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Landscape with the Fall of Icarus Summary & Analysis
by William Carlos Williams
- Summary
- Themes
- Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
- Symbols
- Poetic Devices
- Vocabulary & References
- Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme
- Speaker
- Setting
- Context
- Resources
- Summary
- Themes
- Line-by-Line
Explanations - Symbols
- Poetic Devices
- Vocabulary &
References -
Form, Meter, &
Rhyme Scheme - Speaker
- Setting
- Context
- Resources
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"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" is a poem by one of the foremost figures of 20th-century American poetry, William Carlos Williams, first published in Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems in 1962. The poem is a work of ekphrasis—writing about a piece of visual art—and is part of a cycle of 10 poems inspired by the paintings of 16th-century artist Pieter Bruegel (or Brueghel) the Elder. 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 death—caused by a fall from the sky after the wax holding his artificial wings together melted—is hardly a blip on the radar of the nearby townspeople, whose attention is turned instead toward the rhythms of daily life. Tragedy is thus presented as a question of perspective, something that depends on how close one is (literally and emotionally) to the event in question.
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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” 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 springLines 4-5
a farmer was ...
... his fieldLines 6-8
the whole pageantry ...
... awake tinglingLines 9-12
near ...
... with itselfLines 13-15
sweating in the ...
... the wings' waxLines 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
Raleigh Was Right
Spring and All (By the road to the contagious hospital)
The Red Wheelbarrow
The Widow's Lament in Springtime
This Is Just To Say
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
Full Text
1According to Brueghel
2when Icarus fell
3it was spring
4a farmer was ploughing
5his field
6the whole pageantry
7of the year was
8awake tingling
9near
10the edge of the sea
11concerned
12with itself
13sweating in the sun
14that melted
15the wings' wax
16unsignificantly
17off the coast
18there was
19a splash quite unnoticed
20this was
21Icarus drowning
Lines 3-4
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil Crushed
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