Audens the shield of achilles is a ninestanza poem that uses an episode from homers ancient greek epic iliad c. One is tempted to ask what the educated reader of poetry, who has perhaps not happened to read the iliad, far less translated passages from it into english iambic pentameter, will make of this poem that hides the identities. Auden was admired for his unsurpassed technical virtuosity and ability to write poems in nearly every imaginable verse form. A ragged urchin, aimless and alone, loitered about that vacancy. Look again from the beginning and see the full message of achilles shield, clear now to those who can see. Not buried under the ancient earth, it is accessible to all, with the same exquisite quality of view, both telescopic and microscopic, as any ancient artifact. Audens fine poem the shield of achilles begins6 she looked over his. Achille mother thetis asks the blacksmith of the gods hephaestus to provide replacement armor for her son. While the shield of heracles seems as if it could simply be described as a combination of aeneas and achilles shield, there is one significant theme of this pseudohesiodic poem that does not appear in either of the other epics. The shield is supernaturally strong, but it also contains a supernatural level of detail. The eponymous shield features in book 18 of the homeric epic poem the iliad, in a passage which has become famous as an example of ekphrasis.
Auden in the form of a ekphrasis and details the content on the shield of achilles. Analysis the shield of achilles provides a chilling confrontation between love and war. The shield of achilles juxtaposes the idea of hope portrayed by thetis versus reality shown through hephaestus further. The shield of achilles by wh auden she looked over his shoulder for vines and olive trees, marble wellgoverned cities and ships upon untamed seas, but there on the shining metal his hands had put instead an artificial wilderness and a sky like lead. Auden, in the poem, the shield of achilles, makes an imaginary description of what thetis noticed on the shield of her son. She looked over his shoulder for vines and olive trees marble wellgoverned cities. The shield of achilles poem by wystan hugh auden poem hunter. Written in 1952, it was included in his volume of poetry of the same name, which was published in 1955. He kicked major butt of the battlefield, did what the gods told him, and he was smokin hot. The shield of achilles and the poetics of ekphrasis.
If only i could hide him away from pain and death, that day his grim destiny comes to take achilles, as surely as glorious armor shall be his, armor that any man in. Also there are scenes which depict the artificial and desolate life of the contemporary wasteland. I hope you enjoy the video, and please feel free to leave a comment. On the shield, the artist had carved beautiful scenes of orchards and olive trees, wellgoverned cities with marble statues and untamed seas with ships sailing on them. Auden, first published in 1953, although it also shares this name with a book he had published in 1955. For those who have looked into chapmans homer, this poem obviously reworks the famous armourcreation scene in book eighteen of the iliad, where hephaestos forges the shield of achilles and the reliefs upon its surface on thetis request. The iliad, book xviii, the shield of achilles by homer poems. The shield of achilles quotes showing of 3 now the fundamental constitutional problem of the long war has been answered. The shield of achilles is the shield that achilles uses to fight hector, famously described in a passage in book 18, lines 478608 of homers iliad. Essay shield of achilles and the shield of aeneas 3655 words 15 pages a comparative study of the shield of achilles and the shield of aeneas in homers great work, the iliad, achilles is given a set of armor, including a glorious shield which allows him. If only i could hide him away from pain and death, that.
Regarding the metaphorical motifs on achilles shield the. At her request, hephaestus, the armourmaker of gods, made an armour, and a. Thetis, the mother of achilles looks at the shield of achilles that was hanging over his shoulder. Two cities radiant on the shield appear, the image one of peace, and one of war. The triumph of achilles poem by louise gluck poem hunter. Audens fine poem the shield of achilles begins6 she looked over his shoulder for vines and olive trees, marble wellgoverned cities. Patroclus has been killed in battle by hector and his weapons taken as spoils. The shield of achilles, which auden wrote three years later, presents a certain challenge. Point of view the story is being told through 3rd person omniscient. Here, while achilles and everyone else awaits the unfolding of his fate, the poet suspends the narrative to describe the decoration of the shield by hephaestus. The opening stanza of the poem lines 18 intends to foreshadow thetis a interference in achilles affairs b admiration for hellenistic culture c pride in achilles military accomplishments d distress over the content of achilles shield e satisfactionwith hephaestus artistry all of the following comprise images thetis.
