Images and Symbolic Meaning

Icarus is a character in Greek myth who while flying with wings of wax and feathers made by his father, attempted to escape King Minos. Icarus being caught up in the glory of his flight, does not heed his father's warnings and flies too close to the sun; the wax melts from his wings and he plummets into the sea and drowns. This myth appears to be very straight forward and yet four poets write …

…his field and says "insignificantly off the coast there was a splash quite unnoticed" (line 13-16) which further proves the insignificance of Icarus' fall to the society around him. Greek mythology is one medium where people typically come to their own conclusions. The four poets discussed here are not different in that respect. They have taken the same myth and interjected their own ideas and techniques to create different angles, in which to express themselves.