Comparison between Archilochus and Coldplay

Excerpt from Archilochus:

4. (Fr.5)

My shield's in the hands of some jubilant Thracian - a faultless piece of equipment which I left, unwillingly, beside a bush. Myself, I'm safe. What do I care about that shield? To hell with it! I'll soon find another one that's no worse.

Excerpt from Coldplay(Viva la Vida):

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavaly choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field

The excerpt from Archilochus indicates the human nature of willing to live. It says that the shield of jubilant Thracian is a faultless piece of equipment, but he left it beside a bush. He treats his life worthier than a shield. He thinks he can get a new shield if he is alive, but he cannot get his new life if he dies. He does not want to fight until he dies in the war, but he rather chooses to run away and save his own life. He does not seem guilty about leaving the battle, and he does not have any sense of loyalty or patriotism. To survive, he does not care about anything except himself.

The excerpt from Coldplay’s Viva la Vida also shows that a man does not care about loyalty or patriotism when he confronts death. Viva la Vida is a song based on Louis XVI’s death. He was actually a noble king. Unlike ex kings, he tried to work on poor economic conditions. However, he inevitably confronted death because of French Revolution, so he decided to escape from France. Regardless of loyalty and patriotism, he asked missionaries in a foreign field to escape from France to save his life. However, he got caught and crowd’s madness led him to the guillotine.

Although these two excerpts are written in different periods, they both represent the similarities of human instinct in different periods. Whether people lived in old times and present times, they inherit same human instinct of willing to live.