Narrative Poem

Daedalus and Icarus

In History, Literacy and Dance/Drama Year 6 have been looking at the Greek myth- Daedalus and Icarus. Daedalus was an Ancient Greek inventor and designer. He designed the labyrinth for King Minos to keep the Minotaur in. For this, Daedalus and his son Icarus were trapped in a tall tower so they wouldn’t tell anyone the way out/in the labyrinth. They both got fed up of being stuck in the tower so they made a plan to escape. They created wings out of bird feathers and candle wax. After months of making the wings were ready and they jumped out of the only window in the tower. Daedalus warned Icarus to not fly near the sun. But he did! The wax on his wings melted and Icarus fell into the sea.
In Drama/Dance we created a dance sequence to tell the story of Daedalus and Icarus. Some of the stages included- Being bored in the tower, having the idea of making the wings, making the wings, jumping out of the window, flying in the air, warning Icarus and Icarus dying.
In Literacy we wrote narrative poems to tell the story of Daedalus and Icarus. We had to use- Powerful adjectives, varying line lengths, alliteration and similes and metaphors. All the finished poems are excellent.

Here are a few examples of our poems-

Daedalus and Icarus

Sitting on the hard cold floor,
Daedalus and Icarus stared blankly.
A tall ghostly tower
Surrounded by crashing sea
Was where they were cruelly imprisoned.
Hidden from the rest of the world.
No escaping
Trapped forever.
Only one small window,
Separates them from the world.
Suddenly Daedalus has a genius brainwave
A plan to escape
Be free.
And do this by creating wings
Out of melted candle wax and birds feathers.
When finally finished
They would jump out of the tiny window.
Setting to work on the wings,
Butterflies crawl and squirm
In the small boys stomach.
Shaky hands grab feathers
And carefully pour hot wax.
Months
And months go by.
And the wings start to take shape
Finally the wings are finished
Feathers litter the hard floor
Hardened wax sticks to their tatty clothes
As the father and son strap on the wings
Anticipation fills the room
Walking nervously to the window
Their key to freedom
They stand on the unstable window
Waiting
Then, the cue to jump,
Gathering all their courage,
Taking deep breaths
They leap off the unsteady window
Daedalus and Icarus,
Father and Son,
Fall,
Falling,
Falling,
Faster,
Faster.
They start to flap their heavy wings
The sharp rocks beneath them
Approaching,
They plummet like a stone,
The violent sea welcoming them,
Gaining control
They glide like birds
Through the cold, clear sky.
Finally, they were free,
Diving and swooping excitedly
No limits
Free
Free as a bird
The endless blue sky welcoming them
Daedalus shouts a warning
At Icarus more than to him,
The small boy
Having to much fun
To listen
“Don’t go near the sun!”
The concerned father shouts
Worried
The hot ball of light
Beckoned the excited boy
To excited to listen,
He flies higher
Higher
Nearer the scorching sun
Then a
Drip,
Drip,
Drip,
Melting was drops from Icarus’ wings
Feathers fall
Realizing what’s happening
Panic strikes his face,
Fear rushes through his body,
Trying helplessly to fly down,
Wind rushes past.
Icarus falls,
Falling at a backbreaking speed
The terrified boys’ world
Breaking down
An ear piercing scream,
Fills the cold air
The poor helpless boy
Plummets to the depths
All Daedalus can do
Is watch in terror
As his son
Falls to the depths
Of the cold
Dark
Sea
Gone forever…..