The Siren Song Analysis

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In the book the Odyssey, Odysseus is warned about four different obstacles in his way. Though he has learned this important information, he ends up telling his crew only one of the four obstacles. The obstacle is a group of sirens that sing to the crew of an on going ship and trick the men into jumping into the ocean to drown. The sirens also known as harpies, have the heads of females and the bodies of a bird. The poem states “ No one knows the songs sang by the sirens those who have heard it are either dead or have forgotten.” (Atwood 1)

The Siren song written by Margaret Atwood, informs, the reader the lyrics of the song that makes men jump overboard in squadrons. Written in 1974, The Siren Song was a reprint from Houghton Mifflin’s original poem. The poem gives the imagery of the sirens and the effects of the song. The song is irresistible to men because of the sirens crying for help to get out of their curse.

Margaret Atwood …show more content…

The men jump into the water because they want to help the sirens get what they want. The song tells the mind of the crew that they need to help the sirens get out of the nightmare causing the men to fall into the ocean. The imputed thought causes the men to forget the lyrics of the song by it not being their thought but the thought of the sirens. The sirens don’t play a magical song they hypnotize the minds of the men through the thought of deception.

The Siren Song informs readers about the song sang by the sirens. Yet it also has purpose outside of being part of the Odyssey. It can give different people different thoughts and mixed feelings about the Siren’s purpose, but it also can demonstrate many different life lessons. The painting and poem mainly create the purpose of the line everything has a bad side or that some things are to good to be true. Though keep in mind that this is just one of the many scenes in the Odyssey and their are many other scenes that give many other