English Literature AP exam prompt : write an essay on the poem Icarus by Edward Field.

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“Icarus”
Edward Field uses various literary devices in the poem to make the story adapt to the modern setting. One of the most prevalent devices is imagery. The poet uses figurative language that helps in creating a clear picture of what Icarus was doing and how he was around others who were not like him. For example, in the first stanza, the speaker says that “Only the feathers floating around the hat showed that anything more spectacular had occurred.” (Field I. 1). The words help in forming an idea of how the scene was like after Icarus had fallen from the skies. The imagery is further set in the second stanza to describe how Icarus now looked like. Words like “The gray, respectable suit” “Concealed arms that had controlled huge wings” and “Those sad, defeated eyes” (Field II, 4) all help in showing that Icarus had undergone a significant change in appearance. He was now tired and bored and had to conceal who he was through the official clothing he wore. The third stanza also incorporates extensive imagery to show the conflict Icarus was facing in the new land stemming from the failure to accept that he was a failure. Lines 21 to 25 all create the perfect picture about what he was facing. He is trying as much as he could to create new wings that he could fly with to show that he was still the hero he imagined himself to be. From the narration the reader can picture the small room Icarus might be holed in, him bending on the table where the tools to construct his wings are, attempting to fly across the room, and finally cursing after he is unable to fly.

Allusion is also one of the stylistic devices in the poem. The entire poem is an allusion as it comes from the mythical story of Icarus and his father Daedalus who crafted wings from wax to escape from Crete where they were being punished for Daedalus’ crime. Icarus had been warned against flying too high rest the sun melted the wings. Icarus became overzealous and flew higher which resulted in his wings melting and his crashing to his death on water.
Also, irony can be seen in some of the stanzas in the poem. For example, the speaker says that the report was “filed and forgotten in the archives” (Field I, 6). The police are not supposed to just file a case and forget about it. Another irony is that the case was filed as drowning yet the reader knows that Icarus swam to the city where he established his new dwellings. It was ironical for the police to file a drowning report without the drowned body. The words show the casualness with which matters are handled in the current World. Also, Icarus is referred to as “That nice Mr Hicks” (Field II, 10) yet the reader is aware that Icarus had escaped from prison in his hometown.
A number of rhetorical questions are also included in the poem. The speaker asks, “What was he doing aging in a suburb?” Icarus had always believed he was capable of doing extraordinary things if he maintained his real self instead of disguising himself as an ordinary man. The speaker also asks, “Can the genius of the hero fall? To the middling stature of the merely talented?” Icarus seems to be held back by societal expectations which expect him to behave like other people.
Alliteration can also be seen in words such as “feathers” and “floating” in the first line, “police” and “preferred” in the third line and “witness” and “war” in the fifth line. Assonance, on the other hand, can be seen in words such as “dreaming and “respectable” and “concealed” and “controlled” in the second stanza. The devices help emphasize certain words and make the lines memorable to the reader.
In conclusion, Field uses a number of stylistic devices in the poem including irony, imagery, rhetorical questions, and allusion. These devices help in making the mythical story that the poem is based on to apply to the modern World. . 
Work cited
Field, E “Icarus” in College Board. “English Literature And Composition 2009 Free-Response Questions Form B”. Collegeboard, 2009, https://www.collegeboard.com. Accessed 6 Dec 2018.