Friday, October 11, 2019
To what extent do you regard The Shield Of Achilles as characteristic E
To what extent do you regard The Shield Of Achilles as characteristic of Audenââ¬â¢s work as whole? At first glance Audenââ¬â¢s poem the ââ¬ËShield of Achillesââ¬â¢ appears to be focused on the classical world. The poemââ¬â¢s classical nature is first indicated by the title- Achilles was of course a famous Greek hero, and throughout the poem there are further classical references, many of which Auden has taken from Book XVIII of Homerââ¬â¢s Iliad- ââ¬ËMarble well-governed citiesââ¬â¢ (l.3), ââ¬Ëâ⬠¦athletes at their gamesââ¬â¢ (l.46), ââ¬ËHephaestos, hobbled awayââ¬â¢ (l.61). However, the poem also combines these classical details with the modern world- ââ¬ËProved by statisticsââ¬â¢ (l.17), ââ¬ËBarbed wire enclosed an arbitrary spotââ¬â¢ (l.31). Although there is this unusual combination of classical and modern, the poem can be seen as timeless: Column by column in a cloud of dust =================================== They marched away enduring a belief Whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief. (ââ¬ËThe Shield of Achillesââ¬â¢ ll.21-23) Here the army who are ââ¬Ëenduring a beliefââ¬â¢ (l.21) that they are doing good can be as easily applicable to the modern day (i.e. the situation in Iraq) as to classical times. The timeless nature of the poem can be said to be a characteristic feature as it appears in other poems such as ââ¬ËGare du Midiââ¬â¢: ====================================================================== â⬠¦clutching a little case He walks out briskly to infect a city Whose terrible future may have just arrived. (ââ¬ËGare Du Midiââ¬â¢, ll.6-8) Here we are led to believe that a man is about to unleash a terrible weapon on a city and although the poem was written in December 1938, its proleptic nature allows the poem to be much more in tune with the w... ...atures, it is perhaps impossible to outline a characteristic Auden poem. ââ¬ËThe Shield of Achillesââ¬â¢ lacks many features that would make it characteristic. For example, poems such as ââ¬ËMoon Landingââ¬â¢ and a ââ¬ËWalk After Darkââ¬â¢ are rife with colloquial (ââ¬ËMnehââ¬â¢- ââ¬ËMoon Landingââ¬â¢, ll.22) and recherchà © (ââ¬ËLacrimae rerumââ¬â¢- ââ¬ËA Walk After Darkââ¬â¢, l.30) language, whereas ââ¬Ë The Shield of Achilles has none, instead the language in the poem obeys the poemââ¬â¢s principle of contrast- it alternates between classical and modern language. Therefore itââ¬â¢s reasonable to say that there are many re-occurring themes throughout Audenââ¬â¢s poems, but not that there are entire poems which are ââ¬Ëcharacteristicââ¬â¢. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] It is notable that ââ¬ËIst September 1939ââ¬â¢ appeared on many websites after the September 11th attacks in 2001.
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