-SPOILER ALERT: For my analysis, I use the book The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. For my analysis, I am going to analyze the climax of the book. As such, no secrets the book holds from new readers will be barred from this analysis.-

The premise of this assignment is near exhilarating on the usual homework scale; finally, I get to do work about a book I actually really like! Standing in front of my bookshelves, there were so many tantalizing choices. Should I analyze a book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Or perhaps I should use the book I am currently reading for the first time, Circe by Madeline Miller? Should I go with one of my books about spirituality, that is, Paganism and Quakerism, to enrichen my life while doing schoolwork? Or maybe go back to a childhood favorite, such as one of the original American Girl books.

Eventually, I chose a title from the stock of my absolute favorite books of all time: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. The Song of Achilles is the tale of famed Greek hero Achilles as told by the one he loved, Patroclus. Patroclus was more than Achilles’ lover; he was the best part of Achilles. He was the one who made Achilles a man.

Due to the anti-gay prejudice of the times after Ancient Greece, Patroclus had been almost entirely erased from the narrative of Achilles. In The Illiad, the nature of the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles is up to interpretation. Same-sex romantic relations were common and normal in Ancient Greece, and as such it makes sense that many notable Greek scholars and philosophers such as Aeschylus, Plato, Pindar, and Aeschines firmly believed the correct interpretation was that of romantic love. In what I see as a monumental act of returning the legends of Patroclus and Achilles to the modern memory, Madeline Miller told the story of that love in The Song of Achilles.

… My head jerks back, and I see that he is close now, his spear raised. The only sound I hear is my own heaving lungs, air pumped into my chest and pushed from it. Hector’s spear lifts over me, tipping like a pitcher. And then it falls, a spill of bright silver, towards me.

No. My hands flurry in the air like startled birds, trying to halt the spear’s relentless movement towards my belly. But I am weak as a baby against Hector’s strength, and my palms give way, unspooling in ribbons of red. The spearhead submerges in a sear of pain so great that my breath stops, a boil of agony that burts over my whole stomach. My head drops back against the ground, and the last image I see is that of Hector, leaning seriously over me, twisting his spear inside of me as if he is stirring a pot. The last thing I think is: Achilles.

Miller, Madeline. “The Song of Achilles”. Page 335. 2012, HarperCollins Publishers.

As a reader, one’s breath catches. By this moment, Patroclus is a much-beloved character, one who grew closer to the reader over each of the 335 pages previous. He is not a cold fighter, but he has sacrificed everything to do what he must; an act so brave that he goes against the wishes of the one he loves for his benefit. In the paragraphs before, Patroclus wishes only not to die because he knows that if Hector kills him, prophecy dictates that Achilles would die soon after. The 34 pages remaining in the book are intimidating, for what could happen after the death of Patroclus? What a painful gift it is, for Madeline Miller to continue this beautiful story, one the reader can’t get enough of, yet is so heart wrenching.

As a writer, following the ‘Reading Like a Writer’ technique, one must first consider the audience of the novel: who is Ms. Miller writing for? The Song of Achilles is Miller’s debut novel. According to the back cover, she has a BA and MA in Latin and Ancient Greek from Brown University and studied the adapting of classical tales to a modern audience at the Yale School of Drama. She teaches, as well. With such a dedicated resume, one can assume that Miller has a close connection with the classical worlds. Reading as a writer, it is apparent that Miller sends the reader on a journey to establish a connection like she must have, a connection that comes from her retelling of this legend into a story; a story with real people and the echoes of our own hearts. Miller makes the reader care.

Next in reading as a writer, one questions the genre the text was written in. Clearly, it is a novel. While Miller has written essays about the classics, two of which are displayed in the back of the book, a novel is the best form for this story. As she took an epic tale and turned into such an adventure, the dedication of a novel allows the reader to establish a close connection with the characters and the stories. One is much more likely to care about Patroclus after journeying through his lifetime along hundreds of pages with him rather than in a brief essay or short story.

In the specifically chosen paragraph, similes and metaphors are used in abundance. “Hector’s spear lifts over me, tipping like a pitcher”. “…my palms give way, unspooling in ribbons of red.” “…twisting his spear inside of me as if he is stirring a pot”. These figures of speech simultaneously make the scene all the more palpable and all the more surreal. The description of Hector twisting his spear inside of Patroclus’ gut “as if he is stirring a pot” give the reader a vivid sympathy to how Patroclus felt in the situation; as if that which is happening around him nearly too painful and nightmarish to be real. Similarly, the “ribbons of red” used to sketch the feeling of Patroclus’ blood and strength coming undone give the reader an image that is almost theatrical, reminding me personally of the red ribbons used to show blood in “The Cell Block Tango” choreography of the movie Chicago.

Finally, in the ‘Reading Like a Writer’ technique, a student must ask if they are being assigned to read the work because they will be asked to write something similar to it. Given that I chose The Song of Achilles as a novel to analyze, this is clearly not the case where the school is given, but it may very well be when it comes to personal life. I read The Song of Achilles to experience better homosexual representation in literature, to understand more of Homer’s legendarium, and to experience the novel of a scholar. I read the novel of a scholar such as Madeline Miller in order to experience a higher level of writing in fiction, partially for my own personal enjoyment, and partially because reading at such a level helps one to write at such a level. When reading like a writer, one gets the experience of reading and a benefit to their writing.

Citations:

Miller, Madeline. The Song of Achilles. HarperCollins Publishers, 2012.

Marshall, Rob, director. Chicago. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, 2003.

Cover image from amazon.com