The Triumph of Achilles

“The Triumph of Achilles“ was written by Louise Gluck and published in the collection by the same name in 1985. The Triumph of Achilles is her fourth book of poems and won the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry. Her first book, Firstborn, was published in 1968, and she has written many books since The Triumph of Achilles.

“The Triumph of Achilles” is a free-verse poem inspired by Greek mythology, specifically Homer’s Iliad. Gluck explores the themes of The Nature of Grief and The Nature of Legends, as well as draws upon Homer’s symbols, such as Greek ships, Achilles’s armor, and Achilles’s tent.

Poet Biography

In April 1943, Louise Gluck was born in New York City. A few years later, her family relocated to a Jewish suburb in Long Island. Her father was an inventor who held many patents, and a businessman. Her mother, a housewife, was an excellent cook, according to Gluck. Her older sibling passed away, but Gluck was raised with a younger sister.

From a young age, Gluck enjoyed going to school and reading. She attended Sarah Lawrence College and studied poetry with Leonie Adams and Stanley Kunitz at Columbia University.