Personification In Circe's Palace

Circe, a goddess, is often seen in literature as one who portrays fear wherever she is. T.S. Eliot presents a more complicated view of Circe as he presents her and her palace with a bit of hospitality but also a bit of caution. Through his use of deathly imagery and personification in “Circe’s Palace”, Eliot creates an enticing feeling of fear and disturbance

Eliot uses personification to reveal the uneasy feeling about the palace. Circe’s palace is filled with animals who look at her guests with “the eyes of men whom we knew long ago”. The personification of these animals really comes into place when I can almost physically feel that uneasy feeling of knowing there's much more than what meets the eye. The thought of seeing an animal and

Their petals are fanged and red”. Circe’s palace serves almost as a symbol of both temptation and danger because as we can tell flowers are like a sign of beauty and love but if they are “fanged red” that all of a sudden switches the narrative. We typically associate the word fanged with vampires or some sort of predatorial animal and in some cases fangs are used as a tactic by animals to show dominance and appear dangerous. Throughout the poem, the men struggle with the idea of the palace as a place of both beauty and destruction. The imagery of the palace’s luxurious furnishings and the men’s longing for them contrasts with the potential danger of being trapped in the palace forever. Circe's palace is pictured to be scary and unsettling because the men wish to “not come here again”. The palace's eerie atmosphere is emphasized by the men’s desire to “not come here again”. The welcomeness of a palace or place in general is typically shown in the guest's desire to stay or not and just like the men if their desire leans on on leaving it frequently means the place is unpleasant. This adds to the sense of danger and uncertainty that surrounds the palace, as the men are unsure of what to expect from the palace’s unsettling