full Text of “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Introduction
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Summary
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Themes
-
Life, Suffering, and Perspective
Where this theme appears in the poem:- Lines 1-21
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”
-
Lines 1-3
According to Brueghel ...
... it was spring -
Lines 4-5
a farmer was ...
... his field -
Lines 6-8
the whole pageantry ...
... awake tingling -
Lines 9-12
near ...
... with itself -
Lines 13-15
sweating in the ...
... the wings' wax -
Lines 16-21
unsignificantly ...
... Icarus drowning
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Symbols
-
The Farmer
Where this symbol appears in the poem:- Lines 4-5: “a farmer was ploughing / his field”
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Alliteration
Where alliteration appears in the poem:- Line 4: “farmer,” “ploughing”
- Line 5: “field”
- Line 6: “pageantry”
- Line 13: “sweating,” “sun”
- Line 15: “wings' wax”
-
Allusion
Where allusion appears in the poem:- Lines 1-21
-
Consonance
Where consonance appears in the poem:- Line 1: “Brueghel”
- Line 2: “fell”
- Line 4: “farmer,” “ploughing”
- Line 5: “his field”
- Line 6: “whole pageantry”
- Line 10: “edge,” “sea”
- Line 11: “concerned”
- Line 12: “itself”
- Line 13: “sweating,” “sun”
- Line 15: “wings' wax”
- Line 16: “unsignificantly”
- Line 17: “coast”
- Line 19: “splash quite unnoticed”
- Line 20: “this”
- Line 21: “Icarus”
-
Enjambment
Where enjambment appears in the poem:- Lines 2-3: “fell / it”
- Lines 4-5: “ploughing / his”
- Lines 6-7: “pageantry / of”
- Lines 7-8: “was / awake”
- Lines 8-10: “tingling / near / the”
- Lines 11-12: “concerned / with”
- Lines 12-13: “itself / sweating”
- Lines 13-14: “sun / that”
- Lines 14-15: “melted / the”
- Lines 15-17: “wax / unsignificantly / off”
- Lines 17-18: “coast / there”
- Lines 18-19: “was / a”
- Lines 20-21: “was / Icarus”
-
Metaphor
Where metaphor appears in the poem:- Line 6: “the whole pageantry”
- Lines 7-12: “of the year was / awake tingling / near / the edge of the sea / concerned / with itself”
- Line 13: “sweating in the sun”
-
Onomatopoeia
Where onomatopoeia appears in the poem:- Line 19: “splash”
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Brueghel
- Icarus
- Ploughing
- Pageantry
- The wings's wax
-
(Location in poem: Line 1: “According to Brueghel”)
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Speaker
-
-
“Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”
-
-
More “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” Resources
-
External Resources
-
The Painting Analyzed — A short discussion about the original artwork.
-
More About Bruegel — A short film about the great painter.
-
Williams's Life Story — A valuable resource on Williams's life and work from the Poetry Foundation.
-
The Painting Itself — Check out the famous painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder that inspired the poem. Can you spot Icarus?
-
Auden's Take on the same painting — Check out LitCharts analysis of a different ekphrastic poem that focuses on the same painting— Musée des Beaux Arts time by W.H. Auden.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by William Carlos Williams
-
