Questions: page 192 - Analyzing the Text and Image

Cite Text Evidence Support your responses with evidence from the selections.

1. Analyze Describe how the two works incorporate the Icarus myth. Which parts of the story do they withhold, and which parts do they emphasize?

Both works focus on the death of Icarus and withhold the events that lead to his death.

2. Evaluate Why does Icarus appear as a tiny pair of legs in a corner of the painting? Does he receive greater prominence in the poem? Explain.

In the painting, Icarus appears as a tiny pair of legs because his death is of no consequence in the surrounding landscape. Icarus receives slightly greater prominence in the poem. He is mentioned by name in line 14; his legs are mentioned in line 18; and his fall is mentioned in line 20.

3. Synthesize Auden interprets the scene as a human response to suffering. Do you agree or disagree with the poets interpretation of the painting? Why?

Sample answer: I agree with Audens interpretation because Icarus appears in the painting only as a tiny, hard-to-find pair of legs. Without the title, viewers might not notice Icarus at all in the painting.