A Comparison Between Homer’s Iliad and W.H. Auden’s “Achilles’ Shield” Anonymous College

The Greek minstrel Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, is one of the most popular works of literature in history, and for good reason. In it, and its companion poem, The Odyssey, the happenings of the legendary Trojan War as well as certain events following it are chronicled in the truly fantastic and romanticized manner we now consider typical of Greek mythology. A pivotal and important scene in The Iliad centers upon the death of Patroclus, a warrior who Achilles, a warrior himself who is said to be the greatest among mortals, considers to be his closest friend. Achilles, profoundly angered and saddened, vows ultimate revenge and is ready to fight to a brutal death. However, Achilles’ mother, Thetis, commissions the smithing god Hephaestus to create a magnificent shield for him, and after receiving this shield Achilles goes on to continue warring.

The shield, however, in addition to being a pivotal object in the plot, is also described in great detail as a veritable artistic masterpiece, as any creation by the gods would likely be. It is adorned with beautiful and intricate images of what might be considered the entire sphere of human life as Homer saw it, and, if nothing else, it is described in the text as a “world of gorgeous...