Wystan hugh auden reads the shield of achilles 1953 youtube. The repetitive waves on the shields rim are the generations of men destined to repeat these cycles. Achilles shield is beautifully engraved with scenes representing war and peace, work and leisure. The shield of achilles was made by hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods.
Thetis of auden when looks for same pictures on the shield. Even though he had a pretty nasty temper, to the ancient greeks he was the epitome of everything a man should be. As a young man he was influenced by the poetry of thomas hardy and robert frost, as well as william blake, emily dickinson, gerard manley hopkins, and old english verse. The shield of achilles provides a chilling confrontation between love and war. Nine concentric circles are mirrored in nine stanzas of audens poem. Auden based much of his poem on the iliad, yet changed many details to coincide with social occurrences. According to greek mythology, thetis was a seagoddess. October 2005 the construction of the shield of achilles is one of the most fascinating sections of the iliad. The shield of achilles is the shield that achilles uses in his fight with hector, famously described in a passage in book 18, lines 478608 of homers iliad. Wystan hugh auden was born in york, england, in 1907, he moved to birmingham with his family during his childhood and was later educated at christ church, oxford. This is the extraordinary significance of the shield of achilles. For instance, the shield of achilles is written by w.
Auden, was an angloamerican poet, born in england, later an american citizen, and is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. The intricately detailed imagery on the shield has inspired many different interpretations of its significance, with no definitive answer. May 22, 2018 the theme of the shield of achilles gives us a glimpse of the great mythology which involves the classic trojan war. The shield of achilles by w h auden famous poems, famous. First published in 1952, the shield of achilles is audens response to the detailed description, or ekphrasis, in homers epic poem, the iliad of the shield borne by the hero achilles. The significance of achilles shield the shield of achilles. Audens poem, the shield of achilles is based on the famous shield the. Thetis, the mother of achilles, in greek mythology, looks at the shield hung over the shoulder of her son. Ap english literature summer fun 2010 prince georges. Pathoswho are the two main characters who dissent each other views and ones triumph over the other paints a picture of humanity and its.
It portrays the story of the achaeans and their fight against the trojans in a microcosm of the larger story. Essay shield of achilles and the shield of aeneas bartleby. The lyric is divided into three parts, and each part consists of three stanzas. Ironhearted manslaying achilles who would not live long. Develop understanding of w h audens innovative style of poetry, and reflect on the poetrys relevance today. Auden she looked over his shoulder for vines and olive trees, marble wellgoverned cities and ships upon untamed seas, but there on the shining metal his hands had put instead an artificial wilderness and a sky like lead. The shield of achilles was hammered and forged into shape, according to the iliad, by hephaestus. The tone displays the disappointment in society, in the poem and in audens society.
The shield of achilles is forged by hephaestus in book 18. The environment is, as auden describes, a plain without a feature, bare and brown, no blade of grass, no sign of neighborhood, nothing to eat and nowhere to sit down 911. The shield of achilles english poet poem summary and. Forged by the god, hephaestus, who was a crippled smith, it depicts the two cities and the happenings within, as well as agamemnons kingly estate. It is written in alternating sevenline stanzas of rime royal ababbcc and eightline stanzas in a ballad. That girls are raped, that two boys knife a third, were axioms to him, whod never heard of any world where promises were kept.
