|
Comment 8 of 8, added on March 31st, 2007 at 8:16 AM.
i think that anne sexton wrote this poem for a friend of hers. she
mentions, 'consider icarus'. i suppose she is telling her friend to take
icarus as an example, as he might have FAILED, but in a way, he still
achieved something.
d
Comment 7 of 8, added on December 18th, 2005 at 3:43 AM.
I didn't interperet the title to be taken in a "Icarus triumphed because of
his father's work" way. I understood it more in a "his father's work
triumphed because Icarus did" way. A slight difference, but more
meaningful, I think. Of course, poetry is subjective...
alice
Comment 6 of 8, added on October 31st, 2005 at 9:56 AM.
One of the other themes in the poem is that triumph requires sacrifice.
Nothing comes easily. Often the sacrifice is that the one who triumphs is
seen as unusual or strange--witness the 'shocked starlings' who look at
Icarus as a thing that is in the wrong place and the 'sensible daddy' who
will, undoubtedly be congratulated for being so sensible. One of the
reasons for success, Sexton says, is that one is willing to be exceptional.
By the way, your site misquotes line 12. It should end with "Who cares that
he fell back to the sea?" The poem is a sonnet, and scansion is important
to the form of the poem.
Elizabeth from United States
Comment 5 of 8, added on October 13th, 2005 at 12:30 PM.
The title of this poem is not one that is meant to be taken literally.
Triumph? Icarus did not triumph. He did nothing to be triumphant, his
father gave him the wings. To recieve this from her is an insult. Saying
that your "triumph" was short-lived and ignorable. Sure he gave it his
best effort....to bad it wasn't good enough. This also shows how just
because he is a youth it's different. If he was an adult he would have
been considered stupid for not heeding the warning.
Jake from United States
Comment 4 of 8, added on September 25th, 2005 at 12:20 PM.
I definetly agree. It says how it is more important to take the risk and
fail than to follow the "safe" path, as Daedalus did. Icarus lived a
shorter, yet more complete life, rather than living long, boring.
Alicia from United States
Comment 3 of 8, added on August 11th, 2005 at 10:51 AM.
It is absolutely about seizing the day. And more than that, it is
defiantly against the traditional "moral" of the story: that it is better
to walk the safe middle line than to stray from it, where danger might lie.
At the time, any cultural depiction of a woman "straying" always ended
with tragedy (or with her ultimately returning to the "right" path - to be
simply somebody's wife and somebody's mother. ) Because of her emotional
troubles, Anne was constantly looking inward and had an intense concept of
self, which, until recently, was reserved primarily for men. Women who had
strong senses of self, and who made decisions based on them, were thought
"selfish" "irresponsible" "bad mothers" and "bad wives." Anne is a voice
to counter the fear and suspicion that so often accompany's a woman's
success. And for that, I thank her.
leigh from United States
Comment 2 of 8, added on August 3rd, 2005 at 3:35 AM.
the poem is about life in a sense. Icarus represents youth, as he is
willing to take risks and is inexperienced, flying towards the sun, while
his father demonstrates the traits od old age and wisdom as he does not fly
towards the sun and simply continues onwards. Finally the sun symbolizes
the dangers in life and how taking risks can become part of reaching your
goals.
ves from Australia
Comment 1 of 8, added on January 30th, 2005 at 3:13 PM.
I can not believe that not on has commented on this poem. Anyway, this
poem is signifying the carpe deim theme. "Seize the Day" Basically, it is
saying, so what if he died in the end, he still reached his goals. He
would have died anyway, in saddness if he had not tried to escape the
laberyninth. He died knowing that he had accomplished his main goal in
life as well a reaching others that were higher, such as being able to see
the sun. If anyone has any other views, please post them. I would be
happy to see what someone else thinks about it.
Jennifer from United States
|
i think that anne sexton wrote this poem for a friend of hers. she
mentions, 'consider icarus'. i suppose she is telling her friend to take
icarus as an example, as he might have FAILED, but in a way, he still
achieved something.
d