Poetry Timed Writing: Sirens

                Within the excerpts from the Odyssey and Siren Song, the authors describe the Sirens from two different points of view. While each text acknowledges the enticing nature of the Sirens’ song, the differing perspectives show that although the song may be irresistible to the listener, the song can also become boring to the singer.

                The excerpt from the Odyssey depicts the Sirens as completely irresistible. Odysseus is aware that he is about to encounter the island where the Sirens live, so he prepares for the encounter: “I stopped the ears of my comrades one by one” (7). The extensive preparation Odysseus goes through shows that he is aware of the danger of the Sirens’ song. However, Odysseus still finds the song irresistible: “the heart inside me throbbed to listen longer” (20). Even though Odysseus knows what will come of him if he goes to the Sirens’ island, he still wants to venture to the island upon hearing the song. The text shows that the Sirens are very dangerous and extremely enticing at the same time. The listener is powerless to the hold the song has over to the people who hear the music.

                 Unlike the excerpt from the Odyssey, Sirens Song portrays the Sirens are bored and disinterested. The reader learns that the poem is told from the point of view of a Siren when the speaker of the poem asks, “if I do, will you get me/ out of this bird suit?” (11-12). The speaker is aware of the danger of the song because the music “forces men / to leap over squadrons / even though they see the beached skull” (5-6). The image of men racing to hear the songs even though there is physical proof that people have died on the island shows the dangerous power of the song. The strong hold the song has over most men directly contrasts the speaker’s last sentence: “Alas / it is a boring song / but it works every time” (25-27). The speaker displays a very disinterested tone; the outcome of the song is so obvious that the whole situation has become boring. Although the boredom in the speaker’s tone contrasts the power of the Sirens’ song, the poem shows that the song is not enticing to the singer. Rather, the song is a boring ritual that has become routine.

                All in all, the two texts show that the Sirens’ songs are not only dangerous to the listener because men are unable to resist the music, but the songs are also a boring routine to the ones who sing the song. Thus, the Sirens are portrayed as dangerous, irresistible, and altogether disinterested in the mayhem caused by the music.