The Triumph of Achilles

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1985

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

Ships

Drawing upon Homer’s Iliad, Gluck includes the symbolic Greek (Achaean) ships. There is a long catalog, or list, of ships in Homer’s poem. These ships symbolize the potential to return home after the Trojan War. When staying in his tent, Achilles promises to help the Greeks only if the Greek ships are threatened. When the Trojans successfully attack the Greek navy, Achilles has already lent his armor to Patroclus and is unable to assist either his friend or the army as a whole.

The speaker compares the burning of the Greek ships with the death of Patroclus, using a rhetorical question to argue that the loss of a loved one is more significant to Achilles than the loss of the ability to return home. In other words, this symbol is used to illustrate how Achilles’s loss of Patroclus is a loss of a more important part of himself than the part that identifies as Greek. The love of an individual is more powerful than the love of a nation or national identity.

Armor

Again, drawing upon symbolism in The Iliad, Gluck mentions how Patroclus wears “the same armor” (Line 5) as Achilles. The shield of Achilles is an early example of ekphrasis, or poetry about art. Homer describes the shield in great detail. It symbolizes many aspects of Greek life, both on and off the battlefield. In other words, it symbolizes what the Achaeans are fighting to maintain. Additionally, Achilles’s armor symbolizes his role as a leader among the Greek soldiers. It rallies the troops behind whoever wears it. Patroclus dies because the armor causes him to be mistaken for Achilles.

Tent

The tent of Achilles is also an important symbol in Homer’s Iliad. It is a place of inaction and sorrow. Achilles is said to sulk in his tent due to Agamemnon’s prisoner exchange. In this moment, it symbolizes his stubbornness or unwillingness to fight. Later, the tent becomes a place of mourning. This is the symbol that Gluck’s poem more fully utilizes, developing the theme of The Nature of Grief. She writes, “In his tent, Achilles / grieved with his whole being / and the gods saw” (Lines 15-17). In the private space of the tent, Achilles mourns Patroclus. His retribution for the death of Patroclus is a public act—he kills many men on the public space of the battlefield. The tent is where he cries and changes his mind about abstaining from fighting—a space for personal, internal reflection.