From Metamorphoses, Book VIII:
Meanwhile Daedalus, hating Crete, and his long
exile,1
and filled with a desire to stand on his native
soil, was imprisoned by the waves. ‘He may thwart
our escape by land or sea’ he said ‘but the sky is
surely open to us: we will go that way: Minos2
rules
everything but he does not rule the heavens.’ So
saying he applied his thought to new invention and
altered the natural order of things. He laid down lines
of feathers, beginning with the smallest, following the
shorter with longer ones, so that you might think they
had grown like that, on a slant. In that way, long ago,
the rustic pan-pipes3 were graduated, with
lengthening reeds. Then he fastened them together with thread at the middle, and beeswax at the base, and,
when he had arranged them, he flexed each one into a gentle curve, so that they imitated real bird’s wings. His
son, Icarus, stood next to him, and, not realising that he was handling things that would endanger him, caught
laughingly at the down4
that blew in the passing breeze, and softened the yellow beeswax with his thumb, and,
in his play, hindered5
his father’s marvellous work.
When he had put the last touches to what he had begun, the artificer6
balanced his own body between the two
wings and hovered in the moving air. He instructed the boy as well, saying ‘Let me warn you, Icarus, to take the
middle way, in case the moisture weighs down your wings, if you fly too low, or if you go too high, the sun
scorches them. Travel between the extremes. And I order you not to aim towards Bootes, the Herdsman, or
[1]
1. Exile (noun) the state of forced absence from one’s home or native country
2. King Minos of Crete
3. a type of musical instrument made up of connected tubes of different lengths; also known as the pan-flute
4. soft fine fluffy feathers, typically referring to birds' feathers
5. Hinder (verb) to make slow or difficult
6. a skilled or artistic craftsman
1
The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus by Ovid is in the public domain.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Helice, the Great Bear, or towards the drawn sword of Orion:7
take the course I show you!’ At the same time as
he laid down the rules of flight, he fitted the newly created wings on the boy’s shoulders. While he worked and
issued his warnings the ageing man’s cheeks were wet with tears: the father’s hands trembled.
He gave a never to be repeated kiss to his son, and lifting upwards on his wings, flew ahead, anxious for his
companion, like a bird, leading her fledglings out of a nest above, into the empty air. He urged the boy to follow,
and showed him the dangerous art of flying, moving his own wings, and then looking back at his son. Some
angler8
catching fish with a quivering rod, or a shepherd leaning on his crook, or a ploughman resting on the
handles of his plough, saw them, perhaps, and stood there amazed, believing them to be gods able to travel the
sky.
And now Samos, sacred to Juno,9
lay ahead to the left (Delos and Paros were behind them), Lebinthos, and
Calymne,10 rich in honey, to the right, when the boy began to delight in his daring flight, and abandoning his
guide, drawn by desire for the heavens, soared higher. His nearness to the devouring sun softened the fragrant
wax that held the wings: and the wax melted: he flailed with bare arms, but losing his oar-like wings, could not
ride the air. Even as his mouth was crying his father’s name, it vanished into the dark blue sea, the Icarian Sea,
called after him. The unhappy father, now no longer a father, shouted ‘Icarus, Icarus where are you? Which way
should I be looking, to see you?’ ‘Icarus’ he called again. Then he caught sight of the feathers on the waves, and
cursed his inventions. He laid the body to rest, in a tomb, and the island was named Icaria after his buried child.
4. Explain how Ovid foreshadows the fall of Icarus throughout the story. Cite evidence from the text in your response.
Ovid foreshadows the fall of Icarus throughout the story in several ways. One example of foreshadowing is when Daedalus warns Icarus to not fly too high or too low, as flying too high will cause the sun to scorch his wings and flying too low will weigh them down with moisture. This warning sets up the eventual downfall of Icarus, as he becomes enamored with his daring flight and flies too close to the sun, causing his wax wings to melt.
Another example of foreshadowing is when Daedalus is described as trembling and shedding tears as he fits the wings on Icarus. This emotional reaction hints at the tragedy that is about to occur and adds a sense of foreboding to the story.
Furthermore, the imagery of Icarus delighting in his daring flight and abandoning his guide, drawn by his desire for the heavens, sets the stage for his overconfidence and eventual downfall. This imagery suggests that Icarus's reckless behavior will lead to his demise.
Overall, through these examples of warning, emotional reaction, and character behavior, Ovid effectively foreshadows the fall of Icarus and creates a sense of inevitability leading up to the tragic conclusion of the story.