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by Stephen Dobyns

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Learning Objective: The student will understand how the elements of form and the use of alliteration emphasize ideas and meaning in a poem.

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Academic Vocabulary- breaking the objective apart
Form:
Alliteration:

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Academic Vocabulary
Form: the way words are arranged on a page
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.

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1. Identify: Look closely at how certain sentences of the poem extend from one stanza into the next one. What effect is created by extending a sentence into the next stanza?

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Answer
1. It pulls the reader along, connecting the stanzas and giving the poem an almost vertical motion downward. This seems to suggest the downward decent of Icarus’s flight.

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2. Analyze: Examine the question in lines Based on what you know about the Icarus myth, where is the “exact point where freedom stopped”? How would you answer this question?

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Answer 2. The exact point where freedom stopped in the moment in which Icarus’s wings failed, and he was about to begin his descent.

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3. Analyze: Look at the third stanza and identify the alliterative words. What idea does this alliteration emphasize or draw attention to?

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Answer 3. Flew and flutter are alliterative; the poet chose those words to emphasize the contrast between strong and weak flight.

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4. Interpret What does the poet mean by the two sentences in lines 10 and 11?

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Answer 4 The poet means that Icarus succeeded because by flying to that point, he learned what freedom was. He achieved “precisely” the “wisdom” of understanding both freedom and mortality at the same time.

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5. Analyze Find the sentence that begins within line 18 and read it aloud. What examples of alliteration do you see? Why do you think the poet uses alliteration here?

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Answer 5. Alliterative words: him, he, had, his The poet uses there words to emphasize the idea that Icarus has finally attained what he wanted.

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6. Compare: Consider what you already knew about the mythological character, Icarus, before reading this poem. How does this poem cause your perception of Icarus to change? Explain.

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Ready, Set Respond…..

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Mrs. Whiddon’s Answer 6. My perception of Icarus changed from thinking of him as a young boy in the myth who forgot to heed his father’s warning and loses his life to someone who became fully aware of his actions and in failure actually gained wisdom and freedom. Icarus embraced his freedom as he took “his downward plunge.”