In what is believed to be the first of its kind the injury which has ruled David Beckham out of the 2010 World Cup finals has inspired the English Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy to pen a verse for the nation, dedicated to her sporting hero.
In what is also clearly a shrewd move for the popular British poet to bring her work, and poetry in general, to an even wider audience, Duffy, the Queen’s Poet Laureate and a big football fan, has created a special poem about Beckham’s latest injury and the huge public interest it has created.
Duffy is fascinated by the celebrity of David Beckham, his triumphs and failures, who’s every word and action is followed by millions of people worldwide.
Duffy is the latest English Poet Laureate, or the UK Poet Laureate as the position is now officially known, a distinguished title bestowed by the British monarch, HRH Queen Elizabeth II, The Head of State of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms.
The former England captain Beckham sustained an injury playing for AC Milan against Chievo in Serie A – the Italian Premier League – on Sunday.
As well as being fascinated by the amount of interest the story has created Duffy is also interested in the name of David Beckham’s injury, an Achilles injury and how it refers to the Greek myth of Achilles.
The Greek Achilles story is typical of Greek classical tales in that it is highly dramatic and follows success, tragedy, failure and heroic deeds, in a way very much like many of today’s sporting heroes who live in the constant glare of publicity, and none more so than David Beckham.
Beckham, memorably has come back from setbacks before in his career, including when he was dropped from the England team by Steve McLaren only to regain his place; or when he was vilified by the English public following his sending off while playing for England against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup finals, only to establish himself once again as the nation’s sporting hero.
The poem Achilles (for David Beckham), by Carol Ann Duffy, is below:
Myth’s river – where his mother dipped him, fished him, a slippery golden boy flowed on, his name on its lips.
Without him, it was prophesied, they would not take Troy.
Women hid him, concealed him in girls’ sarongs; days of sweetmeats, spices, silver songs…
But when Odysseus came, with an athlete’s build, a sword and a shield, he followed him to the battlefield, the crowd’s roar,
And it was sport, not war, his charmed foot on the ball…
But then his heel, his heel, his heel…
James I created the position of Poet Laureate as it is known today for Ben Jonson in 1617, although Jonson’s appointment does not appear to have been formally made. The office was a development from the practice of earlier times when minstrels and versifiers formed part of the King or Queen’s court.
The title of Poet Laureate, as a royal office, was first conferred to John Dryden in 1670. Other prominent holders of the office include Wordsworth and Tennyson. The Poet Laureate became more and more responsible for writing and presenting official verses to commemorate personal events, such as royal birthdays or royal births and marriages, and for public occasions, such as coronations and military victories, or today for David Beckham’s Achilles injury which will prevent him from playing in the World Cup finals this summer…
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