The Comparison of Demon Hunter to Archilochus

Archilochus Excerpt:

Washed over, and we struggle in our distress

With swollen lungs. But for evils that have no cure,

My friend, the gods have ordained stern endurance

as remedy. These things go by turns: now it is us

that they have shifter, and we groan at the bloody wound,

but soon they will pass to others. Come now, with all speed

endure, and thrust aside this womanish grief.

 Demon Hunter’s “The Last One Alive” Excerpt:

Did anyone survive?
I swear I heard your voice beyond this side
Does anyone still try?
Does anyone still hope to set their eyes beyond this place?

Where angels fall and darkness reigns
Where time dissolves the brightest flame
(ever the same)

Whether I'm the last one alive
Or ascend before my time
Better I'm the last one alive
Than a soul denied

So this is how we break
And this is where we find the only hope within this place

At the surface, Archilochus and the band Demon Hunter have very little in common. One can be described as the ancient Greek poet known for his satire and insulting lines. The other is a current Christian-metal band known for their strict devotion to their faith and pro-military stance. Although distanced by time and faith, both these poets attempt to describe the necessity of hope in the face of impossible odds or situations. Archilochus describes a “struggle in our distress” with “evils that have no cure”. Here he begins to establish a non-contextual nor specific struggle, but the difficulty is explicitly described as having “swollen lungs”. The evil endured here asphyxiates and prevents the most simple and necessary of bodily functions. The evil depicted here appears as an insurmountable oppressor. Similarly, Demon Hunter describes how “darkness reigns, where time dissolves the brightest flames”. Here the ability of sight is attacked. The “hope to set their eyes beyond this place?” becomes blindness and attempts to abolish all hope. Both excerpts describe an oppressor attacking the most vital bodily functions: sight and breathing. This undescribed force that is attempting to asphyxiate or blind the speaker has the sole purpose of beating down any spark of hope that remains. Both authors then offer some form of resistance. They attempt to describe how to survive with little breath or no light. Archilochus describes “ordained stern endurance as remedy”, suggesting here that “these things go by turns”. This form of resistance stems from the faith that all bad things pass, and to endure past them is to succeed. In a somewhat similar form, Demon Hunter describes how he would rather endure as “the last one alive, than a soul denied”. Here, Demon Hunter suggests that although brightness is fading, losing hope is a far worse alternative than remaining as “the last one alive”. They both share the similar passion that hope and endurance are the better alternative to giving up hope.