Comparing Ulysses And The Siren

Odysseus faces temptation with the help of Circe . She describes the obstacles he will face with his men while at sea. When approaching the islands of the Sirens he takes the advice he was given and plugs his men's ear with beeswax, and orders them to tie him up to the ship. He hears the Sirens beautiful song alone, hoping to have the future revealed to him . The song is so seductive and tempting he begs for his men to untie him , but his loyal men bind him up tighter. Odysseus , unlike Sir Gawain has help fighting the temptation, he receives both advice and help from his men who tie him up, restraining him from falling into the temptation. Sir Gawain must face a moral battle alone, does he follow the rules of courtesy and give lady bertilak what she wants or does he continue to turn her down due to honor and respect for the king and himself.

Through the imagery of both Homer and Margaret Atwood we see the difference in the Siren’s attitude in each poem. In The Odyssey, the Siren says, “honeyed voices pouring from our lips.” This imagery is a seductive tactic used by the Siren to lure the men closer. Odysseus tells us that his heart wanted more. This shows how the desire to get closer to the Siren was toxic. In “Siren Song” the Siren uses imagery to mock herself and make the reader feel bad for her. She tells us that she is “squatting on the island looking picturesque and mythical.” It is inferred that she is simply unhappy and bored where she is.

Odysseus was warned of the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis. When he approaches the Sirens, he has his men tie him to the mass so he will not be lured to their tempting singing. When he reaches the location of the deadly whirlpool, Charybdis, and the concealed deadly trap across from Charybdis, Scylla: a six headed monster that catches men in her mouth and eats them; Odysseus sacrifices a few of his men for the majority of the other men. He sacrifices for the better good. Hiding his knowledge of these obstacles and sacrificing his men, takes a full amount of determination for his objective to get home; it shows his vast amount of unconditional willingness and sacrifice. Perseverance takes time and sacrifice. His time and knowledge lead him through another dangerous obstacle.

For starters, the setting of the movie and the poem are both centralized around Ithaca and scattered Islands of Greece. The Greek mythology was also a main theme in the two, such as Odysseus’s protection by The goddess Athena and the hatred be Odysseus and Poseidon. One of the more difficult aspect that the movie had gotten spot on was the displaying of Odysseus’s leadership throughout the God's (mainly Poseidon's) wrath and the ever enduring seas of Greece. However throughout all of the hardships his crewmen remained loyal to him and his faith that they would one day return to the shores of Odysseus’s mighty Kingdom of Ithaca.

The Siren Vase is typical of its time period by showing a clear picture of one of the many adventures Odysseus was met with. We are able to see Odysseus's ship clearly in the sea represented by the thinned black and wavy lines in the narrow foreground of the vase. We can see the picture of Odysseus begging it seems to be untied due to the seductive

In the case of the Sirens, the theme is revisited simply for its own interest. With their ears plugged, the crew members sail safely by the Sirens’ island, while Odysseus, longing to hear the Sirens’ sweet song, is saved from folly only by his foresighted command to his crew to keep him bound to the ship’s mast. Homer is fascinated with depicting his protagonist tormented by temptation: in general, Odysseus and his men want very desperately to complete their nostos, or homecoming, but this desire is constantly at odds with the other pleasures that the world offers

Analyzing different mediums can enhance an individual’s overall appreciation and understanding of a particular idea or story. While analysis of a painting can reveal the mood of the artwork, an analysis of a poem can reveal the author’s tone. Much more then that, analysis provides an opportunity to explore each work in an attempt to understand human nature through each author’s perspective. While exploring the painting “Ulysses and the Sirens” by J.W. Waterhouse and the poem “The siren song” by Margaret Atwood, a universal truth presents itself. While the painting focuses on the thematic idea of Odysseus being stubborn while his men care for his safety to get home, the poem holds a different view. In contrast, the thematic statement from the poem discusses the idea that the Siren hates singing and being in a bird suit, but is asking for help but it’s still tempting to hear the song. Although differing in point of view, both the painting and the poem explore an aspect of human nature that are relevant to society today. There are two different authors for the painting and the poem. However, the two are different when compared to each

The Sirens in the Odyssey represent more than just a maritime danger to the passing ship. They are the desires of man that he cannot have. The Sirens can also be construed as forbidden knowledge or some other taboo object. Whatever these singing women actually are, the sailors are wise to avoid them. As usual, the wily Odysseus cheats at the rules of the game by listening to their song under the restraints constructed by his crew.

First, Odysseus and his men must sail past the Sirens, however, hearing their song leads any sailor to his doom. Circe herself tells Odysseus that “the Sirens will sing his mind away on that sweet meadow lolling.” (678 ll. 666-667) How does Odysseus overcome this adversary? He simply follows Circe’s orders to “plug your oars men's ears with beeswax….” (678 ll. 670-671) Although, she urges Odysseus to listen to the song of the Sirens alone. So, to prevent himself from becoming an issue, he orders his men to tie him up “plumb, amidships, back to the mast, lashed to the mast….” (681 ll. 746-747) This solution was also given to Odysseus via word of Circe. Thus, if Odysseus had not clearly followed Circe’s instructions, from plugging his men’s ears with beeswax to ordering his men to tie him to the mast, he and his crew would have met a fatal end. Much like soldiers in real life, Odysseus and his crew had to comply and obey orders in order to guarantee success on a mission. Circe’s advice allowed Odysseus to overcome the deadly Sirens without any loss, however, his whole journey did not go as smoothly.

