Poetry is often
more than just a bunch of words on a page. Many
poets like to create pictures with words like artists and
sculptors with paints and with clay. Some poets
write because of a work of art that has deeply effected
them. Come into the world of the "visual"
text and see art through the poets' pen.
Look at the picture on one of the sites
below:
Painting by Brueghel
Brueghel Painting
Take a close look and then write a
short description of the picture. Describe what is
in it in general, what is in the foreground (closest to
you) and in the background. Is there anything missing
from this picture or anything surprising about it?
Does it have a theme?
This painting has:
Write a new title
for this painting:
Next, read the myth
by Ovid that connects to this picture.
The Fall of Icarus
Think about the
painting and how it connects to the myth.
What morals or lessons does the myth teach? Does it deal
with things like pride or arrogance or apathy? How
does it connect to the painting? Where is Icarus
and what is happening around him? Think about
Icarus and the painting, and then write down some of your
thoughts below.
The connection between the painting
and the myth :
Now, read the poem by
Auden at one
of the sites below:
Painting and Poems
Auden Poem
How does this connect
to the painting and the myth? How does it connect
to the lessons of the myth? How does it deal with
pride or arrogance or apathy?
This painting,
the myth and the poem:
ICARUS IN ART
THROUGH THE AGES
Go to the site below and choose one
of the pictures that you like the best. Think of
how it adds to your understanding of this story.
Write about your feelings now that you've seen how
important this myth was in the history of art. Look
at this picture and think of how it tries to deal with
this story. How does it change your
feelings about the myth, the poem and the previous
painting?
IKAROS ART GALLARY
My favorite view of the Fall of
Icarus is: (Write your ideas about this totally different
point of view.)
