Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can write an ekphrastic poem inspired by Bruegel's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' and William Carlos Williams's poem of the same name.
Key learning points
- William Carlos Williams's 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' is an ekphrastic poem.
- An ekphrastic poem is a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
- Each of Williams’s seven stanzas refers to something in Pieter Bruegel's painting 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus'.
- Like Bruegel, Williams focuses on the natural world rather than Icarus himself.
- Each line of Williams’s poem is enjambed - there is no punctuation at the end of any of the lines.
Keywords
Myth - stories which explain how the world began and what the world is like and why
Ekphrastic - a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it
Enjambment - when there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry
Trivial - unimportant
Pace - the speed of something
Common misconception
Ekphrastic poems are poems inspired by someone or something.
Ekphrastic poems are poems inspired by a piece of art, and they describe that piece of art in the poem.
Teacher tip
Consider how you want to hold the discussion in Learning Cycle 1's practice task. Will pupils work in pairs, or groups? How will these be chosen? How long will you give them for the discussion and who will you question before, during and after to monitor responses and address misconceptions?
Equipment
Pupils need a copy of the poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by William Carlos Williams from the 1991 Collected Poems: 1939-1962, Volume II published by New Directions.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. What type of story was this inspired by?
Q2.Starting with the first, put these plot points from the myth 'The Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') in chronological order.
Q3.In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Who is the smallest figure (person) in this painting?
Q4.In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Who is the largest figure (person) in this painting?
Q5.In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Which of these people or things are captured in the picture?
Q6.In the unit 'Myths and Legends', we look at a painting called 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' by Pieter Bruegel. Which of these people or things are not captured in the picture?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In the unit 'Myths, legends and stories that inspire', we look at three pieces of art about the same set of characters: Daedalus and Icarus. Starting with the first, put them in chronological order.
Q2.A pupil argued, 'Pieter Bruegel's painting and William Carlos Williams's poem present Icarus’s death as trivial.' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') What does trivial mean?
Q3.In Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire'), the poet uses no throughout. This increases the pace we have to read the poem.
Q4.In Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire'), there is no punctuation at the end of any of the lines. What is this technique called?
Q5.Match the first six stanzas of Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') to its focus.
the season
a farmer
the lively natural world
the sea
the sun
the coast
Q6.Williams's poem 'Landscape with the Fall of Icarus' ('Myths, legends and stories that inspire') is an poem, which means a poem which describes a piece of art, and is inspired by it.
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 English lesson on: Exploring William Carlos Williams’s poem ‘Landscape with the fall of Icarus’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the Myths, legends and stories that inspire unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.