1. Tell each other whatever you know about the names "Daedalus" and "Icarus". Make sure everyone in the group could share in telling. Jerry told us a brief summary of the story: Daedalus and his son Icarus were trapped in a Labyrinth. The only way to escape was to fly out and away from it. So Daedalus made wings out of feathers and wax for himself and his son. When they flew out, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the Sun because the heat would melt his wings. But Icarus was too thrilled and didn't obey. He flew higher and higher until his wings melted and he fell into the sea.
1. Search the Web.
In order to find out more about the legend, go to web-sites which tell us about Greek Mythology.
The legend of Daedalus and Icarus: 2 short encyclopedic entries:
Fill in according to what you have read, and I will walk by to see if you have it.
Daedalus was an Athenian architect. He designed the which was a maze on the island of Crete. He was imprisoned in this Labyrinth and in order to help the prince kill the monster and find his way out, he made wings for himself and for his son, Icarus. These wings were made of feathers held together by wax, Daedalus told his son not to too close to the sun, but Icarus did not listen to this warning and he flew too high up. The sun the wax and he fell.
1. What do you think about Icarus? Discuss his character and action (several possibilities)
He should've listened to his father.
He is cocky.
He is not as wise as he thinks he is.
He is too caught up with what is fun to care about safety or what is important.
2. What do you think of the consequences of his actions? Was it a punishment? A natural event? An important event?
We think Icarus deserved that punishment. After all, he received a warning from Daedalus but did not listen. We learned a moral lesson from his wrong actions.
A Painting (8 minutes)
You will look at a painting and read an interpretation of it. You will then tell the class about what you have seen and read.
1. Scroll down to see the whole painting, its name, the name of the artist and the year it was painted. Know the information. "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" by Pieter Bruegel, 1558
2. Look closely at the painting. Discuss what you see and then, as a group, write down the description of what you see in this picture. We see Icarus in the water - drowning. The bird might be his father.
Icarus is tiny in this large painting.
There are two flying birds in the background, men working on the land.
3. Look at the name of the painting. What is the connection? "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" relates to Icarus falling from the sky in the story.
The name of the painting refers to the punishment Icarus received for flying too close to the Sun.
4. What is this painting saying about life? One person's life doesn't matter. Nobody cares.
Death might seem like a huge deal, but in this world of several billion people, one death is insignificant.
1. Do some quick research. What is the story behind the painting?
The plowman in the picture is doing work on the Earth - he will go to heaven.
If you try to fly to heaven like Icarus, you will fall down.
*Humbly do work on Earth, and you will go to Heaven.
*Try to fly too high, and you will fall to Hell.
2. What are some details and what do they mean which do NOT follow the Greek Legend of Icarus
3. In the skimming, what seem to be 3 significant (or interesting) points.
Critical Reading Questions, answer 3 plus #7 (so four in all) of the following in nice paragraph form. Upload with all group members participation and names to the discussion forum on this page.
1. What is the tone of the poem? Support your answer with two specific details from the text (MIKE)
It is obvious from the start of the poem that the tone is not going to happy. “About suffering they were never wrong,” depicts the pessimistic view of the people that are portrayed within the painting. Starting from the plow man to the shepherd, everybody in the picture albeit working know that there is going to be suffering in their lives. But there is a shift in the tone of the poem in the line, “They never forgot that even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course.” The line shows how the people cannot avoid the suffering, so the tone shifts from pessimistic to acceptance.
3. What is the "human position" of suffering in this poem? (JERRY)
In Greek mythology, the boundary between god and human are distinctively divided. Icarus fell down because he tried to get out of his "human position" and join the divine realm. In the painting, "human position" is shown with people working. They arouse a sense of suffering, which is deemed to be an ideal human position in world of gods. Icarus, however, suffers more because he tried to break this system.
4. Do you agree with Auden's reading of human nature here? Why or why not? (ANNIE) Auden seems to believe that it is in our human nature to be ignorant of "individual suffering," and I agree. Icarus fell into the water, and there were people around. But no one seemed to care. To them, his death "was not an important failure" (l. 17). They just went on with their normal daily routines. Likewise, we often sit in front of the TV and watch the news, or turn on the radio and hear about some natural disaster all the way over in South America. But do we stop what we're doing and pay close attention to these things? No, we go on with our individual lives, because it's in our human nature to be apathetic.
5. Briefly describe your first impressions regarding the author’s diction and/or syntax. (BRIAN)
The whole poem flows as if someone’s telling a story to others. Since it’s based on a myth, which usually contains a heroic element or a moral lesson, I was able to notice that the narrator is trying to reach an ultimate solution or ending. The poem also sounded like it was vividly describing something to its readers. Various things are going on and the poem covers all of them. The words are descriptive and direct.
7. Have each group member point out at least two poetic elements in the poem -- they all need to be different. Share out loud first, then write your different points. Annie: 1. enjambment - "they understood / Its human position" (l. 2-3) - one thought cut in two by a line break
2. hyperbaton - "About suffering they were never wrong" (l. 1) instead of "They were never wrong about suffering" - inversion of the usual word order Mike:
1. shift - "They never forgot that even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course" 2. repitition - "dogs go on with their doggy" Jerry:
1. imagery- "While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along" 2. rhyme scheme. not in a pattern but there are several Brian: 1.
2.
1. Tell each other whatever you know about the names "Daedalus" and "Icarus". Make sure everyone in the group could share in telling.
