History & The Arts
Icarus: entering the world of myth
...verb in the first stanza (especially line 4); the flow of one line into the next (enjambment) – reflects and simultaneously reinforces the reverie-like state of the poet. The second stanza constitutes a sonnet-like ‘turn’ (the volta which marks a change in direction, pace or tone) as the poet stands in front of Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. Auden’s commentary...