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Compare And Contrast Siren Song And Odyssey's

467 Words2 Pages

Sirens are a Greek myth. They are winged women who lure sailors to their death. Margaret Atwood's "Siren Song" and Homer's "Odyssey" both describe the myth of the Sirens through point of view, imagery, and tone. Atwood's story is told from a siren, a hunter, while Homer's is from a sailor who uses cleverness to escape his death.

Imagery in the literary works are incredibly different. Atwood's imagery is feminine and gives a more satirical picture. The siren talks of a "bird suit" (12) and "with these two feathery maniacs" (16) portray humor in this dark poem. The poem also brings in an element of pity and empathy as the siren makes the sailors she is singing too feel bad for her. She sings "I don't enjoy it here" (13) and "I don't enjoy …show more content…

Homer's imagery is masculine, dominant and ready for action. "Now with a sharp sword I sliced ...worked by my strength" (3-5) shows a man who is ready to fight. The sailor is not going to sail peacefully past the sirens, he is not going to give up easily. The sailor describes the sirens voices and song, "their ravishing voices" (19) and "high, thrilling song" (13). The song makes Odysseus's heart throb giving the song and sirens a sexual nature about them.
In Atwood's piece the sailors get sucked into their death while in Homer's the sailors make it out alive.

Both works are deceitful and witty, but the tones are also very different. The tone

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