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Margaret AtwoodA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
“Siren Song” by Margaret Atwood (1974)
This poem, from Atwood’s collection You Are Happy, is another dramatic monologue from a figure in Greek mythology. Circe is one of the half-bird sirens who seduces Odysseus’s men to “leap overboard” (Line 5) and drown. Here, Circe gives advice about “the song / that is irresistible” (Lines 2-3). Speaking to a man, Circe’s speech is similar to Helen’s whispers to her client: “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” (Lines 19-24). Circe admits “it is a boring song / but it works every time” (Lines 26-27), showing that she, like Helen, knows how to use her power to seduce men.
“Eurydice” by Margaret Atwood (1984)
First appearing in Interlunar (1984), “Eurydice” is part of a cycle of poems that center on the Greek myth of “Orpheus and Eurydice.” In the myth, the musician and demi-god Orpheus falls in love with the mortal Eurydice. After Eurydice tragically dies, a heartbroken Orpheus makes a bargain with Hades to rescue her from the Underworld.
By Margaret Atwood