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Year 8

Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’

I can write an ekphrastic poem inspired by Bruegel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' and William Carlos Williams's poem of the same name.

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Year 8

Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’

I can write an ekphrastic poem inspired by Bruegel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' and William Carlos Williams's poem of the same name.

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Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. William Carlos Williams's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' is an ekphrastic poem.
  2. An ekphrastic poem is a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
  3. Each of Williams’s seven stanzas refers to something in Pieter Bruegel's painting 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'.
  4. Like Bruegel, Williams focuses on the natural world rather than Icarus himself.
  5. Each line of Williams’s poem is enjambed - there is no punctuation at the end of any of the lines.

Common misconception

Ekphrastic poems are poems inspired by someone or something.

Ekphrastic poems are poems inspired by a piece of art, and they describe that piece of art in the poem.

Keywords

  • Myth - stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why

  • Ekphrastic - a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it

  • Enjambment - when there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry

  • Trivial - unimportant

  • Pace - the speed of something

Equipment

Pupils need a copy of the poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by William Carlos Williams from the 1991 Collected Poems: 1939-1962, Volume II published by New Directions.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. What type of story was this inspired by?
a moral
Correct answer: a myth
a legend
a fable
Q2.
Starting with the first, put these plot points from the myth 'The Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') in chronological order.
1 - Daedalus and Icarus have been imprisoned by King Minos.
2 - Daedalus creates wings from wax and feathers so they can fly away.
3 - Daedalus tells his son not to fly too close to the sun.
4 - Icarus flies higher and higher, enjoying the feeling of flying.
5 - The wax begins to melt as Icarus flies close to the sun.
6 - Icarus falls into the sea and drowns.
7 - Daedalus offers his wings to the god, Apollo, and swears never to fly again.
Q3.
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Who is the smallest figure (person) in this painting?
Correct answer: Icarus
Daedalus
King Minos
a shepherd
a farmer
Q4.
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Who is the largest figure (person) in this painting?
Icarus
Daedalus
Correct answer: a farmer
King Minos
a shepherd
Q5.
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Which of these people or things are captured in the picture?
Correct answer: Icarus
Correct answer: sheep
Correct answer: a plough
Correct answer: ships
the wings made of wax and feathers
Q6.
In the unit 'Myths and Legends', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Which of these people or things are not captured in the picture?
Correct answer: Daedalus
sheep
a plough
the sun
Correct answer: the wings made of wax and feathers

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at three pieces of art about the same set of characters: Daedalus and Icarus. Starting with the first, put them in chronological order.
1 - the Greek myth of the fall of Icarus
2 - Pieter Bruegel's painting 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'
3 - William Carlos Williams’s poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'
Q2.
A pupil argued, 'Pieter Bruegel's painting and William Carlos Williams's poem present Icarus’s death as trivial.' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') What does trivial mean?
significant
Correct answer: unimportant
tragic
hubristic
humble
Q3.
In Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire'), the poet uses no throughout. This increases the pace we have to read the poem.
Correct Answer: punctuation
Q4.
In Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire'), there is no punctuation at the end of any of the lines. What is this technique called?
stanzas
Correct answer: enjambment
caesura
alliteration
Q5.
Match the first six stanzas of Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') to its focus.
Correct Answer:1,the season

the season

Correct Answer:2,a farmer

a farmer

Correct Answer:3,the lively natural world

the lively natural world

Correct Answer:4,the sea

the sea

Correct Answer:5,the sun

the sun

Correct Answer:6,the coast

the coast

Q6.
Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') is an poem, which means a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
Correct Answer: ekphrastic