Siren Song (Commentary)
Siren Song
This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:
the song that forces men
to leap overboard in squadron
seven though they see beached skulls
the song nobody knows
because anyone who had heard it
is dead, and the others can’t remember.
Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out 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 secret to 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.
Alasit is a boring songbut it works every time.
In Margre Atwoods "Siren song" can be interpreted as a conceit which states womens role with the term "bird suit." The song the speaker mentions is the sterotype of how women trap men in relationships, as it cause men to "leap overboard in squadrons." This gives women complete control, as men will do just about anything. The third stanza explains what the speaker wishes toto do to this sterotype, escaping from the "bird suit." I have interpreted this ambigious term as the cycle of the sterotype of women luring the men in. The emotions from the speaker can be considered sarcastic, as in the last two stanzasthe speaker repeats "only you can save me," which can be interpreted in two different ways.
One. the speaker is serious, and wants to make the reader feel special, and the reader must try to stop a sterotype that has been happening for 1000's of years. The other way it can be interpreted is that the tone is completely sarcastic, and the speaker is addressing how much she hates the sterotype. The structure of the poem also reminds me of a typical poem, because it consists of just a introduction, body, and a conclusion really. I belive that Atwoods did this on purpose to show the traditional style of writing, just like the traditional steryoptype in the poem.
One key feature I notice that the speaker wants this steotype to be gone is that the speaker uses diction specifically in the body pargraph, where she mentions that she doesn't wat the sterotype to exist anymore, using words such as "skulls", "dead", "fatal". These words had reminded me that the speaker wants to destroy the sterotype, because why else would margret atwood use these words? Also her diction is shown in the title "siren song" I believe that margret atwood choose this as a title, because the speaker wants the end the steroptype.
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough,His shoulders globed like a full sail strungBetween the shafts and the furrow.The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wingAnd fit the bright-pointed sock.The sod rolled over without breaking.At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned roundAnd back into the land. His eyeNarrowed and angled at the ground,Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,Fell sometimes on the polished sod;Sometimes he rode me on his backDipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was followIn his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away. Seamus Heaney
In Seamus Heaney "Follower," he presents a dramatic stanza change, imagery, diction, similie, and I believe the perfect title for this poem. Time progresses in ezch stanza, as it is the son at first following his father, but later on, the speaker shows that his father is th dependent one, since the son has grwon up to be the independent one: "I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away." This comes from the last stanza, empahsizing on the change in style Heaney writes this one as well, as nowthe ideas are short, and simple ideas. The diction is key in the last stanza too, as it should be noted that the speaker uses past tense, as " I was a nuisance...." showing time has passed, and the speaker is no longer following the father. Its also in the last stanza when the speaker mentions when he was the follower, but now notice that the father has become the follower I believe. as the roles are reversed because the father depends on the speaker since he's old. whew, I really liked this commentary.
I want to talk about the similie that describes how strong the speaker describes the father: "His shoulders globed like a full sail strung." Kind of a interesting image for me, as I picture that the speakers dad is more then capable being a farmer, showing that he is a good role model for his father. Its because that the speaker likes how strong he is, comparing it to his future job, I may be that thats where he got the inspiration from. End rhyme also plays a significant role in the poem as well, it connects the stanza, so that the reader is able to tie the ideas together with what the speaker is tring to say: plod and sod, always and away, etc. I thought that was interesting that seamus heaney included that in the poem
I really liked this commentary as I saw so much to described about the poem, found that endless amount of papers could be written about this poem, idk, or maybe I got more experiance in this time around. The structure, short ideas towards the end, similie, the title itself, all stood out to me like a flashing light. lol. well this is what should benoted in Seamus Heaneys "follower."
My father worked with a horse plough,His shoulders globed like a full sail strungBetween the shafts and the furrow.The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wingAnd fit the bright-pointed sock.The sod rolled over without breaking.At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned roundAnd back into the land. His eyeNarrowed and angled at the ground,Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake,Fell sometimes on the polished sod;Sometimes he rode me on his backDipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,To close one eye, stiffen my arm. All I ever did was followIn his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away. Seamus Heaney
In Seamus Heaney "Follower," he presents a dramatic stanza change, imagery, diction, similie, and I believe the perfect title for this poem. Time progresses in ezch stanza, as it is the son at first following his father, but later on, the speaker shows that his father is th dependent one, since the son has grwon up to be the independent one: "I was a nuisance, tripping, falling, Yapping always. But today It is my father who keeps stumbling Behind me, and will not go away." This comes from the last stanza, empahsizing on the change in style Heaney writes this one as well, as nowthe ideas are short, and simple ideas. The diction is key in the last stanza too, as it should be noted that the speaker uses past tense, as " I was a nuisance...." showing time has passed, and the speaker is no longer following the father. Its also in the last stanza when the speaker mentions when he was the follower, but now notice that the father has become the follower I believe. as the roles are reversed because the father depends on the speaker since he's old. whew, I really liked this commentary.
