Icarus

Icarus

Gabriel Taboada

\"Icarus\" by Edward Field, adapts the ancient Greek story of Daedalus and Icarus to a modern day scenario in which a different end to the tale is presented. Field uses details, structure and diction to present the mythical Icarus as a contemporary character alienated in a 20th century setting. 

The language and the imagery are essential to create the ironical and contrasting poem. There is the juxtaposition of the heroic Icarus of the myth that \"Concealed arms that had controlled huge wings\" and the contemporary \"Mr. Hicks\" that seems to be nothing more than a \"respectable suit\". The contrasting past and present of the character both seem to still be part of Icarus's life, one of them being used to pass the disapproving eye of society that could not \"disturb their neat front yards\", and the other concealed in the mind of Icarus, showing only with \"curtains carefully drawn\". The contrast in tone and word choice is also very evident. Field describes both a contemporary society with \"police\" and \"gang wars\" that seems to be very usual, and a contemporary society viewed through the eyes of the Greek hero as a \"middling stature\" that is reserved to the \"merely talented\". This opposing tone and word choice help to further alienate the main character to the rest of his neighbors in the suburbs, making him continue to live in the shadow of the great Icarus he once was. Field choses to place this character in great juxtaposition with the setting, which forces him to be even further excluded from this suburbia. Fields also choses to create great contrasts between the mood of each verse creating an ironic mood. In the last stanza, for example, the author first states a very mild unimportant fact, \"(Icarus) serves on various committees\" and then contrasts it with a very strong verse \"(Icarus) wishes he had drowned\". This ironic mood is also present in the second stanza when the author contrasts the characters alienation and his feelings of having committed a \"horrible mistake\", both very strong feelings, to his very naive neighbors with their \"neat front yards\" and problem free lives. The contrasts used to represent both the antithetical \"genius of the hero\" and \"that nice Mr. Hicks\"  allow the author to emphasize the differences between the hero of the past and the new contemporary man of modern day society.

It seems like the author distances this fallen hero to the heroic Icarus, serving as a critic to the alienation present today in society. Field uses common every day tasks such as \"rents\" and \"tending the garden\" to humanize the character and place him in the position of a contemporary man rather than a mythical tale. The poem also lacks a rhyme scheme or a definite structure, this characteristic further distances Edward Fields' version of the poem from the old Greek stories. The word choice also creates this separation, rather than portraying the characters and setting as great and monumental, as was often done in greek myths Field seems to chose to portray a much more common scenario, he seems to avoid adjectives to describe the \"city\" or the \"house\" and Mr. Hicks frequents very uneventful activities such as \"commuter trains\" or \"various committees\". This alienates the hero from society, serving as a critic to the alienation of the modern man, who \"fails every time\". The contemporary man is forced to close himself behind \"curtains carefully drawn\". Perhaps the last verse is the most impacting. the reader is left with the idea that the great hero of Greek myths would rather drown than keep on living in todays society, not only does this contradict the grandeur of greek myths but it also suggests that this alienation brings great sadness to the more human Mr. Hicks, who had those \"sad, defeated eyes\". Not only his alienation, but also the society itself is described with great flaws. This modern society where \"witnesses run off to gang war\" and reports are \"forgotten\" seems far from ideal. Icarus encounters a present day world where there seems to be no place for a heroic man who \"tries to fly\".

The author also choses to criticize people living presently who seem to have grown accustomed to unheroic lives. The word choice used to describe the hero all seem to be in past tense, he had \"thought\", \"acted\", \"dreamt\". the author only choses to use the present tense when he speaks of the Icarus who lives in the suburbs, he \"rides\", \"serves\" and \"wishes\", this shift in the verb tense suggests that this hero has now \"fallen\" and only this modern version of him still exists. This might refer to people in a modern day society who have conformed to living in a \"merely talented\" life rather than searching for the hero within.

Field seems to defy the stereotypical image of the hero and uses a contemporary image of Icarus to ironically criticize the \"fallen heros\" of today. The poem opens way for deeper reflection, allowing the reader to fully comprehend the choice made in modern day society between living a heroic life \"constructing small wings\" or of living with \"curtains carefully drawn\".