This scene relies on a fast tempo and vivid imagery to create a strong sense of suspense and action. Odysseus and his crew have to sail through a strait that is guarded by the Sirens who no man has ever heard and resisted. Homer shows Odysseus’ clever response through action, preventing his men from hearing by plugging their ears with beeswax and having himself tied down. The reader get create a mental picture of Odysseus fastened to the center mast on a small galley with men all around him rowing hard into the choppy surf. The choice of “lashed” instead of tied or “churned the whitecaps” instead of pushed through the waves creates a more vivid idea of the actio, drawing on the reader’s own experiences with viscerally lashing a rope and the