Question

3. Williams's poem and Brueghel's painting share the same subject. In your opinion, which creates a

Answer 1

Answer and Explanation:

I believe the poem causes a more powerful emotional response than the painting. Of course, the painting has the advantage of showing the scene. The viewer can take it all in in just a few seconds. The poem, on the other hand, must describe what took place, focusing on different details at a time. That disadvantage is, in m opinion, precisely what makes the poem more powerful:

According to Brueghel

when Icarus fell

it was spring

a farmer was ploughing

his field

the whole pageantry

of the year was

awake tingling

near

the edge of the sea

concerned

with itself

Unlike the viewers of the painting, readers of the poem are offered an image built with words. They are told how insignificant the splash of Icarus's fall was, how unnoticed the whole event was. Readers are given all they need to understand how cold and cruel people can be toward someone who is suffering. How indifferent society is when that suffering does not affect each one of them individually. Also, the picture relies on the viewer’s previous knowledge of the myth, while the poem gets to explain it, mentioning the sun melting the wings made of wax.

the edge of the sea

concerned

with itself

sweating in the sun

that melted

the wings' wax

unsignificantly

off the coast

there was

a splash quite unnoticed

this was

Icarus drowning