TDA Writing Prompt &

TDA Essay Response

Writing Prompt

Nature often has a role in many myths. Write an essay analyzing the role of nature in ​both​ the
passage and the poem. Use evidence from ​both​ the passage and the poem to support your
response.

TDA Essay Response

In the myth , “Icarus and Daedalus” nature plays a key role- just as with almost all 

myths. 

Firstly,in the passage, the narrartor states that a father and son - Daedalus and Icarus- 

are being held captive in imprisonment in a tower. Daedalus and Icarus escaped from their 

cells, however they are still stranded on an island. Upon realizing this, Daedalus watched birds 

and had the idea to assmeble a pair of wings. He plans on making the wings and then flyinf off 

of the island to freedom. Thus, he collects the feathers of birds as they fall. After he collected 

enough, he assembled the wings and proceeded to teach himself how to fly. Following this 

sucsess, he made a pair of wings for Icarus, and taught him to fly. Daedalus warned Icarus not 

to fly too close to the sun, for the wings are held together by wax that would melt if he got too 

close. Icarus absentmindedly ignored his father and did so anyway. 

When Icarus got close to the sun, his wings began to melt and fall apart. He then fell to 

the sea below, rendering his escape unsuccsessful. In this example, the role of nature is the 

sun, which foiled the plan of escape. If the sun were removed from the situation, Icarus could 

have flown freely , just as he wanted and wouldn’t have had to worry about the structural 

limitations of his wings. 

  

In the poem, the role of nature is also, the sun. Once again, just as in the 

passage, the sun melted the wax that held together the wings. In addition, the poem states, 

“But it melted away when things got hot. Did he rail at the sun…” This quote shows that the 

sun, combined with the structural incompetence of the wings, were the downfall of the escape 

plan.  

In conclusion, in the Myth “Icarus and Daedalus” the role of nature is the sun. The sun 

can be viewed as a limitation, both physically and in a metaphorical sense. Without the sun, the 

escape would have been sucsessful for both the father and son.