Comparing The Odyssey And Margaret Atwood's Siren Song

Both Homer’s epic The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song” underscore the enchanting but deadly temptation of the alluring, mythical Siren’s. While both poems incorporate first-person points of view, their perspectives, as well as their tones, differ drastically. The former, making use of aggressive diction, and the latter, making use of subtle diction, shows the difference between objectivized and humanizing women and men. Although the tones of the passages are thoroughly different, the overall deception and ingenuity is used in both. Odysseus is much aware of the threat of the Siren’s and he is invigorating to try to resist their “enchanting but deadly song.” The tone of Homer’s passage is strong and electrifying, which is a masculine feature for the most part. “High, thrilling song… Ravishing voices… Helios’ burning rays…” are all examples that embellish this particular tone. Then there is Atwood’s’ poem, that displays a manipulative and devious tone. “Come closer, come closer… Anyone who’s heard the song is dead…” each express the tone clearly as well. However, Homer’s words are longing and masculine, where Atwood’s are feminine, showing frustration and acts of …show more content…
In Homer’s passage, he describes Odysseus’ actions more in depth that the Sirens’ do. Therefore, the Sirens’ have the point of view of themselves as an actual “siren”, where The Odyssey is put into perspective of Odysseus. As Odysseus stated, “Thy heart inside me throbbed”, shows the point of view in his outlook towards the Sirens’ actions. Then, in the Siren Song, the author states, “Shall I tell you the secret” which states that the Sirens’ are talking to their opponent. Although both are said in the 1st person Point of View, both author’s writing is different through a form of masculine and feminine views, therefore, they are visibly different in several