Jerry told us a brief summary of the story: Daedalus and his son Icarus were trapped in a Labyrinth. The only way to escape was to fly out and away from it. So Daedalus made wings out of feathers and wax for himself and his son. When they flew out, Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the Sun because the heat would melt his wings. But Icarus was too thrilled and didn't obey. He flew higher and higher until his wings melted and he fell into the sea.
1. Search the Web.
In order to find out more about the legend, go to web-sites which tell us about Greek Mythology.
The legend of Daedalus and Icarus: 2 short encyclopedic entries:
1. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Daedalus.html
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/i/icarus.html
Fill in according to what you have read, and I will walk by to see if you have it.
Daedalus was an Athenian architect. He designed the which was a maze on the island of Crete. He was imprisoned in this Labyrinth and in order to help the prince kill the monster and find his way out, he made wings for himself and for his son, Icarus. These wings were made of feathers held together by wax, Daedalus told his son not to too close to the sun, but Icarus did not listen to this warning and he flew too high up. The sun the wax and he fell.
1. What do you think about Icarus? Discuss his character and action (several possibilities)
He should've listened to his father.
He is cocky.
He is not as wise as he thinks he is.
He is too caught up with what is fun to care about safety or what is important.
2. What do you think of the consequences of his actions? Was it a punishment? A natural event? An important event?
We think Icarus deserved that punishment. After all, he received a warning from Daedalus but did not listen.
We learned a moral lesson from his wrong actions.
A Painting (8 minutes)
You will look at a painting and read an interpretation of it. You will then tell the class about what you have seen and read.
I. In order to see the famous painting, go to **http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/bruegel/icarus.jpg.html**
1. Scroll down to see the whole painting, its name, the name of the artist and the year it was painted. Know the information.
"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" by Pieter Bruegel, 1558
2. Look closely at the painting. Discuss what you see and then, as a group, write down the description of what you see in this picture.
We see Icarus in the water - drowning. The bird might be his father.
Icarus is tiny in this large painting.
There are two flying birds in the background, men working on the land.
3. Look at the name of the painting. What is the connection?
"Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" relates to Icarus falling from the sky in the story.
The name of the painting refers to the punishment Icarus received for flying too close to the Sun.
4. What is this painting saying about life?
One person's life doesn't matter. Nobody cares.
Death might seem like a huge deal, but in this world of several billion people, one death is insignificant.
2. DO ALL THE ABOVE BEFORE READING THE INTERPRETATION. Read an interpretation of this painting.
Go to : http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/poetry_art/icarus.htm the painting with a short analysis. Another site (spend maybe 3-4 minutes skimming) Plowman analysis
1. Do some quick research. What is the story behind the painting?
The plowman in the picture is doing work on the Earth - he will go to heaven.
If you try to fly to heaven like Icarus, you will fall down.
*Humbly do work on Earth, and you will go to Heaven.
*Try to fly too high, and you will fall to Hell.
2. What are some details and what do they mean which do NOT follow the Greek Legend of Icarus
3. In the skimming, what seem to be 3 significant (or interesting) points.
The Poem -- Read the Poem by Auden. (15 minutes?)
Discuss. http://poetrypages.lemon8.nl/life/musee/museebeauxarts.htm
Critical Reading Questions, answer 3 plus #7 (so four in all) of the following in nice paragraph form. Upload with all group members participation and names to the discussion forum on this page.
1. What is the tone of the poem? Support your answer with two specific details from the text (MIKE)
It is obvious from the start of the poem that the tone is not going to happy. “About suffering they were never wrong,” depicts the pessimistic view of the people that are portrayed within the painting. Starting from the plow man to the shepherd, everybody in the picture albeit working know that there is going to be suffering in their lives. But there is a shift in the tone of the poem in the line, “They never forgot that even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course.” The line shows how the people cannot avoid the suffering, so the tone shifts from pessimistic to acceptance.
3. What is the "human position" of suffering in this poem? (JERRY)
In Greek mythology, the boundary between god and human are distinctively divided. Icarus fell down because he tried to get out of his "human position" and join the divine realm. In the painting, "human position" is shown with people working. They arouse a sense of suffering, which is deemed to be an ideal human position in world of gods. Icarus, however, suffers more because he tried to break this system.
4. Do you agree with Auden's reading of human nature here? Why or why not? (ANNIE)
Auden seems to believe that it is in our human nature to be ignorant of "individual suffering," and I agree. Icarus fell into the water, and there were people around. But no one seemed to care. To them, his death "was not an important failure" (l. 17). They just went on with their normal daily routines. Likewise, we often sit in front of the TV and watch the news, or turn on the radio and hear about some natural disaster all the way over in South America. But do we stop what we're doing and pay close attention to these things? No, we go on with our individual lives, because it's in our human nature to be apathetic.
5. Briefly describe your first impressions regarding the author’s diction and/or syntax. (BRIAN)
The whole poem flows as if someone’s telling a story to others. Since it’s based on a myth, which usually contains a heroic element or a moral lesson, I was able to notice that the narrator is trying to reach an ultimate solution or ending. The poem also sounded like it was vividly describing something to its readers. Various things are going on and the poem covers all of them. The words are descriptive and direct.
7. Have each group member point out at least two poetic elements in the poem -- they all need to be different. Share out loud first, then write your different points.
Annie:
1. enjambment - "they understood / Its human position" (l. 2-3) - one thought cut in two by a line break
2. hyperbaton - "About suffering they were never wrong" (l. 1) instead of "They were never wrong about suffering" - inversion of the usual word order
Mike:
1. shift - "They never forgot that even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course"
2. repitition - "dogs go on with their doggy"
Jerry:
1. imagery- "While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along"
2. rhyme scheme. not in a pattern but there are several
Brian:
1.
2.