Margaret Atwood’s “Siren Song”

This poem was really interesting to read. It was difficult for me to figure out what the author meant by sirens in the poem but when I looked up the information on Greek elements as the instructor said, I was able to break down what the author meant by that. I actually sirens are mythical figures whose enchanting voices lure sailors to their death. In this poem, Margaret Atwood uses sirens to draw a comparison between the myths and normal (modern) life. Men have always been victims of sirens in Greek myths the same way they are for women in the real life. So the role of the sirens in Greek myths is played in real life by women. In the Greek myths every man wants to hear the irresistible song sang by sirens the same way every man wants to have a woman in a real life.
The poem was interesting though because I could see the way Greek people interpret their myths.


Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “Ulysses

Honestly that was a hard story to analyze. Even with the help of the research of Greek elements I was not able to figure out what was this story about. It uses some weird words that I have never heard before and it makes the story really difficult to interpret.
But anyways all I did catch is that Ulysses was great King who married an aged woman. he became unsatisfied with his life as a king of Ithaca; I wonder how come a king be unsatisfied.
He fought the Trojans for years and tried to return home after the battle (I guess that is the main point of the story).He completed his journey back home but still felt like he wanted to get back to his life.
He felt like he is in duty with his country because he wanted to die as an hero instead of as a king.

William Butler Yeats’s “Leda and the Swan”

This poem is about a young lady called Leda who is being raped by a big bird (swan). According to the Geek myths, the God Zeus, now in form of a big swan t raped Leda. Actually he did because he wanted to finish with one are. In the end she hatched three eggs, the broken wall, the burning roof and tower and Agamemnon. This three eggs represent the three opponents of the Trojan's war, Clytemnestra and Helen and the war-gods Castor and Polydeuces.
What I saw in this three poem is that they are connected with the Greek myths. It was appealing to see the way things were interpret in the past mainly in the Greek's culture.