Close Reading of Merwin's Odysseus
• The subject in W.S. Merwin’s poem “Odysseus” feels comfortable only at sea, and, because such a notion is atypical, he cannot articulate or understand where his true home actually is. o At peace at sea: “patience / He has wedded to” o Numerous islands, but “one to call ‘home’,” even though he Merwin never specifies which island Odysseus really calls home “which … / Was the one he kept sailing home to?”
• W.S. Merwin’s speaker in “Odysseus” is concerned about his romantic interests. “Wedded” to his adventures, he experiences a schism when interacting with the women he meets on various islands. o “Put before him, the unraveling patience / He was wedded to” o “There were the islands / Each with its woman” Odysseus seems to have a woman on each island, and, not knowing which island is home, seems not to be particularly loyal to any one of them. o Indeed, Odysseus later even says that “The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went.” The only constant in his life is, certainly, his oceanic adventure, which, while there may be many, never change noticeably in content.
• A world-weary Odysseus relives his adventures in a repetitive, never-changing cycle, losing sight of the difference between ill-wishers and home. o Jaded tone: “always the setting forth was the same,” “he had got nowhere but older,” “identical reproaches,” “it was the same whether he stayed or went”
• The speaker in “Odysseus” roams the world, traveling in repetitive circles, hoping to allay the guilt that plagues him for “betray[ing]” so many women. o Claiming that “The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went,” Odysseus looks for solace from the guilt he experiences from not staying true to any one woman. o While his days are repetitive and unchanging, his adventures are a constant, and Odysseus is able to consider himself “wedded” to that “unraveling patience” he can keep coming back to
• W.S. Merwin’s speaker in “Odysseus” is concerned about his romantic interests. “Wedded” to his adventures, he experiences a schism when interacting with the women he meets on various islands. o “Put before him, the unraveling patience / He was wedded to” o “There were the islands / Each with its woman” Odysseus seems to have a woman on each island, and, not knowing which island is home, seems not to be particularly loyal to any one of them. o Indeed, Odysseus later even says that “The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went.” The only constant in his life is, certainly, his oceanic adventure, which, while there may be many, never change noticeably in content.
• A world-weary Odysseus relives his adventures in a repetitive, never-changing cycle, losing sight of the difference between ill-wishers and home. o Jaded tone: “always the setting forth was the same,” “he had got nowhere but older,” “identical reproaches,” “it was the same whether he stayed or went”
• The speaker in “Odysseus” roams the world, traveling in repetitive circles, hoping to allay the guilt that plagues him for “betray[ing]” so many women. o Claiming that “The knowledge of all that he betrayed / Grew till it was the same whether he stayed / Or went,” Odysseus looks for solace from the guilt he experiences from not staying true to any one woman. o While his days are repetitive and unchanging, his adventures are a constant, and Odysseus is able to consider himself “wedded” to that “unraveling patience” he can keep coming back to