ICARUS By Wendy Shaffer Icarus by Wendy Shaffer

ICARUS By: Wendy Shaffer

Icarus by Wendy Shaffer: The speaker of the poem is. . . ■ Someone who question Daedalus’s role as the father ■ Someone who thinks of Icarus as adventurous and maybe even a bit careless ■ Someone who wants the reader’s to think about Icarus from a different point of view The audience: ■ Everyone who understands the myth of Icarus The title: ■ The title is named Icarus and nothing more, suggesting to the reader that this is solely about him or that we should concentrate on him

Summary of the Poem ■ The poem opens with asking if what thoughts passed in Icarus’ mind as he approached the sun and his wings began to melt ■ It then moves on and asks if Icarus ever questioned his father’s motives ■ It ends with his fall and the final questions about failing fathers, but the final line ends with the fact that despite “failing fathers” he would have done it anyway

The Main Theme/Purpose Poem: “Daring to Dream” Myth: Expose Icarus ■ Despite all of the questions that may or may not have gone through Icarus’ mind, he still would have flown close to the sun anyway therefore placing emphasis on ones desire to take the risk, go on the adventure, dream etc. ■ The purpose of the myth was to expose Icarus’ as a childlike adventurer who was daring. Depsite the fact that it was a “long fall. . . he laughed and admitted. . . he would have done it anyway” (Shaffer 1).

What stylistic device does the author use? How does it create meaning? ■ It was a – Long ■ Long – Fall ■ Shaffer separates the words “long” and “fall” to illustrate an actual fall. When we read the lines, by separating them she encourages us to pause, and see, the downward fall which allows the reader to get a sense of how long it actually takes him to fall.

How does diction influence tone: ■ ■ “Did he rail” “Did he blame” “Did he regret” “Laughed” ■ Shaffer firsts repeats the words “did he” which conveys a critical tone which suggests that the author fears for Icarus and questions how he could go through such a tragic event. ■ Shaffer also uses words like “blame, regret, and rail” to convey a dispairing tone which suggests that she feels sad for Icarus ■ Shaffer ends with using the word “laughed” which indicates a change from the despairing tone to a more cheerful tone, suggesting that she sympathizes with his curiosity and daring adventure.