Sirens play a big role in the epic poem of The Odyssey by Homer. These sirens try and lure in the sailors and capture their attention with their majestic voices. Odyssey gives his men beeswax to cover their ears while they row so that the voices of the sea nymphs wouldn't get to them. In the Odyssey Odysseus portrays the sirens as something he needs to try and avoid because if he doesn't something bad could happen to him and his men. The poem is seen in Odysseus' point of view and how even with this beeswax covering his ears he still wants to be set free. In the Siren song written by Margaret Atwood, Atwood uses imagery to depict the image of the sirens. The Sirens says "...the song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons even
While voyaging home Odysseus and his crew came upon the Sirens, luring creatures that sang a song for Odysseus. As directed by Circe, a goddess, the egoistic captain is told to listen to 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 say that they dont like what they do in the poem they feel bad about the people they kill and they no longer want to keep doing that they no longer want to kill people its like there being forced to do stuff that they dont want to do. To them Odysseus was just another dead man,just another person passing through with his men,just more victems, even though what they do seems crule they realy hate there job they seem sad about it. In book 12 they talk about how the sirens are evil killers and Odysseusis the main character but to him the sirens are just another obsticle one that he knows he can overcome like all the other monsters he faced befor them even though he chose to suffer by not covering his ears with bee wax he still servived.
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
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.
Atwood and Odysseus present the sirens through different perspectives. The sirens are known for causing the death of sailors by using their sweet and deadly voices. However, each poem represents the sirens in their own way incorporating tone and diction differently. The second poem illustrates the sirens as intelligent and clever, while the first poem is describes them as just deadly creatures.
Homer and Atwood showcase the multifaceted nature of the myth of the Sirens through various perspectives, with varying tones, and utilizing imagery. Homer recounts the narrative of a man sufficiently shrewd to hear the siren's tune and not lose his life; meanwhile Atwood portrays a siren, alluring men to her island to trap them. Although the tones differentiate from each other within the two passages, both utilize cleverness with trickery. Odysseus runs with his life secure, and the Siren feels accomplished; her “boring song…works every time.”
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”.
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.
The poem The Sirens and the episode containing sirens in The Odyssey contain similarities that expose the theme of temptation. For instance, the sirens claim that their “green isle” is a place where one could “rest forevermore” in the poem, and they call to Odysseus as well, telling him how no one had passed the sirens without listening to them, and how they always received “a great treat.” Both of these examples show the sirens deception, how they are trying to fool men into thinking of a beautiful island with flowers and green grass when reality presents a manifest of death and evil, with each siren sitting atop a mound of bones.
The sirens were fallen protectors of Persephone and was banished to sirens island after Persephone was kidnapped and raped. Once the sirens were banished to their island, they discovered their singing voices and lured sailors in from near and far in as a way to seduce them and to kill them. These sirens were beautiful women who were sexually arousing and could sing are the basics of how men felt about women in Greek culture. The idea of
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
The siren is one of the most widely used “monsters” today. By definition they are beautiful yet dangerous creatures, who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. These creatures are described as an irresistible mixture of woman and bird. Sirens, or otherwise known as “muses of the
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.