The Glories of War in the Shield of Achilles

W.H. Auden’s poem The Shield of Achilles is inspired by Thetis’ actions in The Iliad. When Patroclus wears Achilles’ armor and is killed, Thetis, Achilles’ doting mother, goes to Hephaestos and requests a new shield for her son. She desires and expects a shield depicting the glories of war, a shield worthy of adorning her great warrior son. In her idealism, perhaps naiveté, she feels that Achilles, carrying his new shield, will be invincible in battle. Thetis’ perceptions in this poem serve to represent the voice of traditional Greek society, which romanticized war in epic poetry. Hephaestos, on the other hand, is fully aware of the true nature of war. As such, he creates the shield to depict the tragic reality of battle. The author’s perspective is congruous with Hephaestos’, and his attitudes expressing the senselessness of war are prevalent throughout the poem. The tensions are presented here in a contrast of Thetis’ ...