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 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
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. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time.
In Margaret Atwood's poem, "Siren Sing" she uses a sarcastic tone to convey her her sinister and tempting message. Her poem is filled with a heavy feminist subtext, in which Atwood uses to exploits theses manipulative characteristics to seduce men. This poem is unique in its own nature because the speaker is talking on stereotypes that are represented by the myth of Sirens.
Typically, women are usually seen as passive, weak, helpless and yet dangerous to men trapping them in their kiddish seductive ways. This in terms is seen as ironic because its men compulsion to automatically act to be the hero and save, the women, which actually causes their own demises. The poem extends farther than its literal context. In a sense what the sirens represent is the poets and the sailors are the readers who are seduced by their message. In lines 4-5 it states," the song that forces men to leap overboard". Here the song is presented as a symbol of power which is used for the destruction of men.
Another ironic message in "Siren Song" is that she doesn't enjoy her song, which is evident when she says, "I don't enjoy singing this trio, fatal and valuable." All she like is the power behind it all which outweighs the boredom that she get from the song. The last two lines show how she feels about the song," by it being a boring song" " but it working every time" because of men temptations.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Follower Commentary
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed 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 back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In 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 the poem "Follower" by Seamus Heaney, the poet uses detailed description of hard work and labor to exhibit a fine tuned connection that him and his father had when he was young. Its obvious that the relationship between the father and son seems to be very strong and loving. To break down the poem, in the follower the son of the father in follows in his fathers footsteps and becomes a farmer similar to his dad but ironically, in the end the roles are switched so it's the father who is now following the son like he did when he was young.
In the first couple of stanzas the poet describes the line of work that his father does and set the scenery where he followed his father around. He is described as being an expert of his work to an extent where his horses follow his exact commands. The line "strained at his clicking tongue" shows the difficult job of the horses, and, it shows us how skilled Heaney's father really is. His father's strength and power are also brouhgt out through the simile of "His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow." This just add to hard working nature of his father.
The structure of this poem is very unique in its own ways because it is written in six stanzas of four lines each. The first four stanzas describe Heaney's respect for his father and his abilities to do hard work. The next five and a half lines shows how the poet wanted to grow up to be like his father and follow in his footstep. But in the end the poet feel as if he gets in the way of his father's work. Then there is an ironic twist in the last two lines where his father seemingly switched rolls with him nad now he is the hard working farmer and his dad is now the "follower."
My father worked with a horse plough,
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow.
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright-pointed sock.
The sod rolled over without breaking.
At the headrig, with a single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed 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 back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up and plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm.
All I ever did was follow
In 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 the poem "Follower" by Seamus Heaney, the poet uses detailed description of hard work and labor to exhibit a fine tuned connection that him and his father had when he was young. Its obvious that the relationship between the father and son seems to be very strong and loving. To break down the poem, in the follower the son of the father in follows in his fathers footsteps and becomes a farmer similar to his dad but ironically, in the end the roles are switched so it's the father who is now following the son like he did when he was young.
In the first couple of stanzas the poet describes the line of work that his father does and set the scenery where he followed his father around. He is described as being an expert of his work to an extent where his horses follow his exact commands. The line "strained at his clicking tongue" shows the difficult job of the horses, and, it shows us how skilled Heaney's father really is. His father's strength and power are also brouhgt out through the simile of "His shoulders globed like a full sail strung Between the shafts and the furrow." This just add to hard working nature of his father.
The structure of this poem is very unique in its own ways because it is written in six stanzas of four lines each. The first four stanzas describe Heaney's respect for his father and his abilities to do hard work. The next five and a half lines shows how the poet wanted to grow up to be like his father and follow in his footstep. But in the end the poet feel as if he gets in the way of his father's work. Then there is an ironic twist in the last two lines where his father seemingly switched rolls with him nad now he is the hard working farmer and his dad is now the "follower."
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Mid-Term Break Commentary
Mid-term Break
Séamus Heaney
I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At ten o'clock our neighbours drove me home.
In the porch I met my father crying -
He had always taken funerals in his stride -
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.
The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarrased
By old men standing up to shake my hand
And tell me they were 'sorry for my trouble';
Whispers informed strangers that I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand
In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.
Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,
Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple.
He lay in a four foot box, as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.
A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Séamus Heaney's "Mid-Term Break" is among the few poems that have really moved me. The writer uses many techniques including similes, metaphors to convey the somber and depressed situation of his brother's death. "Mid-Term Break" is a very controversial poem in which Séamus Heaney reflects on the demise of his little brother Christopher and explains what was going through his mind at that time.
