The Shield of AchillesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars

I came to this collection of W. H. Auden’s poetry through the title poem. I was so taken aback with its interspersing of a Homeric scene with a gritty, realistic view of our current times. I knew I had to get this collection. On the whole, I enjoyed it, though “The Shield of Achilles” and “Epitaph for the Unknown Soldier” are the only ones that really moved me.

The collection is broken up into three parts: “Bucolics”, “In Sunshine and in Shade” and “Horae Canonicae.” I didn’t enjoy the first section. It didn’t grab me, though there was nothing wrong with it. I was looking forward to the third section, as a riff off the liturgical hours. I was hoping for something that was soothing or even something that ran counter to the concept of the hours, critiquing the concept. I didn’t find it, but again, that’s just how it impacted me.

The second section was the best of the three and contained the two poems I mentioned above. The most impactful part of “The Shield of Achilles” was this stanza:

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.
Simply put, wow. Published on its own in 1952 and as part of this collection in 1955, it was a profound comment on society. More than 70 years later, it still rings true and has much to teach us.

In “Epitaph for the Unknown Soldier,” Auden has another potent commentary, this time compressed into just one sentence split over two lines. Instantly, I thought about the wars our leaders have started.

To save your world you asked this man to die: Would this man, could he see you now, ask why?