Writing Class Project: Comment on this Poem

[DeathBug]

[color=indigo][font=century][size=1]So, my AP Lit teacher assigned us a poetry project, and part of that project involves showing the poem that we selected to a different audience and getting their feedback on it.

The "other audience" can't be a student, though, and I didn't want to be like every other kid in class who's going to ask their parents.

So, I'm asking the most interesting "other audience" I could think of: the poet and critics of OtakuBoards. ^__^

The poem is called Siren Song, and it's by Margaret Atwood. It's reproduced here:

This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistable:


the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see the beached skulls


the song nobody knows
because anyone who has heard it
is dead, and the others can't remember.


Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
our of this bird suit?


I don't enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical


with these two feathery maniacs,
I don't enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.


I will tell the secretto you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song


is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique


at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.



copyright 1976 by Margaret Atwood


Anyway, any comments or thoughts someone wanted to share on the poem would be appreciated. Bear in mind that my final report will include a link to this page, so please don't post anything you don't want an AP Lit teacher reading.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to help out. ^__^[/color][/font][/size]

[Bandit Joeykuba]

Ah, sweet sirens. I remember thee well from The Odyssey.

I like this poem, it's the first time I have read/heard of it and I find it quite enjoyable. It's simple to read/comprehend.

[Brasil]

Quick note before I write the quick interpretation. DeathBug, "other students" are OBers, as well. I would think 99% of the OB populace here is comprised of students. You might want to double-check with your instructor about the "other students" phrase.

Now, Siren Song.

I think the most interesting aspect of this piece is the fact that one of the Sirens is speaking directly to us. That allows for a much more personal experience. It opens up for a new perspective on the Siren Lore. The disgruntled Siren is played as a sympathetic character through much of the poem, and this is an interesting twist, as Sirens are considered villains in many respects. I have long been intrigued by a sympathetic villain. Verbal Kint is certainly a sympathetic villain, who uses words and a soft voice to achieve his goals. We could say that Verbal Kint manipulates those around him through the story he tells.

While Verbal Kint may not have been directly influenced by the legend, the similarities are striking.

Throughout the poem, the Siren is almost sorrowful. We know better than to say it, but she almost seems regretful. She presents herself as a victim of circumstance; those other two are the real killers. They made me do it, she relates. But did the other two [i]really[/i] force her to do anything?

I propose that the other two are the innocents in this poem.

[quote]I don't enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical


with these two feathery maniacs,
I don't enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.[/quote]

When someone is guilty, they certainly try to shift the blame. That tactic is not a modern-day exclusive, either. Roman Emperors were known to pull treachery to cover their tracks; Senates were bribed, people were murdered in their homes. As cruel as those actions were, their artistic quality is admirable.

But back to the Sirens.

[quote]is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique[/quote]

She is playing the sympathy card. Something isn't right about this.

[quote]at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.[/quote]

She is the real evil of the trio.

Like Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects, the narrator in Siren Song presents a twist on perspective. This twist is a literal one, surprisingly. We feel sorry for the narrator and wish that she could escape "squatting on this island, looking picturesque and mythical." She has a rough time there. No, that's not entirely true. She [i]says[/i] that she has a rough time there. But she is far from a reliable narrator, just purely because she is the lead Siren.

And this brings in another point. How trusting can we let ourselves be of a narrator, or one who is relating a story? If we look up to someone, admire them, we are inclined to believe every word they say. But that is not intelligent. That is being controlled by our emotions.

Simply, we must force ourselves to use logic when reading. We cannot be fooled by an unreliable narrator who is fabricating the truth as he or she sees fit.


How was that for 1 am?