The Sirens In The Odyssey And Siren Song

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

Some people have one inanimate object in their lives that they find so enticing that they are incapable of withstanding. One object that lures them into a deep trap not giving them any chance to resist. In Margaret Atwood’s “Siren Song” as well as Homer’s The Odyssey the one inanimate object all men cannot seem to resist is a Siren calling them in. In “Siren Song” we see a portrayal of this irresistible lure by one Siren’s song as merely a taunting boredom, while in The Odyssey the Siren is seen as a toxic desire. Both these poems portray these characteristics of the Siren through point of view, tone, and imagery.

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.

Emotions and feelings are very tempting to give into. The Sirens are beautiful women who lure sailing men in by tempting them with this voice. They

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.

INTRO: Despite difference of around 400 years between them Greek poet Homer and tragedian playwright Euripides explore many of the same themes in their works the Odyssey and Trojan Women (written by each respectively). Both works are inspired by the events of 12th Century BCE Trojan War that Homer previously explored in the Iliad. The two examine the worth of cunning over brute strength, the dangers of temptation and the role of women in their respective time periods. Despite having extremely similar central ideas, the techniques employed by each are markedly different. These differences arise as the result of changes in socio-historical contexts and format of each work’s presentation, for example the critical shift of the 5th century which saw the rise of sophistry and a certain scepticism in regard to Athenian leadership and the very existence of the gods.

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.

The use of Sirens in the journey is both used in the The odyssey and O Brother Where Art Thou. In The Odyssey, Odysseus passed circe’s council, then they go to the island of the sirens. When they arrive the captain plugs his shipmates ears with beeswax. In O brother Where Art Thou the crew was in the car and one of them told the others to stop the car. When they did they got off the car, they went down a hill and found three women.

Half woman half bird, the sirens perch themselves along mountain tops in the sea, singing an enchanting song to innocent voyagers that pass by, captivating them to jump of their boats and descend to their death. These sirens however are portrayed in many different ways. In Fagles’ The Odyssey, Fagles portrays the sirens as merciless killing machines. However in Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song,” the sirens are portrayed as the victims and that they are the ones that need help from their never ending torture.

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 first obstacle Odysseus and his men must face on their journey back to Ithaca are the women-like creatures, known as Sirens. He must get himself and his men past them without falling victim to their ways. “Crying beauty to bewitch men coasting by”(678 ll. 661-662).

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

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.

Borrowing from German mythology, the poem “Lorelei” begins to exhibit Plath’s fascination with death (Aird 23). Water imagery, rooted in her childhood on the Atlantic ocean, plays a tremendous role in Plath’s poetry. The last years with her father still alive were spent near water (Steve nson, 9-10). The river in the poem symbolizes both the childhood she wishes to recapture and an escape from the life she now leads. The sirens rise up from the bottom of the river, “their limbs ponderous / With richness, hair heavier / Than sculpted marble” (Plath C. 22). They sing hypnotically, making silver promises of a