Welcome, everyone, to our exploration of a truly remarkable poem, W. H. Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles.” This is a piece that takes an ancient myth and weaves it into a powerful commentary on the modern world. It is a poem that invites us to look closely, to question, and to understand the profound messages hidden within its lines. Let us begin by immersing ourselves in the poem itself.
The Shield of Achilles
By W. H. Auden
She looked over his shoulder
For vines and olive trees,
Marble well-governed cities
And ships upon untamed seas,
But there on the shining metal
His hands had put instead
An artificial wilderness
And a sky like lead.A plain without a feature, bare and brown,
No blade of grass, no sign of neighborhood,
Nothing to eat and nowhere to sit down,
Yet, congregated on its blankness, stood
An unintelligible multitude,
A million eyes, a million boots in line,
Without expression, waiting for a sign.Out of the air a voice without a face
Proved by statistics that some cause was just
In tones as dry and level as the place:
No one was cheered and nothing was discussed;
Column by column in a cloud of dust
They marched away, enduring a belief
Whose logic brought them, somewhere else, to grief.She looked over his shoulder
For ritual pieties,
White flower-garlanded heifers,
Libation and sacrifice,
But there on the shining metal
Where the altar should have been,
She saw by his flickering forge-light
Quite another scene.Barbed wire enclosed an arbitrary spot
Where bored officials lounged (one cracked a joke)
And sentries sweated for the day was hot:
A crowd of ordinary decent folk
Watched from without and neither moved nor spoke
As three pale figures were led forth and bound
To three posts driven upright in the ground.The mass and majesty of this world, all
That carries weight and always weighs the same
Lay in the hands of others; they were small
And could not hope for help and no help came:
What their foes like to do was done, their shame
Was all the worst could wish; they lost their pride
And died as men before their bodies died.She looked over his shoulder
For athletes at their games,
Men and women in a dance
Moving their sweet limbs
Quick, quick, to music,
But there on the shining shield
His hands had set no dancing-floor
But a weed-choked field.A ragged urchin, aimless and alone,
Loitered about that vacancy; a bird
Flew up to safety from his well-aimed stone:
That girls are raped, that two boys knife a third,
Were axioms to him, who’d never heard
Of any world where promises were kept,
Or one could weep because another wept.The thin-lipped armorer,
Hephaestos, hobbled away,
Thetis of the shining breasts
Cried out in dismay
At what the god had wrought
To please her son, the strong
Iron-hearted man-slaying Achilles
Who would not live long.
Unveiling “The Shield of Achilles”: A Journey into Auden’s Masterpiece
W. H. Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles” is a profound and moving poem that draws its inspiration from the ancient Greek epic, Homer’s Iliad. In Homer’s version, the god Hephaestus crafts a magnificent shield for the hero Achilles, depicting a vibrant, ordered world filled with cities, feasts, battles, and the cycles of nature. Auden, however, reimagines this scene, offering a stark and unsettling contrast that speaks volumes about the human condition in the modern era.
The Mythological Canvas: What the Poem is About
The poem centers on Thetis, the goddess mother of Achilles, as she anxiously watches Hephaestus, the divine smith, forge a new shield for her son. Her expectations are rooted in the classical ideal of civilization and heroism. She anticipates seeing images of a flourishing world: “vines and olive trees,” “marble well-governed cities,” and “ships upon untamed seas.” Yet, what Hephaestus creates is shockingly different. The shield reveals a desolate, “artificial wilderness,” a barren plain where an anonymous, dehumanized army marches to an unknown fate. Instead of ritual and sacrifice, she sees a scene of execution and arbitrary violence. Instead of joyful games and dancing, she finds a “weed-choked field” where a lonely urchin lives in a world devoid of compassion. The poem thus becomes a powerful commentary on the disillusionment of expectations and the grim realities of modern conflict and societal decay.
The Heart of the Matter: Central Ideas and Themes
The central idea of “The Shield of Achilles” is a profound critique of the romanticized vision of war and heroism. Auden uses the mythological framework to expose the brutal, dehumanizing aspects of twentieth-century warfare and totalitarianism. The poem suggests that modern conflict does not offer heroic narratives or societal progress, but instead delivers emptiness, violence, and the erosion of human decency. The shield, traditionally a symbol of protection and glory, becomes a grim prophecy of Achilles’ own tragic fate and the inevitable suffering that awaits humanity. It is a bleak commentary on the futility and horror of conflict, presented through the lens of a mother’s despair and the stark imagery etched onto the metal.
Why This Poem Matters: Noteworthy Insights
For readers familiar with the myth, Achilles was a legendary Greek warrior, destined for greatness but also for an early death. Auden’s poem leverages this foundational story to challenge conventional depictions of heroism. It forces us to confront the psychological toll of war and the loss of innocence in a world marked by widespread violence and indifference. The poem’s enduring power lies in its ability to connect ancient myth with contemporary issues, offering a complex and unsettling perspective on the nature of conflict, power, and human suffering. It reminds us that even in a world of gods and heroes, the harsh realities of human experience can be profoundly bleak.
