Both W. H. Auden and William Carlos Williams wrote ekphrastic poems about Pieter Brueghel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. Both poems point out that Icarus’s drowning is ignored or goes unnoticed. Williams's poem uses short groups of three lines and an objective tone. Auden's poem uses longer lines and more description, and it refers to ideas and images outside of the painting. Williams provides a matter-of-fact account of what happens in the painting, while Auden connects the painting to the overall idea of suffering.
Sample Response: Both W. H. Auden and William Carlos Williams wrote ekphrastic poems about Pieter Brueghel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. Both poems point out that Icarus’s drowning is ignored or goes unnoticed. Williams's poem uses short groups of three lines and an objective tone. Auden's poem uses longer lines and more description, and it refers to ideas and images outside of the painting. Williams provides a matter-of-fact account of what happens in the painting, while Auden connects the painting to the overall idea of suffering.
