Edward Fields Icarus

Words: 409
Pages: 2

In the poem Icarus by Edward Fields, the author explains the Greek myth of Icarus and Daedelus but in more modern times, describing how the main character Icarus survived misfortunes throughout his life. The author uses literary devices in the poem through irony and metaphor, rhetorical questions, and imagery.

In the second stanza "That Nice Mr.Hicks" contained irony because Mr.Hicks actually committed a crime and it is ironic because the neighbors called him "nice". In the third stanza, "And Nightly Icarus Probes his Wound......wings and tries to fly" explains how Icarus was overcoming his "wound" which symbolizes his difficulties and then tried to fly, which is metaphorical because Icarus does not really have wings. "Filed and forgotten"
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The idea in this question is that heroes and powerful people can sometimes get caught up in life and pride and eventually forget about god. "What was he doing in the suburb" was a rhetorical question which was asking why Icarus was living a normal life in the suburbs and taking the train to work if he had listened to his father, he would have been living the life of a Greek god.

The author uses imagery in visual descriptions to reveal his indifference for life. "Gray respectable suit" and "sad defeated eyes" visualize how Icarus was very sad and not satisfied at living his normal life, and that he regrets taking his father's advice. "Feathers floating around the hat" opens the essay and sets the scene. "Feathers" symbolize his drowning once he began to live a normal life. Setting plays a big role in the second stanza, describing his new life not being a Greek god and being called "Mr. Nice" and is not a hero, "fall to the middling stature of the merely talented"

In summary, Edward field uses multiple literary devices in the poem "Icarus" through irony and metaphor, rhetorical analysis, and imagery. Field also used descriptive stanzas setting the scene for the beginning of the poem and sets the stage for Icarus and his new normal