A Deep Dive: Literary Devices in “The Shield of Achilles”
Auden masterfully employs a rich tapestry of literary devices to convey the poem’s profound themes and emotional weight. These techniques contribute to the poem’s haunting and thought-provoking quality, making it a cornerstone of modern poetry.
Allusion: Echoes of Ancient Greece
The poem is deeply steeped in allusion to Greek mythology, specifically the stories of Achilles, his mother Thetis, and the divine smith Hephaestus. This grounding in classical literature lends immense weight and resonance to the poem’s message. The very title, “The Shield of Achilles,” immediately calls to mind Homer’s Iliad, setting up a powerful expectation that Auden then subverts. Thetis’s hopes for what she will see on the shield are direct allusions to the idyllic scenes described in Homer:
She looked over his shoulder
For vines and olive trees,
Marble well-governed cities
And ships upon untamed seas,
Understanding these classical references enhances the reader’s appreciation of the poem’s layers of meaning, as Auden deliberately contrasts the ancient world’s ideals with modern realities.
Imagery: Painting Pictures of Despair
Auden’s vivid and unsettling imagery is central to the poem’s impact, creating powerful visual representations of its themes. The shield itself is not adorned with beauty but with scenes of desolation:
An artificial wilderness
And a sky like lead.
This imagery immediately establishes a tone of bleakness. Further descriptions, such as “A plain without a feature, bare and brown,” and “barbed wire enclosed an arbitrary spot,” paint a stark picture of a world devoid of natural beauty, freedom, or hope. The “unintelligible multitude” with “a million eyes, a million boots in line” evokes the chilling image of anonymous, dehumanized masses, stripped of individuality and agency.
Symbolism: The Shield as a Mirror to Modernity
The shield itself is the most potent symbol in the poem, representing not protection or glory, but a grim prophecy of fate and the horrors of war. It symbolizes the stark contrast between ancient ideals of heroism and the brutal realities of modern conflict. The barren landscape, the anonymous army, the barbed wire, and the scenes of execution all function as symbols of the dehumanizing effects of totalitarianism and war. The “weed-choked field” symbolizes a world where innocence and joy have been replaced by neglect and violence, a place where children learn that “girls are raped, that two boys knife a third.”
Irony: Expectations Shattered
The entire poem is underpinned by profound irony. Thetis, a goddess, anticipates a shield adorned with symbols of civilization, prosperity, and ritualistic piety, as befits a hero’s mother. Instead, she is confronted with depictions of barrenness, suffering, and arbitrary violence. This situational irony emphasizes the poem’s bleak message about the modern world. The shield, meant to inspire and protect, instead reveals a world that has lost its way, a world where even divine craftsmanship cannot escape the pervasive gloom of human cruelty. The final lines also carry a tragic irony:
At what the god had wrought
To please her son, the strong
Iron-hearted man-slaying Achilles
Who would not live long.
The shield, crafted to honor a great warrior, instead foreshadows his short, violent life and the grim world he inhabits.
Juxtaposition: Contrasting Worlds
Auden masterfully uses juxtaposition to highlight the stark contrast between Thetis’s idealized vision and the grim reality depicted on the shield. Each stanza begins with Thetis’s hopeful expectations, immediately followed by the shocking images Hephaestus has wrought:
She looked over his shoulder
For vines and olive trees,
…
But there on the shining metal
His hands had put instead
An artificial wilderness
And a sky like lead.
This consistent structural juxtaposition underscores the poem’s central theme of disillusionment and the chasm between what humanity hopes for and what it often creates.
Alliteration, Assonance, and Consonance: The Music of Meaning
Auden employs subtle sound devices to enhance the poem’s auditory texture and emphasize certain phrases. Alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds, can be found in phrases like “sentries sweated,” drawing attention to the harsh conditions. Assonance, the repetition of vowel sounds, appears in lines such as “His hands had put instead,” creating a subtle internal rhythm. Consonance, the repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words, is evident in “a million eyes, a million boots in line,” which reinforces the uniformity and anonymity of the marching soldiers, making their presence feel heavy and inescapable.
Crafting the Message: Poetic Devices in “The Shield of Achilles”
Beyond literary devices, Auden utilizes several poetic techniques to shape the poem’s structure, rhythm, and overall effect, contributing to its profound impact.
Diction: The Power of Word Choice
The poem’s diction is formal, precise, and often stark, contributing to its solemn and elegiac tone. Auden’s deliberate word choices create a sense of distance and detachment, reflecting the poem’s bleak perspective. Words like “artificial wilderness,” “unintelligible multitude,” “arbitrary spot,” and “weed-choked field” are carefully chosen to evoke a sense of desolation, dehumanization, and neglect. The phrase “died as men before their bodies died” uses powerful diction to convey the psychological and spiritual death inflicted by oppression.
