Notes

The story of Icarus and Daedalus is a well known story of a boy who flew too close to the sun. There are many versions of this myth that share similar messages. ‘The Flight of Icarus’ by Sally Benson and ‘The myth of Icarus and Daedalus’ by Amy Adkins share the message of being “cautious when taking life risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.” The message from the versions could be different but this is the message that this essay focuses on. This story has been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore it has been retold in several varieties of ways.

The message of ‘The myth of Icarus and Daedalus’ by Amy Adkins is, ‘Be cautious when taking life threatening risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.’ This text states, “As he strapped the wings to his son Icarus, he gave a warning: flying too near the ocean will dampen the wings and make them too heavy to use. Flying too near the sun, the heat would melt the wax and the wings would denigrate.” (Adkins, line 54-59). This quote foreshadows that Icarus will not listen. The author is also hinting that Icarus will not listen to the caution and fall to his death or drown. The author states in the text, “Icaurs was overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flight and overcome with the feeling of divine power that came with it.” (Adkins, line 65-66). These lines again foreshadow that Icarus will for sure disobey his father’s warning. Since Icarus’s future shows that he was not cautious, nor did he listen. These quotes and reasoning supports the message, ‘Be cautious when taking life threatening risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.’

In the next myth, ‘The Flight of Icarus’ by Sally Benson, the introduction stated the message of both stories. The message was ‘Be cautious when taking life threatening risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.’ The quote that supports this message is, “For Icarus, these cautions went in at one ear and out the other.” (Benson pg 650.) The reason why this quote supports the text is that Icarus let the caution that Daedalus told him slip out of his mind. Another reason is, he wanted freedom, but he was supposed to listen to the caution therefore he fell to his death. The text also states, “... and in that terror he remembered. The heat of the sun had melted the wax from his wings;...” (Benson, pg 651). This quote from the text shows us that he suddenly remembered the caution that he was given before the flight, but he did not remember until he was falling in terror. The quote proves the message because he did not want to listen to the advice or caution that he was given from Daedalus, instead he let it slip to the back of his mind. These are the quotes and reasons that support the message, ‘Be cautious when taking life threatening risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.’

The message is ‘Be cautious when taking life threatening risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.’ The texts were The Flight of Icarus’ by Sally Benson and The myth of Icarus and Daedalus by Amy Adkins. The two versions of the myth share this theme. These texts both reveal the message, ‘Be cautious when taking life threatening risks, and listen to the advice or cautions you were told about.’ Overall, we should not make the mistake Icarus did, and we should listen to the cautions and advice given to us.