In the poem Heaney travels home from school to attend the funeral of his 4-year old brother who was killed in a tragic accident. During the funeral Heaney is confronted with many issues that make him feel uncomfortable while he still struggles to accept the incident the death of his little brother.
Firstly, the poet only describes others feelings but does not describe his own. His father "had always taken funerals in his stride" .The way that the poet phrase this line is that as the funerals he attended were not that of his family but of other people’s, but this time, he even gave way to "crying" which reflects that he was deeply saddened by the event. Additionally, the poet describes Big Jim Evans to feel that the car incident to be a "hard blow". From a literal perspective, it shows of the impact of car hitting the little brother whereas metaphorically, the incident could also show the emotional blow. Overall, the poet did not seem to be too concerned about the death which this highlights the theme of a distanced relationship.
Secondly, the poet referred to his brother as a "baby" when he was already 4 years old. In line 18, the poet stated that it was the "first time in six weeks" he was seeing his brother. It suggests that the poet only had the fleeting memory of his brother as a baby and hardly ever sees him, therefore contributing largely to the fact that the poet was not grieving over his death because of their distanced relationship. The setting of the poem is also essential to its imagery too. In The line “Snowdrops/and candles soothed the bedside" I felt that the poet is attempting to make the situation seem less harsh, more pleasant, and peaceful.
In conclusion the poem's title suggests a holiday but this "break" does not happen for pleasant reasons. I thought that it suggests that the poem associate the death of his brother to that of a holiday, a day when he could get away from schoolwork, a day that he can enjoy. This also contributes to the theme of distanced family relationship where he views his brother's death as a break from work, as a holiday for him to enjoy.
Séamus Heaney
I sat all morning in the college sick bay
Counting bells knelling classes to a close.
At ten o'clock our neighbours drove me home.
In the porch I met my father crying -
He had always taken funerals in his stride -
And Big Jim Evans saying it was a hard blow.
The baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pram
When I came in, and I was embarrased
By old men standing up to shake my hand
And tell me they were 'sorry for my trouble';
Whispers informed strangers that I was the eldest,
Away at school, as my mother held my hand
In hers and coughed out angry tearless sighs.
At ten o'clock the ambulance arrived
With the corpse, stanched and bandaged by the nurses.
Next morning I went up into the room. Snowdrops
And candles soothed the bedside; I saw him
For the first time in six weeks. Paler now,
Wearing a poppy bruise on his left temple.
He lay in a four foot box, as in his cot.
No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear.
A four foot box, a foot for every year.
Séamus Heaney's "Mid-Term Break" is among the few poems that have really moved me. The writer uses many techniques including similes, metaphors to convey the somber and depressed situation of his brother's death. "Mid-Term Break" is a very controversial poem in which Séamus Heaney reflects on the demise of his little brother Christopher and explains what was going through his mind at that time.
In the poem Heaney travels home from school to attend the funeral of his 4-year old brother who was killed in a tragic accident. During the funeral Heaney is confronted with many issues that make him feel uncomfortable while he still struggles to accept the incident the death of his little brother.
Firstly, the poet only describes others feelings but does not describe his own. His father "had always taken funerals in his stride" .The way that the poet phrase this line is that as the funerals he attended were not that of his family but of other people’s, but this time, he even gave way to "crying" which reflects that he was deeply saddened by the event. Additionally, the poet describes Big Jim Evans to feel that the car incident to be a "hard blow". From a literal perspective, it shows of the impact of car hitting the little brother whereas metaphorically, the incident could also show the emotional blow. Overall, the poet did not seem to be too concerned about the death which this highlights the theme of a distanced relationship.
Secondly, the poet referred to his brother as a "baby" when he was already 4 years old. In line 18, the poet stated that it was the "first time in six weeks" he was seeing his brother. It suggests that the poet only had the fleeting memory of his brother as a baby and hardly ever sees him, therefore contributing largely to the fact that the poet was not grieving over his death because of their distanced relationship. The setting of the poem is also essential to its imagery too. In The line “Snowdrops/and candles soothed the bedside" I felt that the poet is attempting to make the situation seem less harsh, more pleasant, and peaceful.
In conclusion the poem's title suggests a holiday but this "break" does not happen for pleasant reasons. I thought that it suggests that the poem associate the death of his brother to that of a holiday, a day when he could get away from schoolwork, a day that he can enjoy. This also contributes to the theme of distanced family relationship where he views his brother's death as a break from work, as a holiday for him to enjoy.
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