Teaching Patroclus– take off the armor, it's not yours by Aisha Weththasingha

If you happen to be teaching The Iliad or maybe you're a super cool teacher who's using Song of Achilles, congrats. Here's a freebie from The Echo. Toss Patroclus– take off the armor, it's not yours straight into what you're doing, remind them that one of their peers wrote it and challenge them to pen their own poem from the point of view of another character. If you're not so fortunate, we've got you covered.

Jump to Section:

1. Analysis of Story
2. Paired Texts and Further Reading
3. Lesson Plan
4. Writing Prompts

The first thing that stands out in "Patroclus— take off the armor, it's not yours" is the powerful sensory details. Beyond imagery, this is a poem that the reader can feel. It begins with a feeling inside of the speaker, "streams" of adrenaline inside the "skin" and then moves outward. The poet does this very smartly in the first few lines. Not only does describing the "[coursing]" of the adrenaline provide the reader with a familiar opening phrase to latch onto, but it gives the poem movement from the very beginning. This is, after all, a poem about a passionate decision that leads to combat; it should have some movement! And the poet uses that movement to metaphorically pan the camera of the writer's lens outward, to the "sweat thickened on [the] brow" of the speaker - literally moving from a substance inside the body to a substance leaving the body - to the helmet on that sits on that head and from the helmet to the armor. What may seem a natural progression should be acknowledged for what it is: a series of smart choices that make the poem more readable.