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Poet: W. H. Auden
Poem: The Shield Of Achilles
Year: Published/Written in 1952
Poem of the Day on:
Mar 23 2004
Comment 3 of 3, added on July 16th, 2006 at 6:28 PM.
Yeh, i agree, this is excellent poetry. I didn't realise the 'she' was Thetis and the 'his' was Hephaestos. Thank you for that Ed.
bilton from Australia
Comment 2 of 3, added on April 29th, 2005 at 10:26 AM.
this was a pice of brilliance and is special
George Slade from United Kingdom
Comment 1 of 3, added on November 30th, 2004 at 9:16 PM.
Thetis, goddess and mother of Achilles, looks over the shoulder of Hephaestos, who is forging a new shield for her son. Expecting to see scenes of greatness and bounty which exalt her son, she is shocked to see dark pictures of the everyday world. This poem seems to be a rebuttal of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and it also showcases Auden's lack of faith in military might and the contemporary world while at the same time condemning the faith in the power of arms that Achilles held.
Ed from United States
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Yeh, i agree, this is excellent poetry. I didn't realise the 'she' was Thetis and the 'his' was Hephaestos. Thank you for that Ed.
bilton from Australia