Stanza Structure and Rhyme Scheme: A Deliberate Disruption
The poem is structured into nine stanzas of varying lengths, creating a sense of flow and movement that is nonetheless unsettling. The first, fourth, and seventh stanzas, which describe Thetis’s expectations, are shorter and more lyrical, often employing an ABCB rhyme scheme (e.g., “trees” / “seas”). However, the longer stanzas that describe the shield’s grim reality often feature an irregular rhyme scheme or no consistent pattern, reflecting the fragmented and unsettling nature of the poem’s vision. This deliberate disruption contributes to the poem’s sense of unease and unpredictability, mirroring the chaos and lack of order depicted on the shield.
Enjambment: The Flow of Unsettling Truths
Auden frequently employs enjambment, where a sentence or phrase continues from one line to the next without a grammatical pause or punctuation. This technique creates a sense of momentum and reflects the relentless, unstoppable nature of the grim realities depicted. Consider these lines:
A crowd of ordinary decent folk
Watched from without and neither moved nor spoke
As three pale figures were led forth and bound
To three posts driven upright in the ground.
The continuous flow of these lines, without end-stop punctuation, mirrors the inexorable march of events and the chilling passivity of the onlookers, drawing the reader swiftly through the unfolding horror.
Repetition: Emphasizing the Unavoidable
The poem uses repetition to underscore key themes and create a sense of inevitability. The repeated phrase “She looked over his shoulder” at the beginning of the first, fourth, and seventh stanzas emphasizes Thetis’s recurring hope and subsequent disappointment, highlighting the cyclical nature of disillusionment. The repetition of “a million eyes, a million boots in line” reinforces the overwhelming scale and dehumanizing uniformity of the anonymous army. This technique ensures that the central contrasts and themes resonate deeply with the reader.
Tone: A Somber Reflection
The poem’s tone is predominantly melancholic, pessimistic, and critical. The use of stark imagery, somber language, and the consistent shattering of Thetis’s hopes creates a pervasive sense of despair and hopelessness. There is an underlying sense of lament for a lost world, a world where “promises were kept” and “one could weep because another wept.” This somber tone invites the reader to reflect on the profound losses incurred by modern warfare and societal indifference.
Key Passages: Unlocking Deeper Understanding
Certain lines and stanzas in “The Shield of Achilles” are particularly potent, offering profound insights into the poem’s themes and Auden’s masterful use of language. Analyzing these passages helps to unlock the poem’s deeper meanings.
The Artificial Wilderness
She looked over his shoulder
For vines and olive trees,
Marble well-governed cities
And ships upon untamed seas,
But there on the shining metal
His hands had put instead
An artificial wilderness
And a sky like lead.
This opening stanza immediately establishes the poem’s central conflict: the clash between expectation and reality. Thetis anticipates symbols of classical order and prosperity, but Hephaestus presents an “artificial wilderness.” This phrase is a powerful oxymoron, suggesting a desolation that is not natural but man-made, a product of human design and destruction. The “sky like lead” is a vivid simile, conveying a sense of oppressive weight, pollution, and a lack of light or hope, setting the bleak tone for the entire poem.
The Unintelligible Multitude
A plain without a feature, bare and brown,
No blade of grass, no sign of neighborhood,
Nothing to eat and nowhere to sit down,
Yet, congregated on its blankness, stood
An unintelligible multitude,
A million eyes, a million boots in line,
Without expression, waiting for a sign.
This passage powerfully depicts the dehumanizing effects of modern warfare and totalitarianism. The landscape is utterly desolate, devoid of life or comfort. The “unintelligible multitude” is a chilling image of a faceless, anonymous army, stripped of individuality and purpose beyond obedience. The repetition of “a million eyes, a million boots in line” emphasizes their vast numbers and terrifying uniformity. Their lack of “expression” and their passive “waiting for a sign” underscore their loss of agency and critical thought, making them instruments rather than individuals.
A World Without Promises
A ragged urchin, aimless and alone,
Loitered about that vacancy; a bird
Flew up to safety from his well-aimed stone:
That girls are raped, that two boys knife a third,
Were axioms to him, who’d never heard
Of any world where promises were kept,
Or one could weep because another wept.
This is perhaps the most heartbreaking passage in the poem, encapsulating the profound loss of innocence and empathy in the depicted world. The “ragged urchin” is a symbol of neglected youth, growing up in a “vacancy” of moral guidance and compassion. The casual brutality described, where violence is an “axiom,” reveals a society so desensitized that cruelty is simply an accepted fact of life. The final lines are a poignant lament for a lost humanity, a world where basic trust and empathy have vanished. It powerfully conveys the poem’s central message about the dehumanizing effects of conflict and the erosion of human decency.
Conclusion: The Enduring Power of Auden’s Vision
W. H. Auden’s “The Shield of Achilles” remains a profoundly relevant and unsettling poem. By reimagining an ancient myth through a modern lens, Auden crafts a powerful critique of war, totalitarianism, and the loss of human empathy. The poem’s masterful use of literary and poetic devices, from its stark imagery and profound symbolism to its ironic juxtapositions and somber tone, ensures its message resonates deeply. It challenges us to look beyond romanticized notions of heroism and confront the bleak realities of a world where human suffering is often met with indifference. This poem is not merely a retelling of a myth; it is a timeless warning, urging us to reflect on the kind of world we are creating and the values we choose to uphold.