In the story of patroclusno one survives not even achilleswho was nearly a god page. The shield of achilles nikki tahlia torie gabe stanzas the shield of achilles break down of the poem shorter line stanzas what thetis wantsinvisions from the shield longer line stanzas the harsh realitymodern world that thetis is disturbed by. The poem references homers the iliad, in which thetis, mother of the warrior achilles, asks hephaestus to forge a shield. The shield of achilles and the poetics of ekphrasis becker, andrew sprague on. Auden reads his comment on totalitarian society, published and written in 1953. The shield of achilles by w h auden the british library. Assess the importance of audens use of myth in the shield of achilles. The lines of the poem itself are dipped in the mood of the greek classic. If only i could hide him away from pain and death, that day his grim destiny comes to take achilles. Literary elements tone the tone of the poem is bitterness and poignant evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret. Essay shield of achilles and the shield of aeneas 3655 words 15 pages a comparative study of the shield of achilles and the shield of aeneas in homers great work, the iliad, achilles is given a set of armor, including a glorious shield which allows him to return to battle and carry out his revenge against hector. The iliad, book xviii, the shield of achilles thee, welcome, goddess. Aug 21, 2016 the shield of achilles was made by hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods. For vines and olive trees, marble wellgoverned cities.
Critical appreciation the shield of achilles is the title poem in the volume of poems entitled the shield of achilles, published in 1955. In his poem, auden reimagines how the shield of a modern achilles would look in the modern age, when the rules of war. Using many metals, hephaestus creates a picture of the entire world, starting from the cosmos and working down to the everyday details of human experience. War, peace and the course of history philip bobbitt penguin. The alert reader congratulates herself on identifying thetis as she, though the poem only confirms her identity in the final stanza. The shield of achilles lines 540720 of chapter 18 of the iliad by homer translated by robert fagles 1991 and the famous crippled smith replied, courage. The paper aims to analyze shield of achilles, an abstract from homers iliad and a shield of achilles by w. Sep 05, 2011 the shield of achilles is the shield that achilles uses to fight hector, famously described in a passage in book 18, lines 478608 of homers iliad. She was mother of achilles, the greatest of the greek heroes in the trojan war. But there on the shining shield his hands had set no dancingfloor but a weedchoked field. Apr 15, 2018 achilles is the celebrated greek warrior of the trojan war. The shield at once acts as an emblem of art and a historian, in that it reflects the civilization of a certain time. The poem is composed of nine stanzas, with four stanzas composed of eight lines each and the rest made up of seven lines each.
It is audens response to the detailed description, or ekphrasis, of the shield borne by the hero achilles in homers epic poem the iliad. The poem that provides the title to the collection, the shield of achilles, is a powerful rejection of warrelated violence. In the poem, achilles has lost his armour after lending it to his companion patroclus. A more recent poet, reacting like euripides to a brutal and allconsuming war, has also reforged the homeric shield to suit its fell recipient. One is tempted to ask what the educated reader of poetry, who has perhaps not happened to read the iliad, far less translated passages from it into english iambic pentameter, will make of. The shield of achilles plays a major part in the iliad. It is an archaeological treasure buried within the pages of homers iliad. The symbol of the shield of achilles in the iliad from. W h audens the shield of achilles, written in 1952, is also the title poem of the collection in which it was published in 1955. The poem published shortly after the end of world war ii. Auden first published in 1952, and the title work of a collection of poems by auden, published in 1955. And ships upon untamed seas, but there on the shining metal.
Achilles is the celebrated greek warrior of the trojan war. I largely agree with beckers analysis and his conclusion that in the shield. Auden based much of his poem on the iliad, yet changed many details to. Government by consent, freely given and periodically capable of being withdrawn, is what legitimates the nationstate. The shield of achilles this is a poem called the shield of achilles which takes a theme from homer where you remember that the armourer, hephaestos, makes a shield for achilles at the request of his mother, thetis, and on which you see the whole world, from farming and various things going on. The opening stanza of the poem lines 18 intends to foreshadow thetis a interference in achilles affairs b admiration for hellenistic culture c pride in achilles military accomplishments d distress over the content of achilles shield e satisfactionwith hephaestus artistry all of.
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