Odyssey Siren Song Analysis

Specifically, they both encounter with obstacles. Further, they both gets to encounter with Baptist. In the story of The Odyssey, Odysseus’ crews get their soul cleaned. It may seem odd that scene of encountering with Baptist appears in O Brother, Where Art Thou, but Delmar and Pete actually get their soul cleaned, too. Bearing this in mind, the characters of both stories encounter with Sirens as well. With respect to encountering with the Sirens, both characters heard the sound of Sirens singing and got attracted by them. To view this in different way, it also means that Sirens acted as temptress in both stories. Similar to this incident, they also encountered with Big Dan, who came out as Cyclops in the film. It is worth noting that Sirens and Big Dan appeared as human in the film while they appeared as unrealistic characters in 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.

The sirens in both texts have different views on the song and how it allures people. They describe what it does to people who come in close proximity of the song.

The characterization in The Siren song is subtle, yet creates apparent characters with specific desires and goals. Without knowing the true facts of a siren, the poem specifies that the siren has a sinister secret to unveil to someone. They are willing to barter this secret for their freedom from a particular island, surrounded by other cruel beings like them. They would like to sing them a song, one that has sent others to their deaths. If you know the true nature of the sirens, you would likely know that these hopes and desires are all to create the illusion of someone to save, instead of someone who would bring you to your immediate. Their goal is to tempt you into throwing yourself overboard to hear their “secrets.”

This poem therefore includes the use of dramatic irony, meaning that the words of the Sirens had a different intent than what is clearly seen, which is known by the reader, but not Odysseus. The Sirens ask Odysseus to “Help [them]!”, which makes him feel like a hero (Atwood, 22). The reader knows that the Sirens only want to kill him, by flattering him first. Although Odysseus knew about the Sirens, at the time, he ignored the knowledge that they only wanted to make him crash and kill himself. This shows that the Sirens’ words were so strong that they could influence him in that way without Odysseus noticing. He is so engulfed into the praise of the Sirens, that he almost lost sight of his goal once again. Next, the author uses repetition of the Sirens, telling Odysseus that “only [he] can” help them (Atwood, 23). This continued the Sirens’ deep adulation in order to tempt him. This repeated use emphasizes the Sirens’ knowledge that his weakness was his pride and arrogance. They knew that the best way to get to him was through his egotism, which only hurt him in the long run.

"The Sirens", taunt and tease Odysseus as him and his crew sail towards the, “Land of the Dead". Crossing the bumpy ocean in order to reach the Land of The Dead, Odysseus and his man sailed into trouble. Sirens were on the horizon and Odysseus had to think quickly. As his mind raced he finally came up with a solution, he grabbed a handful of wax and rolled it in his hands. “Going forward I carried wax along the line, and laid it thick on their ears.” (Lines 712-713 The Odyssey). Whilst finishing this tedious task, Odysseus was tied down to the mast and left with his thoughts. The men continued to row while the Sirens flew in and sang

The Siren herself uses words like “squadrons” and “feathery maniacs” to describe her surroundings and what happens when they sing. This prompts the reader to imagine what the Siren is facing and how they visually appear, contrary to Odysseus who only describes their voices. A quote from the “Siren Song” to back up the claim is “ I don’t enjoy it here squatting on this island looking picturesque and mythical”. This proves that the how the Sirens appear and their portrayal. They are visually beautiful and lovely sounding. They have a purpose to be guile, but their over all looks and sound mask it. Their sound captivates the men and makes them jump over the boat, and their appearance helps disguise any doubt the men face. In both works the Sirens are viewed as beautiful and captivating by sound as in The Odyssey and appearance as in the “Siren Song”.

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.

In all three works of art, the epic poem (The Odyssey), Atwood’s poem (“Siren Song”), and Waterhouse’s Ulysses & The Sirens, all portray the Sirens differently by the author's tone. Waterhouse uses art to set the dramatic and threatening tone while The Odyssey uses poetry to set the dramatic tone. The tone of Atwood’s poem depicts the Sirens as being mischievous yet bored.

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.

In Greek mythology, sirens were creatures who lived in the sea that had beautiful appearances and voices that led the incoming sailors to their doom. By using their melodic voices they compel the sailors to jump into the ocean, leading them to their death. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald compares Daisy Buchanan to sirens. Similarly to the sirens, Daisy lures in men with her melodic tone to an inaccessible fantasy, compelling them towards her and leading them to destruction.

Homer’s tone towards the Sirens deprecates and objectifies them, while Atwood’s tone towards the Sirens is empathic and woeful, for the purpose of revealing male oppression and its effect on females. Homer describes the Sirens as an experience for the hero’s benefit. The Sirens sing their song to Odysseus, and according to Homer, the song’s purpose is to let man “hear to his heart’s content” and sail away “a wiser man” (Homer 18). The Sirens are merely an experience, an object, that a hero grabs on his journey, according to Odysseus. Odysseus is the only one to have “heard the honeyed voices pouring from [their] lips”(Homer 17). Through this imagery, Homer communicates the perspective of Odysseus. He sees women as something to elevate his status

The Odyssey and Sirens Song In The Odyssey by Homer and in Siren's Song by Margaret Atwood, the sirens are discussed, but are represented very differently. The sirens are said to be the daughters of the river god, Achelous. They sing enchanting songs that lure men to their island. No one knows what the song is though, for every man who’s ever heard it, cannot stop themselves from going to the island. The Odyssey however portrays them much differently than Sirens Song.

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.

In Homer's Odyssey, the sirens are introduced as sea nymphs. Margaret Atwood's wrote a poem called "Siren Song" that offers a quite different and similar perspective on the sirens. In the Odyssey the sea nymphs are illustrated as beautiful and deceitful creatures who happily consume the lives of sailors with their beautiful songs. This can be seen when Homer states that as soon as the sirens saw the ship they, "...burst into their high thrilling song" and when the sirens themselves state, "Never has any sailor passed our shores... until he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips...".