The speaker is one of the three sirens, which in this poem points to Greek mythology. In the mythology, the three sirens that lived on an island were known to be half bird, half woman creatures whose songs were so appealing, that men could not resist following the music to their islands, only to find themselves destroyed. Atwood uses the feminist analysis in this “Siren Song” to expose the importance of women’s power and integrity from a female’s point of view. The speaker in this poem detests her job as a siren, insisting that she is helpless and discontented with her life. “I don’t enjoy it here, squatting on this island” (13-14).
The attitude in Atwood’s Siren Song by Margret Atwood is captured by an image of the sirens described as “picturesque and mythical.” Atwood draws her readers in by having the sirens use their sex appeal to lure in men and force them to “leap overboard in squadrons.” She then goes on and gives the readers the assumption that the sirens are bored with their beauty, and are almost sickened with the same routine and outcome. “Shall I tell you the secret, and if I do will you get me out of this bird suit?” that implies that the sirens are bored. We see that the song is “irresistible and anyone who has heard it is dead or can’t remember it.” This makes us as readers more interested. The sirens trick men with their beautiful song, and lure them into their deadly
Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song” is an interpretation derived from the Greek mythology of sirens and the ability of an individual siren to attract by passers. The poem depicts the desire of what one cannot have with the sirens; although the temptations of this siren song are extremely attractive, the reality is that the siren does not reciprocate the same need for the man and is therefore an untouched figure. The overall message of the poem is to convey that desires come in such temptations, which are impossible to resist and man falls for the traps, irrespective of the knowledge that there are consequences. The poem begins with the first stanza simply stating that the siren song is “irresistible” (3). This diction at the beginning of the poem communicates the idea of temptation being strong and powerful.
Alex figured if she thinks im good looking mabey she will love me tonight. And sarah figured if she could avoid love it would go away and all guys were jerks. In the end they both relize there ways of logic towards love were off. So due to those common mistakes many individuals lack the ability to go out and find that special one. They just sit back and watch as another man who will mistreat that girl come in and ruin all hope.
“Novacane” is his way of escaping the pain he feels for her. The reason Ocean feels numb is that the woman whom he fell in love with left him. Now there is no other woman who can match her appearance and personality. A line from the song that supports this case is, “Pretty girls involved with me. Makin’ pretty love to me pretty, pity pity.” It is a pity that even though plenty of pretty girls are making love to him, he still can’t get the dentist girl out of his mind.
The poet uses sibilance between her ‘filthy snakes’ as hair and the hissing and spitting of her thoughts to exaggerate the link between the Greek goddess (associated with snakes) and the speaker. During the narrator of Les grand Seigneurs’ early relationships she believed she was higher than men and ruled over them and describes herself as ‘their queen’. Although she once enjoyed this, it may have led her to believe it would always be that way, so when she married it emphasised the contrast between married and single life and her role in them. Her belief of the permanence of the role of men in her life is shown through the poet’s use of metaphorical descriptions such as ‘castellated towers’ and ‘sailing ships’ which are both stable and solid. In contrast to the previously confident authoritive figure in Les Grand Seigneurs the narrator of Medusa describes herself as fragrant and young suggesting naivety and vulnerability towards men at the end of the poem regarding her earlier life.
I believe Gertrude from Hamlet, is a depthless individual who only thinks about her body and external pleasures. Like a child, she longs to be charmed and delighted by the men in her life. Gertrude is also a very sexual woman, and her sexuality may have been the reason that Hamlet turned so violently against her. Hamlet was already outraged with his mother for her marrying his uncle just a short time after his father's death. “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, with witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts, -- O wicked wit, and gifts that have the power so to seduce!--won to his shameful lust the will of my most seeming-virtuous queen.”
(Aeschylus 116). Intelligence and cleverness, while celebrated in a man, are threatening characteristics in a woman. In the palace of Argos, Clytaemnestra has been having an open affair with Aegisthus. The chorus, who acts as the voice of the common man, and therefore the voice of morality, condemn her for this affair even though it is common practice for men in ancient Greece to have many extramarital affairs themselves. In this way Aeschylus overlooks the double standards placed upon the women of the time period, but he also, perhaps unwittingly, sets up Clytaemnestra as the antagonist of the plays.
He and his men fit the stereotype of men overcoming their feelings, at times hiding their fright and doubts about the journeys ahead. Within the tale of the Odyssey men are also weak to the enchantment of women; they are easily seduced even when they might not love the female character. Take for example when Ulysses falls subject to the charm of the legendary sirens (Homer, 800 B.C.E) he begs his men to let him loose of the ship’s mast in order to be able to get to the sirens. In a way men are looked at as weak when it comes to the female human flesh, this is not only true within The Odyssey but in real life as well. Overall the men in this narrative are very confident because no matter what they believe they will make it home without regard to the roughness of the situation they might find themselves in; this is especially true about Ulysses who is the leader of most of the males.
A feminist point of view would find these women to be flawed, for they cannot survive without the assistance of a man. The book tells the story of a “manly life” in first person dialogue. Considering every female Odysseus encounters “falls in love” with, we can equate that he makes his own problems based off of his ego. In a way, the Odyssey is not just the tale of the wanderings of Odysseus. The poet has made it into a type of descriptive catalog of women, in which he examines women of all kinds and from all backgrounds through objectification.