Summary Or Explanation On Poem The Shield Of Achillies By W.H Auden
Answers
Answer:
The Shield of Achilles is composed by W.H. Auden in 1955 where he represents the Homeric theme in a mock-heroic way making necessary changes. Thetis, the mother of Achilles, in Greek mythology, looks at the shield hung over the shoulder of her son.
Answer:
“The Shield of Achilles” Summary
The goddess Thetis watched as Hephaestos made armor for her son, Achilles. Thetis expected the armor's surface to feature images of lush greenery, dignified societies, and ships navigating free, wild waters. Instead, Hephaestos forged onto the shining shield the image of a man-made wasteland and a gray, heavy sky.
This land was a totally empty, brown plain without any grass nor any sign of community. There was no food at all and no place to rest. Still, there was a hazy throng of soldiers gathered on this barren landscape. There were a ton of them, all lined up and expressionless as they waited for their orders.
The voice of some unknown figure filled the air and listed data points as justification for the soldiers going off to battle. The voice was stark and flat, as emotionless as the landscape itself. The voice didn't make anyone more excited or eager for battle, but there was no further discussion. One after the other, the soldiers filed out, kicking up dust in their wake. They held on to the reasoning behind their orders, even though this ultimately led them to despair.
Thetis kept watching Hephaestos, expecting him to forge beautiful images of religious ceremonies, with cows draped in flowers and offerings to the gods. However, in the spot where Thetis expected to see the picture of an altar on the shining shield, the light from Hephaestos's forge illuminated a very different scene.
Barbed wire surrounded a random place where bored officers lazed about. Some even made jokes, while the guards were sweating in the heat. Meanwhile, a group of average, reasonable townspeople looked on silently while three pale individuals were shackled to stakes that were then driven into the ground.
These three lives—with all their beauty and significance, all that they held dear—were equal to the lives of everyone else. However, their fate was now out of their control. They were powerless and had no hope that anyone would help them, and indeed no one did. Their captors simply did what captors do, and all that the worst among the crowd could hope for was that the victims would feel shame. The three figures were stripped of their dignity and humanity before they physically died.
Thetis kept watching as Hephaestos worked. She looked for images of athletes competing while men and women danced, swiftly swaying their beautiful bodies along to music. But in place of a dance floor, Hephaestos forged a field utterly overrun with weeds, which strangled any vegetation.
An unkempt, mischief-making boy strolled around that empty field. He tried to hit a bird with a rock, but although he aimed accurately, the bird was able to fly out of harm’s way. For this young boy, it was just an accepted part of life that girls get sexually abused and that boys physically harm one another. He was unaware of any place where people actually kept their promises or were sensitive to the suffering of others.
Without saying anything, the stern metalworker Hephaestos staggered away. Thetis, whose chest shone like the shield, let out a distressed cry upon seeing what he had created for her son, Achilles. She saw that although Achilles was a strong, hardened killer, he would soon die.
hope it helps you