Ceasefire

Project

Ceasefire

1
Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears
Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king
Gently away, but Priam curled up at his feet and
Wept with him until their sadness filled the building.

2
Taking Hector's corpse into his own hands Achilles
Made sure it was washed and, for the old king's sake,
Laid out in uniform, ready for Priam to carry
Wrapped like a present home to Troy at daybreak.

3
When they had eaten together, it pleased them both
To stare at each other's beauty as lovers might,
Achilles built like a god, Priam good-looking still
And full of conversation, who earlier had sighed:

4
'I get down on my knees and do what must be done
And kiss Achilles' hand, the killer of my son.'

Poetry

Michael Longley said:

Normally the poems I write make their occasion in private; this poem had some public impact. That was a refreshment for me and it pleases me that I have made a very tiny contribution to things being better in Ireland. I do believe that poetry makes things happen,

I sent it to the Irish Times in the hope that they would print it, in the hope that if they did print it somebody might read it and it might change the mind of one ditherer on the IRA council. And by coincidence the IRA did declare a ceasefire.

I don't put "after Homer", because they're my own.

...there are extraordinary things happening in that episode (of The Iliad by Homer) where Achilles goes to Priam to beg for the body of Hector. And it strikes me as modern...that's what appeals to me, rather than the heroic clang and clatter of swords and shield.

I have snatched from the narrative flow moments of lyric intensity in which to echo my own concerns, both personal and political.

I try very hard to capture in English that's alive the texture and feel of the Greek.

Homer's Iliad is the greatest book in the world, one of the earliest books, and one of the greatest meditations on death.

...in some ways I love the Odyssey more, but the Iliad is altogether darker and deeper - a huge lamentation, really, a painful exploration of war, a gigantic poem about death.

When I published my poem 'Ceasefire' in the Irish Times I got a letter from the father of Paul Maxwell, the sixteen-year-old boy who had been blown up with Lord Mountbatten. Those letters matter more to me than any amount of criticism I might receive in literary journals or attention in the public world.

Clarifying the Poem

• The title refers to an expected IRA ceasefire. The poem was first published in the Irish Times on the 3rd of September, 1994, soon after the announcement of the ceasefire. Although the poem does not allude to the Irish situation, the title makes the connection clear.

• The poem is a summary, in sonnet form, of a celebrated episode in Book 24 of the Iliad by Homer.

• The Iliad deals with the ten year war between the Greeks and the Trojans during which the city of Troy, under the elderly King Priam, is beseiged by the Greek armies, under their commander, the youthful Achilles, who eventually kills the King's son, Hector, and drags his body round the walls of Troy. King Priam goes to Achilles, as the poem recounts, to beg for his son's body. Achilles, moved to pity, calls a truce so that Hector can be buried by his father. The Iliad concludes with that ceasefire.

• Although Achilles killed Hector in hatred and despoiled his body in rage, Longley shows his progression from anger to compassion through the intervention of Priam. He has said he was interested in the "tenderness" that accompanied "the power shift from Achilles to Priam." He finds this incident "very modern in its psychology."

• The father-son theme is alluded to in the first line as Achilles thinks of his father when Hector's father, Priam, pleads with him to release the body of his son.

• To "do what must be done," however painful, is the central theme of this poem.

Comparing Poems

• As in Wounds, the poem deals with two wars. The "Troubles" in Ireland, alluded to in the title, is seen through the Trojan war as related in Homer's Iliad.

• Laertes is also a loose translation from the other epic by Homer, the Odyssey.

• In its treatment of grief, the poem could be compared to Wreaths.

• The father-son theme is also evident in Wounds, Last Requests, Wreaths and, in a Homeric vein, Laertes.

For more information on comparing poems, go to the Comparative Themes page.

Questions on the Poem

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© All poems remain the copyright of Michael Longley

Ceasefire
The president
of the
Shakespeare
Association
of America
responds
to the poem.

Ceasefire
Michael Longley
reads the poem
at the Royal Hospital
Kilmainham in 1995.
(YouTube)

Ceasefire
and the
American
Connection
Senator
Edward Kennedy
of America
responds
to the poem
Ceasefire in a
lecture entitled
"Northern Ireland
- A view
from America".

Homer
Read more
about the poet
and
his background

The Illiad
Homer's
Illiad
translated by Samuel Butler

Notes on the Illiad