All 11 entries tagged Achilleus

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July 09, 2007

betrayed by his calling

he felt betrayed/by his calling (7.LX.i).

Achille's self-questioning is akin to that of his namesake in book nine of the Iliad (9:318). Walcott ultimately appears to agree with Homer that these moments of self-reflection are overcome in times of extreme emotion, and that we cannot deny our innate purpose or destiny; Achille continues fishing to provide for Helen, and Achilleus returns to battle to help his people after the death of Patroklos.


Amanda Hopkins : 09 Jul 2007 14:02 |  Tags:         |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

July 06, 2007

stayed facing the altar

but he stayed […] facing the altar (6.XLV.i).

This image of momentary paralysis mirrors that of Achilleus in Book 9 of the Iliad as he reflects on the fate of man, questioning the heroic warrior code. In this example however Walcott takes the action or, more rightly, inaction as part of Holy Mass, a mark of immense reverence, and subverts it to convey 'remorse'.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 15:37 |  Tags:       |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem

cord heel

Then a cord […] heel […] He fell hard (3.XVII.iii).

A reference to Achilleus' heel as his weak spot. This is not sourced from an epic text on The Epic Tradition module but from a later poem written by the Roman poet Statius (Bib:4). Achilles' heel was the only area that remained vulnerable as this was where Thetis held him when he was submerged in the Styx. He is killed by a fatal arrow wound to his heel by Paris (Bib:14c).


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 14:10 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

death of a brother

death of a brother (3.XVII.iii).

As experienced by Achilleus in Iliad 18:22-7, 80-2 (although Patroklos was not his brother, they had a similar bond); in both the Iliad and Omeros the grief spurs Achilleus/Achille to action.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 14:09 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

dawn–sadness

the dawn-sadness which ghosts have for their graves (3.XXVI.ii).

Expresses a sentiment similar to Achilleus in Odyssey XI 487-91.


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 13:46 |  Tags:      |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

withdrew in discontent

withdrew in discontent./He brooded on the river (3.XXVI.ii).

A link with Achilleus from books 1 to 17 of the Iliad (e.g. 1:488-9).


Amanda Hopkins : 06 Jul 2007 13:44 |  Tags:        |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

June 28, 2007

pity beyond pain

Achille was angrily filled/with a pity beyond his own pain (2.XXII.iii).

This evokes both Achilleus' anger (Iliad 1:1) and the point when his mother, Thetis, encourages him to feel empathy for Priam when she 'stirred the passion for weeping' (23:14).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:35 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

his anger

his anger (2.XXII.iii).

Link with Achilleus' anger in the Iliad: 'Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus' (1:1).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 16:28 |  Tags:       |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

the title he gave his transport

the title he gave his transport (2.XXI.i).

Achille is here seen experiencing a premonition of the downfall of his friend through the movement of the stars above St Lucia. This mirrors the repeated instances of prediction in Homeric epic, for example when Teirisias the prophet of the Underworld predicts a solitary and difficult homecoming for Odysseus should his men eat the cattle of Helios (Odyssey 6:104-117). Foreboding and signs of the future in Homeric epic also often focus upon the skies, but rather than stars they are often told using thunderclaps, the movement of birds etc., for example an eagle is sent by Zeus in Iliad 8: 247-9. In Homeric epic auguries in the sky are sent by the gods to convey an omen to mortals. In Omeros, Achille notes the speedy and inexorable fall of a star (the star's end is wholly unavoidable, as by the time the movement of its light has reached Achille in St Lucia, the star has of course already fallen millions of light years away in space) and, connecting it to the name of Hector's car (the 'sixteen-seater passenger-van' which we will be told about in 2.XXII), 'he trembled'. Achille clearly recognises that in his change of transport, Hector has exchanged the traditional St Lucian way of life, represented by fishing and canoes, for modernity and a newer, westernised lifestyle and set of values. In doing so he has sealed his doom. Just as Hektor's fate is sealed from the beginning of Homer's Iliad, and made more certain by Patroklos' death, so is Walcott's Hector doomed after his purchase of the Comet. Achille expresses the inevitability of Hector's downfall through the simile of the last spark of light in a dying fire hissing out and the image of the falling star. Both presage Hector's death which will occur whilst driving his Comet (6, XLIV).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:59 |  Tags:             |  Comments (1) |  Report a problem

Murder throbbed

Murder throbbed in his wrists (2.XXII.i).

This evokes the normal human pulse in wrist points, but also the expression of Achilleus' murderous rage when robbed of someone dear to him (Patroklos) in dragging Hektor's body in the dust and denying him proper burial (Iliad 22).


Amanda Hopkins : 28 Jun 2007 15:45 |  Tags:          |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem

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