I want to talk about the similie that describes how strong the speaker describes the father: "His shoulders globed like a full sail strung." Kind of a interesting image for me, as I picture that the speakers dad is more then capable being a farmer, showing that he is a good role model for his father. Its because that the speaker likes how strong he is, comparing it to his future job, I may be that thats where he got the inspiration from. End rhyme also plays a significant role in the poem as well, it connects the stanza, so that the reader is able to tie the ideas together with what the speaker is tring to say: plod and sod, always and away, etc. I thought that was interesting that seamus heaney included that in the poem
I really liked this commentary as I saw so much to described about the poem, found that endless amount of papers could be written about this poem, idk, or maybe I got more experiance in this time around. The structure, short ideas towards the end, similie, the title itself, all stood out to me like a flashing light. lol. well this is what should benoted in Seamus Heaneys "follower."
Blackberry Picking Commentary.
In Seamus Heaney's "Blackberry Picking," the speaker constantly gives the reader images using taste, sight, as well as Heaneys carefully choosen diction. He uses colors such as red, green, grey,to show the reader different types of imagery in his metapphor. The structure of this poem also differs from his other poems such as Storm on the Island, Mid Term Break etc, which plays a significant role in the poem.
First off, I would like to talk about the colors Heaneys uses in "Blackberry Picking." He begins to describe the Blackberries such as the following "At first, just one, a glossy purple clotAmong others, red, green, hard as a knot." This gives a taste as well as a sight imagery as the reader can be able to see the color of the blackberry and being able to imagine the sweetness of the blackcherry. Another taste imagery that gives the blackberry's their sweet taste is inthese lines: "“hard as a knot." This shows how the speaker expresses the joy in able to pickthese ripe blackberries in his experiance when picking them. However later in the second stanza, the speakers describes the grapes as being :“a rat-grey fungus.” This completely shifts the imagery and tone of the poem as he gives a dull image withthe color grey, and descibes it as being a rat fungus like. That gives me a disgusting image, because rats are not that goodof animals, because they can give diseases.
The stanza structure by Heamus is the most important transition of the poem. He shifts from the blackberrys from being such a ripe and delicious taste type of imagery to the "rat-grey fungus" type. Now this transition indicates as how the season goes by, so does the sadness in his poem, by the blackberrys. He describes the juice in the blackberrys now as being "stinking" too in the second stanza. The speaker makes this distigiushen to be able to show that has times passes so does the lost of taste in the blackberrys. This could suggest more, symbolizing that the blackberries represent something more, as now they are corrupted as time passes. I am not sure if he means this with the blackberries, but I feel that the blackberries must represent something more for Heamus to be able to make this point in this poem.
Heamus was able use his diction of colors in his metaphors and similies, in order to establish the right kind of tone in each stanza. I also belive that the two sepreate are too create the effect as the time in summer comes to a conclusion, so does everything else that grows in that season dies off as well. I wish I could have other suggestion on what could the blackberries could represent in this poem. Or it mayjus be the speakers memory when he was young, but Seamus's poems appear way too simple then it actually seems. I think that he presented like this to tell that times changes things.
First off, I would like to talk about the colors Heaneys uses in "Blackberry Picking." He begins to describe the Blackberries such as the following "At first, just one, a glossy purple clotAmong others, red, green, hard as a knot." This gives a taste as well as a sight imagery as the reader can be able to see the color of the blackberry and being able to imagine the sweetness of the blackcherry. Another taste imagery that gives the blackberry's their sweet taste is inthese lines: "“hard as a knot." This shows how the speaker expresses the joy in able to pickthese ripe blackberries in his experiance when picking them. However later in the second stanza, the speakers describes the grapes as being :“a rat-grey fungus.” This completely shifts the imagery and tone of the poem as he gives a dull image withthe color grey, and descibes it as being a rat fungus like. That gives me a disgusting image, because rats are not that goodof animals, because they can give diseases.
The stanza structure by Heamus is the most important transition of the poem. He shifts from the blackberrys from being such a ripe and delicious taste type of imagery to the "rat-grey fungus" type. Now this transition indicates as how the season goes by, so does the sadness in his poem, by the blackberrys. He describes the juice in the blackberrys now as being "stinking" too in the second stanza. The speaker makes this distigiushen to be able to show that has times passes so does the lost of taste in the blackberrys. This could suggest more, symbolizing that the blackberries represent something more, as now they are corrupted as time passes. I am not sure if he means this with the blackberries, but I feel that the blackberries must represent something more for Heamus to be able to make this point in this poem.
Heamus was able use his diction of colors in his metaphors and similies, in order to establish the right kind of tone in each stanza. I also belive that the two sepreate are too create the effect as the time in summer comes to a conclusion, so does everything else that grows in that season dies off as well. I wish I could have other suggestion on what could the blackberries could represent in this poem. Or it mayjus be the speakers memory when he was young, but Seamus's poems appear way too simple then it actually seems. I think that he presented like this to tell that times changes things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
