An author had the fantastic idea to place a mythological Greek character into the modern world; which is where the poem “Icarus” came from. Edward Field uses rhetorical devices such as syntax, irony, and figurative language to convey the relocation of Icarus from an ancient Greek society to a society in the 20th century.
The beginning of the poem accurately depicts how Fields adapted the poem to a modern world setting. The fact that “Only the feathers [were] floating around the hat,” exemplifies the transition from ancient to modern: the feathers allude to the Icarus myth, while the hat is part of the modern world that Icarus is now living in. After the witnesses of Icarus’ accident ran off to be part of a “gang war,” the reader realizes the allusion to the harshness of urban life; because of this Icarus’ case was “filed and forgotten” (Lines 1, 5, 6). The idea that his case has become forgotten emphasizes the differences between ancient Greece and the modern world: in ancient Greece tales -- such as Icarus’ -- were sung and passed on from one generation to the next, not just written down and set down at the bottom of a pile.
The second stanza continues with the transition from ancient world to modern world. The…show more content… The tragic hero of ancient Greece fell to his death, but the tragic hero of the modern world believes that he fell from greatness to simple mediocrity, which is his equivalent to death in the ancient world. Modern world Icarus “probes his wound,” and works in his workshop in his workshop, the same way Daedalus in ancient Greece worked to make the wings to escape his prison (Line 21). Modern world Icarus is trying to accomplish and finish what his father never could because of ancient Greece Icarus innocence; because of all these beliefs Icarus believes it would have been more satisfactory if he had
