In the time since its discovery, many artists have interpreted Homer’s story of Achilles’ shield. They have created and shared paintings and poems, each showing a slightly different version of the famous piece of metal. One artist who describes the shield of Achilles is the poet W. H. Auden. His rendition of the shield differs markedly from Homer’s original. Homer’s depiction of the ancient Greek world on the shield is a microcosm of humanity, displaying both peace and conflict enveloped by nature. Auden’s description of the shield is a bleak vision of the modern world, torn apart by war and leeched of all brightness. Homer employs ekphrasis to describe the world that Achilles is choosing to give up, while Auden uses it to unveil the war-torn
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While there are a few scenes of conflict on his shield, the majority of his description is peaceful. In a happy city, two men settle an argument before judges, “each (leaping) to his feet to plead the case in turn.” Outside the city, “crews of plowmen (wheel) their teams” across a rich field. He depicts a young boy singing, a calm meadow, and a circle of dancing youths. Homer’s shield also bursts with scenes of nature, growing and thriving alongside man. He describes fallow fields, harvesters reaping ripe grain, and children picking “bunches of lustrous grapes.” The shield seems full of color and bounty, gorgeous and natural. His scenes of man, nature, and the two combined represent his idea of the entire Greek world as he knew it. Homer’s shield represents a microcosm of humanity, and displays the life that any Greek can live if they so …show more content…
He paints a picture of a bleak and barren world, its inhabitants devoid of hope and plagued by war. “A million eyes, a million boots in line” stand “without expression” until they are told to “(march) away, enduring a belief whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief.” This image of an uncaring army sent off to die evokes a feeling of sadness. Auden’s poem focuses on man, only mentioning the bleakness of their natural world to further paint his picture of emptiness. The shield holds “an artificial wilderness,” with a “sky like lead”, and a “plain without a feature, bare and brown.” The reader’s mind conjures an empty and colorless landscape, full of mankind’s pain and
While there are a few scenes of conflict on his shield, the majority of his description is peaceful. In a happy city, two men settle an argument before judges, “each (leaping) to his feet to plead the case in turn.” Outside the city, “crews of plowmen (wheel) their teams” across a rich field. He depicts a young boy singing, a calm meadow, and a circle of dancing youths. Homer’s shield also bursts with scenes of nature, growing and thriving alongside man. He describes fallow fields, harvesters reaping ripe grain, and children picking “bunches of lustrous grapes.” The shield seems full of color and bounty, gorgeous and natural. His scenes of man, nature, and the two combined represent his idea of the entire Greek world as he knew it. Homer’s shield represents a microcosm of humanity, and displays the life that any Greek can live if they so …show more content…
He paints a picture of a bleak and barren world, its inhabitants devoid of hope and plagued by war. “A million eyes, a million boots in line” stand “without expression” until they are told to “(march) away, enduring a belief whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief.” This image of an uncaring army sent off to die evokes a feeling of sadness. Auden’s poem focuses on man, only mentioning the bleakness of their natural world to further paint his picture of emptiness. The shield holds “an artificial wilderness,” with a “sky like lead”, and a “plain without a feature, bare and brown.” The reader’s mind conjures an empty and colorless landscape, full of mankind’s pain and