Preview

Comparing Portrayals of Sirens in 'Siren Song' and the Odessy

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
298 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Portrayals of Sirens in 'Siren Song' and the Odessy
Every writer, author, and poet portrays stories in their own way. Homer , the poet who wrote "The Odyssey", and Margaret Atwood, the poet who wrote "SIREN SONG", have different points of view on the sirens. The song that the sirens sang was different in both of the poems. The poets' opposing uses of imagery illustrated the sirens differently. In addition, the tones that the poets used were different. Although these two poems were written about the same subject, they are still different. One difference is the song that the sirens sang to the sailors. In "The Odyssey", the sirens' song was about how if you sail to them and hear their song, then you will leave a wiser man. However, in the poem "SIREN SONG", the song was about how the song is a cry for help. The two poets also used imagery to illustrate the sirens in different ways. Homer wrote "he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips", which made the sirens sound like beautiful and harmless creatures. However, Margaret Atwood wrote, "will you get me out of this bird suit", which made the sirens out to look like hideous bird-ladies that manipulate men into crashing their ships and dying. These two writers' poems also had contrasting tones. In the poem written by Homer, words were used such as sharp sword, strong hands, and ravishing voices. These words set a more exciting tone that might keep the reader interested. On the other hand, in Margaret Atwood's poem, words were used like beached skull, dead, squatting, maniacs, fatal, and boring. These words set a depressing and gloomy tone. These two poets had partially opposing views of the mythical sirens. Both wrote about their irresistible song, but the songs were different in each

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Although both poems discuss Helen of Troy, both speakers’ withhold different perspectives within the first stanza. In “To Helen” the speaker sets Helen on a pedestal as he uses the apostrophe “Helen, thy beauty is to me” (Poe, line 1). He emphasizes that he speaks to her as the title “To Helen” sets the praiseful tone within the poem. However, the unimpressed speaker of “Helen” displays the loss of connection to this famous woman as he does not address her but instead degrade her. The charmed speaker conveys her image by stating “Like those Nicean barks of yore” (Poe, line 2) which “gently, o'er a perfumed sea,” (Poe, line 3) expressing the notion of her as a Goddess. However, the unmoved speaker begins his poem with “All Greece hates”(H.D., line 1) implying the desolate tone. He uses the anaphora of “wan”(H.D., line 9) and “white”( H.D., line 2) to express the lack of character she withholds and her lack of beauty.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Patrick Henry said in his speech “listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.”(pg 263), quoted from the Odyssey , using illusion, that the siren are female creatures who sing to sailors attracting them to wreck their ships. Henry is refrencing to the situation that it will cause them to believe something…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ravashing voices...heart inside me throbbed to listen longer." Even though the sirens sound unpleasant, their sounds are still addicting. That makes the tone of the story sound as if in order to remain alive, one must get away from those desperate, ugly siren creatures. In the poem,…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    “The Odyssey” is an epic poem, so it’s natural that it’s less realistic than “O Brother, Where Art Thou”. For example, in “The Odyssey”, Homer describes that Odysseus faces the Sirens who have the bodies of fish on their lower body and eat men (bad description of sirens). “O Brother, Where Art Thou” does have Sirens in the movie, although it is more realistic. The Sirens in the movie have beautiful voices and seduces men with it just like the Sirens in the epic poem. Though the difference is that the Sirens in the movie don’t have bodies of fish nor do they eat men.…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Homer’s Odyssey” and “Siren Song” both show the weaknesses of human beings. Also it reveals humans find something so enticing that they are incapable of withstanding it. In “Homer’s Odyssey” Homer creates an illusion that the sirens are dangerous creatures, unlike Atwood’s poem, “Siren Song.” Atwood’s poem however shows a desperation coming from the sirens.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Homer’ s story The Odyssey tells of a triumphant hero named Odysseus and how his heroism saves his entire crew from the sirens. On the other hand, (“O Brother Where Art Thou”?) is not about bravery, but about being under the influence of the women's beauty and magical alcohol. Finally, Margaret Atwood's poem “Siren Song” talks about the women who are called the “sirens” the women who are part human and part bird, they sing the most beautiful song to get the men to crawl over board.…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many themes that are seen in both the poems. These include Revenge, Anger, Depression and Death. The two key themes in the both poems; Murder and Jealousy are both portrayed in different ways according to each killer’s motives.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sirens Voices In Odysseus

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Sirens portray a sense that their voices always create an impact as it occurred to Odysseus. The sirens create such a thrilling tone towards their song as it leaves a surprising remark. They are not impacted themselves, but rather impact the others with their singing.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Odyssey and O’ Brother Where Art Thou both shared the same themes and personalities of characters, but what differed was the music. In the movie The Odyssey, the music was very drastic, or it had a very strong effect to it, and the music changed as the people’s feelings did. In O’ Brother Where Art Thou the music had a diverse tune, there were multiple songs with a happy meaning behind it which reflected the character’s moods. The music helped develop the plot of film in both films because of the emotion and the characters’ personalities shown in the book or movie.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The sirens are portrayed differently in the Odyssey and in the “Siren Song”. The change of tone, point of view, and diction between the two sends a different portrayal of the sirens. The tone and point of view play a big roe in both of these writings. In the Odyssey the tone is suspenseful.…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The women in the Odyssey by Homer and the Aeneid by Virgil are from different ethnic backgrounds and eras. The women in the Odyssey are from the Greek tribe and are controlled by their men. They live by the instructions of their husbands as dictated by their customs. The women in the Aeneid are free and empowered. They are respected by their men and are able to exercise their rights. Hence, they contributed to the development of the Roman Empire.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sirens Research Paper

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “The power that all sirens poses is to be able to enchant their voice whenever a sailor passes and controls them by their singing. Sirens would also play music with instruments to lure sailor’s as well, one would play the harp, the other lyre and the last would sing the enchanting song” (Sirens, Allusions Sea Nymphs). Some of the most familiarized sirens where Peisinoes, Agalope and Thelxiepia. Peisnoes’ name means Mind Persuader, Agalope was a regular siren, while Thelxiepia was the first siren created (Sirens, Allusions Sea Nymphs). “There’s stories that tell us that sirens…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Iliad and The Odyssey are tales written by Homer centered on the drama of the Trojan War. First poem deals with the time during the end of the war, while the latter, which occurs roughly ten years later, explains the disastrous journey of Odysseus fighting his way back home. The character of women in the Odyssey is to exhibit the many and diverse roles that women play in the lives of men. These functions vary from characters such as the goddess ' that help them to the nymphs who trick them. Women in the Iliad exhibit their significance in the lives of the ancient Greeks because they are so prominent in a world so dominated with military relations.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Both the Odyssey and the Aeneid begins with an invocation to the Muse, goddesses of literature and art. The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus 10 years after the Trojan war. In the Aeneid, Aeneas tells the story of how the “cunning” Odysseus devised a way for Greek warriors to enter Troy by hiding in a large wooden…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rayer, Diane. Sappho 's Lyre: Archaic Lyric and Women Poets of Ancient Greece. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1991. Print.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics