THE SHIELD OF ACHILLES ANALYSIS
The poem begins with the longer stanza; at the beginning of the poem, Thetis is watching Hephaestos creating a shield. The shorter stanzas the author shows what has been created by Hephaestos. Thetis watches Hephaestos, expecting to see Greek cities and marble statues, but instead the god created "an Artificial wilderness / And a sky like lead". A voice comes from nowhere and, in "tones as dry and level as the place", promotes the cause as just. There is no discussion about an image of troops, which gives you the image of millions of troops marching away in a cloud of dust. Thetis next looks for scenes from religion, scenes of "ritual pieties" and of "libation and sacrifice".
The poem begins with the longer stanza; at the beginning of the poem, Thetis is watching Hephaestos creating a shield. The shorter stanzas the author shows what has been created by Hephaestos. Thetis watches Hephaestos, expecting to see Greek cities and marble statues, but instead the god created "an Artificial wilderness / And a sky like lead". A voice comes from nowhere and, in "tones as dry and level as the place", promotes the cause as just. There is no discussion about an image of troops, which gives you the image of millions of troops marching away in a cloud of dust. Thetis next looks for scenes from religion, scenes of "ritual pieties" and of "libation and sacrifice".