The Shield of Achilles is a poem by W. H. Auden first published in 1952, and the title work of a collection of poems by Auden, published in 1955. It is Auden's response to the detailed description, or ekphrasis, of the shield borne by the hero Achilles in Homer's epic poem the Iliad.
Auden's poem is written in two different stanza forms, one form consisting of eight shorter lines, the other with seven longer lines written according to a rime royal rhyme pattern (ababbcc). The stanzas with shorter lines describe the making of the shield by the god Hephaestus, and report the scenes that Achilles' mother, the NereidThetis, expects to find on the shield and which Hephaestus, in Auden's version, does not make. Thetis expects to find scenes of happiness and peace like those described by Homer.
The stanzas with longer lines describe the scenes of a barren and impersonal modern world that Hephaestus creates in Auden's version. In the first scene described by these stanzas, an anonymous, dispassionate army listens. In the second scene, a crowd of ordinary people watch passively as three "pale figures" are dragged towards and tied to posts. In the third scene, a "ragged urchin" throws a stone at a bird; he takes it for granted "that girls are raped, that two boys knife a third," and "has never heard of any world where promises are kept / Or one could weep because another wept." In the closing stanza, composed of short lines, Thetis cries out in dismay at what Hephaestus has made for her son, "who would not live long."
In these contrasting stanzas, Auden reflects on the differences between the vital, lyrical Achaean world described by Homer where, even amid warfare, imagination naturally ran to scenes of peace, and the violent, barren world, lacking any hope and meaning, that Auden himself imagines.[1]
Collectionedit
The poem is the title work of The Shield of Achilles, a collection of poems in three parts, published in 1955, containing Auden's poems written from around 1951 through 1954. It begins with the sequence "Bucolics", then miscellaneous poems under the heading "In Sunshine and In Shade", then the sequence Horae Canonicae.
^Brown, Rick. . modernamericanpoetry.org. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
^ "National Book Awards – 1956". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2012-02-25. (With acceptance speech by Auden and essay by Megan Snyder-Kamp from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)
Text of the poem, quoted with copyright permission
The Shield of Achilles at the British Library
April 11, 2024
shield, achilles, this, article, about, poem, poetry, collection, auden, mythical, object, shield, achilles, 2002, book, philip, bobbitt, peace, course, history, poem, auden, first, published, 1952, title, work, collection, poems, auden, published, 1955, auden. This article is about the poem and poetry collection by W H Auden For the mythical object see Shield of Achilles For the 2002 book by Philip Bobbitt see The Shield of Achilles War Peace and the Course of History The Shield of Achilles is a poem by W H Auden first published in 1952 and the title work of a collection of poems by Auden published in 1955 It is Auden s response to the detailed description or ekphrasis of the shield borne by the hero Achilles in Homer s epic poem the Iliad First UK edition publ Faber amp Faber Contents 1 Description 2 Collection 3 References 4 External linksDescription editAuden s poem is written in two different stanza forms one form consisting of eight shorter lines the other with seven longer lines written according to a rime royal rhyme pattern ababbcc The stanzas with shorter lines describe the making of the shield by the god Hephaestus and report the scenes that Achilles mother the Nereid Thetis expects to find on the shield and which Hephaestus in Auden s version does not make Thetis expects to find scenes of happiness and peace like those described by Homer The stanzas with longer lines describe the scenes of a barren and impersonal modern world that Hephaestus creates in Auden s version In the first scene described by these stanzas an anonymous dispassionate army listens In the second scene a crowd of ordinary people watch passively as three pale figures are dragged towards and tied to posts In the third scene a ragged urchin throws a stone at a bird he takes it for granted that girls are raped that two boys knife a third and has never heard of any world where promises are kept Or one could weep because another wept In the closing stanza composed of short lines Thetis cries out in dismay at what Hephaestus has made for her son who would not live long In these contrasting stanzas Auden reflects on the differences between the vital lyrical Achaean world described by Homer where even amid warfare imagination naturally ran to scenes of peace and the violent barren world lacking any hope and meaning that Auden himself imagines 1 Collection editThe poem is the title work of The Shield of Achilles a collection of poems in three parts published in 1955 containing Auden s poems written from around 1951 through 1954 It begins with the sequence Bucolics then miscellaneous poems under the heading In Sunshine and In Shade then the sequence Horae Canonicae It won the U S National Book Award for Poetry in 1956 2 References edit Brown Rick Rick Brown A Bloody Torpor The Banality of Violence in Auden s The Shield of Achilles modernamericanpoetry org Archived from the original on 26 June 2015 Retrieved 25 June 2015 National Book Awards 1956 National Book Foundation Retrieved 2012 02 25 With acceptance speech by Auden and essay by Megan Snyder Kamp from the Awards 60 year anniversary blog John Fuller W H Auden A Commentary 1999 Edward Mendelson Later Auden 1999 External links editThe W H Auden Society Text of the poem quoted with copyright permission The Shield of Achilles at the British Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Shield of Achilles amp oldid 1213637850, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
