Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden
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Naoko Yamagata
Abstract
W.H. Auden’s poem ‘The Shield of Achilles’ which first appeared in print in 1952 has been variously interpreted according to its multiple layers of meaning. The poem rewrites Hephaestus’ making of the shield for Achilles in Homer’s Iliad book 18 by placing Thetis centre stage as the witness to the process. Auden seems to challenge us not only as to how to read his poem, but also as to how to read the shield of Achilles in the Iliad and the Iliad as a whole. Rereading the Homeric shield of Achilles along with Auden’s poem, this contribution shows that the Iliadic shield reflects more of the story of Thetis and Achilles than previously thought and that Auden’s shield of Achilles appears to echo many negative elements of the Iliad, suggesting that war was no more or less inhuman in Homer’s time than it is today. However, it also argues that, by using Homeric epithets that Achilles shares with Hector or with Priam, Auden’s poem subtly hints at the episode of Achilles and Priam as the symbol of human capacity for sympathy and reconciliation.
Abstract
W.H. Auden’s poem ‘The Shield of Achilles’ which first appeared in print in 1952 has been variously interpreted according to its multiple layers of meaning. The poem rewrites Hephaestus’ making of the shield for Achilles in Homer’s Iliad book 18 by placing Thetis centre stage as the witness to the process. Auden seems to challenge us not only as to how to read his poem, but also as to how to read the shield of Achilles in the Iliad and the Iliad as a whole. Rereading the Homeric shield of Achilles along with Auden’s poem, this contribution shows that the Iliadic shield reflects more of the story of Thetis and Achilles than previously thought and that Auden’s shield of Achilles appears to echo many negative elements of the Iliad, suggesting that war was no more or less inhuman in Homer’s time than it is today. However, it also argues that, by using Homeric epithets that Achilles shares with Hector or with Priam, Auden’s poem subtly hints at the episode of Achilles and Priam as the symbol of human capacity for sympathy and reconciliation.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of Tables and Figures XI
- Introduction: The Power of Thetis, 30 Years On 1
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Part I: The Powers of Thetis - Strife, Succession, and Cosmic Balance
- The Power and Failures of Thetis in Early Poetic Traditions and Beyond 19
- The Rape and Binding of Thetis in Its Mythological Context 43
- Divine Even If Not Olympian: The Mobility of Thetis in the Iliad 75
- Suggestions and Themes in Thetis’ rhesis in Euripides’ Andromache 87
- Thetis in Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo: Dynasty and Succession 107
- Secrets and Lies: The Power of Thetis in Roman Culture 147
- Neque ... sine numine uincis: Thetis, Medusa and (Literary) Creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses 181
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Part II: Thetis’ Family Matters
- In the Bosom of the Goddess: Thetis and Dionysus in Il. 6.130–140 207
- Motherhood and Shapeshifting in Depictions of Thetis 225
- Forging Families with Thetis: “Tentacular Thinking” and Queer Kinship in Homer’s Iliad 257
- Mourning Mothers and Premature Deaths: Thetis’ Example in Greek Funerary Epigrams 277
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Part III: Material Culture
- ‘A Dread and Revered Goddess’: Thetis and Other Gods in Attic Vases 299
- Saviour Mermaids of the Ancient Mediterranean: Thetis and the Nereids as Patrons of Ancient Greek Mariners 315
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Part IV: Reception – Thetis’ Aftermaths
- The Wicked Witch of the West? Thetis’ Controversial Transformations in 14th- Century Middle English Vernacular Poetry 341
- Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles 369
- Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden 395
- Thetis of the Silver Screen: The Vengeful and Cosmic Goddess in Clash of the Titans 411
- Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007) 429
- Reception in Performance: Interview and Poetry 471
- Afterword to the Staying Power of Thetis 485
- List of Contributors 495
- Index Locorum 501
- Subject Index 519
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents VII
- List of Tables and Figures XI
- Introduction: The Power of Thetis, 30 Years On 1
-
Part I: The Powers of Thetis - Strife, Succession, and Cosmic Balance
- The Power and Failures of Thetis in Early Poetic Traditions and Beyond 19
- The Rape and Binding of Thetis in Its Mythological Context 43
- Divine Even If Not Olympian: The Mobility of Thetis in the Iliad 75
- Suggestions and Themes in Thetis’ rhesis in Euripides’ Andromache 87
- Thetis in Callimachus’ Hymn to Apollo: Dynasty and Succession 107
- Secrets and Lies: The Power of Thetis in Roman Culture 147
- Neque ... sine numine uincis: Thetis, Medusa and (Literary) Creation in Ovid’s Metamorphoses 181
-
Part II: Thetis’ Family Matters
- In the Bosom of the Goddess: Thetis and Dionysus in Il. 6.130–140 207
- Motherhood and Shapeshifting in Depictions of Thetis 225
- Forging Families with Thetis: “Tentacular Thinking” and Queer Kinship in Homer’s Iliad 257
- Mourning Mothers and Premature Deaths: Thetis’ Example in Greek Funerary Epigrams 277
-
Part III: Material Culture
- ‘A Dread and Revered Goddess’: Thetis and Other Gods in Attic Vases 299
- Saviour Mermaids of the Ancient Mediterranean: Thetis and the Nereids as Patrons of Ancient Greek Mariners 315
-
Part IV: Reception – Thetis’ Aftermaths
- The Wicked Witch of the West? Thetis’ Controversial Transformations in 14th- Century Middle English Vernacular Poetry 341
- Reading Thetis in Tirso de Molina’s El Aquiles 369
- Thetis and the Shield of Achilles — Reading the Iliad with Auden 395
- Thetis of the Silver Screen: The Vengeful and Cosmic Goddess in Clash of the Titans 411
- Sea Witches in Exile: Thetidean Figures in Disney’s The Little Mermaid (1989/2008) and Pirates of the Caribbean (2006/2007) 429
- Reception in Performance: Interview and Poetry 471
- Afterword to the Staying Power of Thetis 485
- List of Contributors 495
- Index Locorum 501
- Subject Index 519
