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Metaamorphoses Daedalus And Icarus Comparison

636 Words3 Pages

A Boy’s Quest to Fly Imagine inventing something no one has ever seen or heard of before. Then imagine you finally get to put your invention to use, but once you do, you fail miserably. That is exactly what happened in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses: Daedalus and Icarus.” The poem illustrates Daedalus’ quest to construct wings so he and his son, Icarus can fly. Anne Sexton transforms Icarus in her poem, “To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph” from a young, naive child, to an admirable, heroic figure. Ovid’s portrayal of Icarus conveys the foolishness of youth. While Daedalus works to create wings, and invention unknown to man, “...his son Icarus, with smiling countenance and unaware of danger to himself perchance would chase the feathers…” (Ovid …show more content…

In lines three and four, she writes, “Think of that first flawless moment over the labyrinth. Think of the difference it made!” Within the first few lines, Sexton is altering Icarus’ character from an immature boy who fools around, to someone who is making a difference in the world. Moreover, he is doing something no one has ever done before, and is advancing the technology. This also implies that Icarus is a bit more grown up, and is experiencing life. In writing, “...think of the innocent Icarus who is doing quite well…” (Sexton 7), Sexton states that Icarus is innocent, and is progressing in regards to his flying. Ovid’s poem puts more emphasis on the negative aspects of Daedalus and Icarus’ quest. Additionally, Sexton focuses on the positive, as she says he is doing quite well, and states that he is innocent. Three lines later, the author writes, “...see how casually he glances up and is caught, wondrously tunneling into that hot eye. Who cares that he fell back to sea?” (Sexton 10-12) Sexton presents Icarus as carefree, and at the same time, expresses how heroic he is. Her question at the end of line 12 supports the claim that risk takers are likely to experience the highs and lows of life. In this instance, Icarus is literally experiencing these highs and lows. Sexton asks, “Who cares that he fell back...” because he was experiencing life, and she implies that that is the only thing that

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