Siren's Song Margaret Atwood Analysis

Women have been denied their ability to work honestly and have been forced into many stereotypes, where the only power they have is the power of seduction. Which In Homer’s description of the Sirens’ song, Odysseus reacts with an arrogance, boasting the fact he can withstand the siren’s seduction while his crew follows his lead. His voice is what one would believe to be heroic as he gloats about how he survived his brush of death but this self-congratulating manner irritates Margaret Atwood to write the “Siren’s Song.” Through allusion to classical beliefs, she illuminates her own frustration at being confined to a stereotype of a seductress as portrayed in Homer’s poem, and through repetition, she plays upon the unfounded pride of men like Odysseus. In a passage from the Odyssey, Odysseus is faced with the task of navigating past the Sirens, whom supposedly no man can resist. But Odysseus can, he is able to triumph over the Sirens through his physical strength and superior intellect. Odysseus uses

The language of the poem, “this is the song everyone would like to learn,” suggest the mysteriousness of the Sirens, and of women, and the control they have of situations and the knowledge on how to create desire. The passage progresses, the tone is one of disdain, in line 10 the Atwood switches to reveal her desire to be free of her “bird suit,” of the Homer has painted in his poem, the role of temptress on the island. She is tired of squatting “looking picturesque and mythical.” The voice of the modern woman is hoping for release from the stereotypes of just appearance and beauty. And in line 19 the Siren addresses the reader, baiting him in with a promise of sharing her secret “only to you.” The poet pleads to the reader for help, for only he can free her from the constraint of her role as a