In the story of the Sirens, Homer uses diction to describe the tone as mystical and oblivious to the audience. Homer presents the intricacy of the myth of the Sirens through different point of views, tones, and imagery. He tells a story of a man who is clever enough to hear the Siren’s song and not lose his life. Odysseus knows what the sirens will do to him, so he takes precautions by plugging his crew’s ears with wax and asking them to tie him to the ship.. An example is, “My faithful company rested on their oars now, peeling off the wax that I had laid thick on their ears…” (line 754-755) This implies that the crew was exhausted of hearing the Sirens voices and trying to ignore it, as the Sirens leave, they remove the wax from their ears.
The most obvious event where Odysseus rejects the temptation to ‘zone out’ of the world or abandon the journey home and instead actively pursues experiences and knowledge is when Odysseus listens to the Sirens’ song (p.276). Instead of stopping his ears like he did to his crew, Odysseus insists that his crew tie him to the mast so he can hear the Sirens but be in no danger of going with thee Sirens (p. 276). Odysseus could have just as easily stopped his own ears or left himself untied and let the Sirens take him, but he seeks out the experience of hearing the Sirens’ song and he wants desperately to return home. Because of the aforementioned reasons, Odysseus stays his path and listens to the Sirens as well. Just about every place that
As they pull the car over Odysseus and his men can hear the sirens singing echoing throughout the woods. To complete this paragraph, in the short story Homer and the Epic, they use these same exact situations. As well as the
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.
When Odysseus is about to go past the island of sirens, and the sirens are singing a song trying to lure the men into their lair. And Odysseus has his men put wax in their ears so they can’t hear the song and they can focus on rowing the boat past them, while Odysseus has his men tie him up to the sail of the boat and make sure he can’t get loose. While he is tied up he listens to the sirens song so he becomes immune to their song. When the sirens are singing Odysseus shows restraint by not making his men turn the ship around and go to the sirens
In this epic poem, the tone is dramatic because of the words used to depict not only the Sirens but Odysseus and his men. The author used words like “flunged” and “harder”, making the sentence more dramatic and giving us a vivid image of the scene. When the author described the Sirens, he used words like “ravishing” and “thrilling”. When mentioning the song, the tone changed from dramatic to condescending. The tone changed to condescending because in the song, the Sirens are praising Odysseus and saying “famous Odysseus - Archaea’s pride and glory -”. This makes the tone seem condescending because they are only trying to bring Odysseus to the
To go home, back to Ithaca, Odysseus had to pass the sirens, which could have lead them to their death. Sirens sing songs that make sailors interested in going to where they are and it usually leads them to their death. When they were about to pass the sirens, Odysseus made sure they wouldn't listen to them. “I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears,” (Homer 982.2:43-44) This is when they were passing the sirens and Odysseus took care of the others so they wouldn't hear the sirens and only he could. When Odysseus and the others had to go to the Lotus Eaters Island, he made sure no one ate the lotus plant/flower because he knew the dangers of it. “I drove them… all hand aboard, come no one taste the lotus.” (Homer 967.1:50-54)
In Homer’s epic the Odyssey, the dangers of the Sirens and the Lotus Eaters differ greatly. Homer applies the direct diction, “but those who ate this honeyed plant, the Lotus… longed to stay forever” (97-99) and “The lovely voices… made me crave to listen” (745-746) to display the different sense that each temptation appeals to. The phrase “those who ate… longed to stay forever” indicates that the flower manipulates the eater to continue to eat it. However, the statement Odysseus makes, “made me crave to listen”, implies the infectious feeling the Sirens nurture through their voices. Homer presents the difference between life and death through the phrases “no one taste the Lotus… or lose your hope of home” (104-105) and “...the Sirens, who
This quote is from the time Odysseus is trapped on an island by the nymph Calypso for nine years. These powerful words portray clearly the pain that Odysseus bears within him thus giving the reader a fuller understanding of the story and his character.
Through the ages many authors have conveyed vivid shifts through the use of diction and detail. In the epic, The Odyssey, readers are shown tone shifts throughout the poem by powerful diction and thought-provoking imagery. Some presented shifts that lead to turning points in the Odyssey include the tone of fortitude, leadership, and a fixed resolve. Odysseus has remarkable fortitude for a person who has gone through so many gruesome and inconvenient tribulations. He has had to go through with pain and anguish, as shown here, “My heart beat high now at the chance of action, and drawing the sharp sword from my hip I went along his flank to stab him...
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.
He also chooses to follow her advice because he is a very curious and inquisitive man who wishes to know everything and anything he can. The Siren’s sing “and we know whatever happens on this fruitful earth” (XII, 192). Nugent says, “the encounter with the Sirens reflects….unfulfilled desire for more: more knowledge, more experience, complete and profound fulfillment” (45-54). After placing the wax in his men’s ears, tying himself down to the mast, and hearing the Siren’s sweet song Odysseus “ order[s] [his] men to set [him] free”( Homer XII, 195); this shows how curious Odysseus truly is and how he longs to have great knowledge. Nugent states this is “…surely a characteristic of Odysseus, who always seeks that which lies beyond his grasp” (45-54). By following Circe’s orders Odysseus is able to have his cake and eat it too. He is able to pass the Siren’s without harm so he can return on his journey home, and he is able to listen to their sweet, bewitching song.
If a group of strangers came to your home or territory, how would you treat your guests? In the opening passage of The Odyssey (Book IX) by Homer, the setting is when Odysseus and his crew on their Journey and encountered sea monsters “Cyclops.” The clever Greek leader, Odysseus, and his men become trapped by a vicious one-eyed monster, who eats the men one by one. Notwithstanding, Odysseus devises a plan, blinds the monster, and escapes with his men. The unique language techniques used by Homer such as tone, diction, and dialogue reveal their characterization and moreover, it portrays a culture also corroborated that the Cyclops treat their guests in the whole different way.
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
Odysseus is warned by Circe that the sweet voices of the Sirens’ bewitch anybody who comes near to them and that “there is no homecoming for the man who draws near them unawares and hears the Sirens’ voices” (Pauline Nugent). As curious as Odysseus is she knows he can’t pass up the opportunity of getting to hear the sweet seductive voices of the Sirens’. Circe knowing very much how Odysseus so helps him devise a plan so that he can hear the Sirens, and his fellow shipmen cannot. She tells Odysseus to have his men melt beeswax and plug there ear and if he wants to listen “...make them bind you hand and foot on board and place you upright by the housing of the mast, with the ropes ends lashed to the mast its self”(12;48-51). Odysseus
Homer depicts the Sirens as intriguing and desirable because he considers Odysseus as valiant. Homer describes Odysseus’ “'heart inside