American Literature II

I was always captivated, not by the moral of Icarus’ story, but his ambition, his wanting freedom and acting on it. To me, it was never his failure, or his destructive enthusiasm, but rather his attempt that mattered. I believe that even by not actually stating it, Williams is trying to imply something similar, that it’s the action that went unnoticed, in the poem and Brueghel’s painting which is most important. After all, for however briefly – Icarus did fly.

William Carlos Williams chose the title of, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” unaltered from the title of Brueghel’s painting, indicating Williams is not trying to alter it’s meaning but to delve into an interpretation of Icarus’ drowning. It begins with “According to Brueghel”, the use of according could be meant in the sense of in accord with, an agreement. The use of only the painters last name and not his self- decreed title, yet he did not use only his first name but chose his surname, a lineage that this painter carries on, however, it is a history which is lost, and therefore can simply relate to all of humanity. Or, it could simply be chosen for its style. The landscape is of spring, a beginning, yet the actions of these people in the forefront of the painting are banal. The farmers who plow and the man who (I think) fishes, has probably done so for years. The pageantry, the ceremony of cultivating their fields is an event without any true meaning. This is also connected to time, their lives and possibly the lives of their ancestors who have always done the same meaningless menial work. Yet they, like the sea, which sweats under the sun, are ignorant of Icarus’ suffering. In their spectacularly vivid lives, they’re empty; their toiling is irrelevant, only of importance to them and it’s the only thing that is important to them, not the drowning Icarus. It is unclear whether the “edge of the sea” is where it meets the land upon which the farmers stand or where the horizon joins it to the sky. But whether it is near these people or beyond them, it is not connected to the height Icarus fell from. The sun is a force greater than man, more powerful than Icarus, than his mechanism, only interacts with Icarus’ wings, in the story and poem, however, it seems to be far from Icarus in the painting. While Icarus is deemed “unsignificant”, not ‘insignificant,’ although I’m not sure why this word is preferred, and “unnoticed”, – his “splash”, his impact is ignored. The people who are not ambitious are never affected, their cycles never altered and ultimately they meet death, as the mortal Icarus does, but theirs is not from the burning glory not depicted in the poem or painting.

Now, what is most confusing is that the first letter of the poem and names are capitalized and there are no punctuation marks at all in the poem (its why I chose to place commas outside of the quotations). It has no pauses, no end, only the beginning is given importance, which is truly the end of the event. Its as if the poem is unfinished, even with Icarus’ death.

If you’re interested, there’s another poem which references the painting, the subject matter is the unnoticed suffering of men – Musee des Beaux Arts, W.H. Auden.

This poem and “The Ivy Crown” by Williams are probably my favorites. The other reminds me of a cheesy (but amazing) quote by young adult writer, Bardugo “Love speaks in flowers. Truth requires thorns.”

Although I want to continue on William Carlos Williams as well as Wallace Stevens, I’m sure this post has been long enough, however, I will say – Stevens’ poetry, in a way different from Williams’, is unhinged, unapologetic and yet, something that is understood in one form or another.