Once the men are drawn to the Sirens, they are stuck and there is no way for them to escape. Additionally, Homer explains Odysseus’ encounter with the Sirens from Odysseus’ point of view. The Sirens try to attract Odysseus by singing compliments to “famous Odysseus,” so he will assume he is the object of their desire (14). The Sirens are intelligent, and therefore determine what Odysseus’ true weaknesses: flattery and the desire for recognition. His faults are similar to other men; however no other men share Odysseus’ unique wish. When Odysseus sails by, they attack his weaknesses, just as they do to the other ships, but Odysseus already is prepared. The Sirens sing to him and promise he will be able to “[sail] on a wiser man” if Odysseus listens to their song (18). His plan almost fails because the song captivates Odysseus and, thus, attempts to join the Sirens, risking his life to gain the knowledge that the Sirens guarantee. Odysseus navigates himself through the sea with hopes of becoming more intelligent. Homer describes the Sirens as beautiful yet cunning because of their ability to identify men’s weaknesses easily. Their beauty attracts men and thus draws them toward their death. Homer’s view of the relationship between Odysseus and the Sirens prove that the Sirens are extremely tempting and the men cannot help but fall for them.

As Odysseus travels through the epic, he is constantly trying to maintain his image, always bragging about his wisdom and talents. The Sirens expose and exploit this weakness of his when he encounters them. Their “honeyed voices pouring from [their] lips” (Homer, Odyssey, p. 277, 12.203) is a sticky trap that reveals just how much Odysseus yearns for glory and fame. They call him “Archaea’s pride and glory” and tell him to “come closer, famous Odysseus” (Homer, Odyssey, p. 277, 12.200). By making “famous” the new epithet to his name, they have already won his heart. They then proceed to tempt him in with promises of more wisdom. Odysseus had to literally be tied down so that he would not jump off the ship. All the while, the Sirens most definitely knew that humans are inherently greedy and susceptible to temptation.

In the three texts these are the things that are emphasized. In “The Odyssey” ,written by Homer, it states the heroism of Odysseus, the magic powers of the horrid Siren, and the steps Odysseus took to get past the sirens. However, in “O’ Brother Where Art Tho?” it mentions how Pete turns into a frog, the men drink moonshine, and the siren song plays in the background. Also, in Margaret Atwood’s “Siren Song” it implies that the sirens do not like being trapped on the Island, the contribution to the song, and how they are disinterested on the island. Even though the authors emphasize on multiple things, they often leave details out of their stories.

The first poetic device present in Mumford and Sons’ The Cave is imagery. Within the first two lines of the song, detailed descriptions of the isolation and anger that the song portrays are felt. The band states “It's empty in the valley of your heart / The sun, it rises slowly as you walk” (Mumford and Sons, 1-2). This description of the heart being an empty valley demonstrates imagery as it allows the audience to understand the pain and anger the person in the song feels, as they have been isolated for so long. The second line describing the sun brings forth an image of the wisdom and enlightenment that appears as the person becomes acclimated to the outside world.

Lyrics include, “her name is Aphrodite and she rides a crimson shell / and you know you cannot leave her for you touched the distant sands” and “the colors of the sea blind your eyes with trembling mermaids / and you touch the distant beaches with tales of brave Ulysses / how his naked ears were tortured by the sirens sweetly singing / for the sparkling waves are calling you to kiss their white-lace lips.” The song was actually written by Martin Sharp, who said, “I used to live in the islands of the Med. Sea and when I moved back to London I missed it so I wrote these lyrics about it." In this sense, the narrator of the song is referring to “Tales of Brave Ulysses” as a metaphor for his own journey. Ulysses is also known as the Greek Odysseus, who was involved in the “Trojan horse” story, who encountered the Cyclops, who was able to escape the sorceress named Circe, along with overcoming the Sirens and the sea monster Scylla. Although Ulysses plugged the ears of himself and his sailors to defeat the Sirens, by singing that “his naked ears were tortured,” along with “you want to take her with you to the hard land of the winter,” this suggests that like Ulysses, the narrator knows he’s bound for a life of adventure. Moreover, the “sparkling waves” and “distant sands” suggest that despite the hardships faced by the narrator, he knows he can never be content with a “normal” life since he has

Love, that is what interests me the most in this poem. I’m a softy when it comes to love poems, they pull me in. I was surprised that I wouldn’t have chosen a poem from the romantics and didn’t go with the classic William Shakespeare, but alas, the siren’s song pulled me in. The fisherman seemed to be living a somewhat happy live fishing to his heart’s content. He also seemed to be day-dreaming a bit just staring at the water. Who wouldn’t get pulled into the siren’s song? Only Odysseus I have read has ever pulled out of the grasp of the siren’s song. Many people do the same today. Getting sucked into relationships that they no longer want to be in but seemed to be sucked into staying. Just be Odysseus pull yourselves out of it and live a better life. Love isn’t about being forced into something, you shouldn’t even have to try.