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Study Guide Prepared by
Michael J. Cummings..©
2011
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Type
of Work and Date of Publication......."Ulysses
and the Siren" is a poem that presents a dialogue between the title characters.
One may categorize the work as a dramatic poem in that it resembles a scene
in a stage drama. G. Eld printed the poem in London in 1605 for publisher
Simon Waterson as part of Certaine Small Poems Lately Printed: With
the Tragedie of Philotas.
Background
on Ulysses (Odysseus) and the Sirens
.......Ulysses
was the name used by the ancient Romans, as well as by many writers of
later times, to refer to the Greek hero Odysseus. Readers of The
Illiad and The Odyssey
will remember that it was Odysseus who designed the gigantic wooden horse
that brought about the fall of Troy and the end of the Trojan War. While
sailing home to Greece as a conquering hero, Odysseus and his men encountered
many perils at sea, including the sirens.
.......The
sirens lived on an island in the Mediterranean region. These sea nymphs
sang a song so enchanting that it lured sailors on passing ships to the
shore. There, the sailors sat and listened until they starved to death.
.......The
most famous of the stories about the sirens is in Book XII of Homer's Odyssey,
which centers on the adventures of Odysseus on his voyage home to Ithaca,
Greece, from the Trojan War. Forewarned of the danger the sirens posed,
Odysseus ordered his men to plug their ears with wax. But the ever-curious
Odysseus wished to hear the sirens' song. So, rather than plug his ears,
he had his men tie him to a mast as his ship approached the island of the
sirens. The song was beautiful, and it offered new knowledge about the
world. The sirens entreated Odysseus to come to their island.
Oh cease thy course,
and listen to our lay!
Blest is the man ordain'd
our voice to hear,
The song instructs the soul,
and charms the ear.
Approach! thy soul shall
into raptures rise!
Approach! and learn new
wisdom from the wise!
(Book XII, Odyssey;
Alexander Pope, translator)
.......When
Odysseus struggled to free himself, his men further secured him to the
mast. Later, after the island was far behind them, the men released Odysseus
and unplugged their ears.
.......In
another myth, the sirens attempted to lure the crew of the Argo—the
ship carrying Jason and the Golden Fleece. But one crewman, the highly
skilled musician Orpheus, played his lyre so beautifully that the others
aboard listened to his music rather than the sirens' song. Consequently,
the ship sailed on without incident.
.......In
the tales about the sirens, storytellers sometimes described them as part
woman and part bird. However, writers interpreting the tales frequently
depicted the sirens as mermaids or young women. Samuel Daniel presents
them as seductive sea nymphs.
.......
According to one myth, the sirens killed themselves because of their failure
to attract Odysseus, as well as Orpheus, Jason, and the crew of the Argo. Summary
.......
A siren tries to persuade Ulysses to come to her island for a respite from
the dangers of the sea. Ulysses declines, saying he cannot win fame and
honor in leisure. He must keep to his course. The siren scorns honor, saying
it was conceived only as a barrier to achieving the real prize: peace and
contentment.
.......
Ulysses counters that toil—not idleness—brings joy. If he seeks joy through
toil, the siren argues, why does he not accept joy without the toil? There
are many ways to amuse himself on her island. Ulysses says he takes as
much pleasure in toil and danger as she does in ease. His view, she says,
results from the way he was reared in society. Waging war, one of his pursuits,
causes “more hurt than good" (line 56), she says. It is better to go to
war, Ulysses says, than to seek a “wicked peace" (line 63).
.......
Unable to lure Ulysses to her, the siren says she will come to him and
then either undo him or be undone.
Text
of the Poem
SIREN
Come, worthy Greek! Ulysses,
come,
Possess those shores with
me!
The winds and seas are troublesome,
And here we may be free!
Here we may sit and view
their toil
That travail in the deep,
And joy the day in mirth
the while,
And spend the night in sleep..........................8
ULYSSES
Fair nymph! if fame or honor
were
 To
be attained with ease,
Then would I come and rest
with thee,
And leave such toils as
these.
But here it dwells, and
here must I
With danger seek it forth:
To spend the time luxuriously
Becomes not men of worth.............................16
SIREN
Ulysses, O be not deceiv'd
With that unreal name,
This honour is a thing conceiv'd,
And rests on others' fame.
Begotten only to molest
Our peace, and to beguile
The best thing of our life—our
rest,
And give us up to toil......................................24
ULYSSES
Delicious Nymph, suppose
there were
No honour, nor report,1
Yet manliness would scorn
to wear
The time in idle sport;
For toil doth give a better
touch
To make us feel our joy,
And ease finds tediousness
as much
As labour finds annoy.....................................32
SIREN
Then pleasure, likewise,
seems the shore
Whereto tends all your toil,
Which you forego to make
it more,
And perish oft the while.
Who may disport them diversely,
Find never tedious day,
And ease may have variety,
As well as action may.....................................40
ULYSSES
But natures of the noblest
frame
These toils and dangers
please;
And they take comfort in
the same
As much as you in ease;
And with the thought of
actions past
Are recreated still:
When Pleasure leaves a touch
at last,
To show that it was ill......................................48
SIREN
That doth Opinion only cause,
That's out of Custom bred,
Which makes us many other
laws
Than ever Nature did.
No widows wail for our delights,
Our sports are without blood;
The world we see by warlike
wights2
Receives more hurt than
good...........................56
ULYSSES
But yet the state of things
require
These motions of unrest;
And these great Spirits
of high desire
Seem born to turn them best:
To purge the mischiefs that
increase,
And all good order mar,
For oft we see a wicked
peace
To be well chang'd for war.................................64
SIREN
Well, well, Ulysses, then
I see
I shall not have thee here:
And therefore I will come
to thee,
And take my fortune there.
I must be won, that cannot
win,
Yet lost were I not won;
For beauty hath created
been
T' undo, or be undone.......................................72
Notes
1...report:
fame.
2...wights:
persons.
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End
Rhyme.......The
rhyme scheme of the poem is ababcdcd, as the first stanza demonstrates.
Come, worthy Greek!
Ulysses, come,
Possess those shores with
me!
The winds and seas are troublesome,
And here we may be free!
Here we may sit and view
their toil
That travail in the deep,
And joy the day in mirth
the while,
And spend the night in sleep.
Internal
Rhyme
.......The
poem also contains internal rhyme, as in the following lines.
And here
we may be
free! (line 4)
And leave
such toils as these (line 12)
The best
thing of our life—our rest (line 23)
And these great Spirits
of high desire
T' undo,
or be undone
Verse
FormatThe verse format alternates
between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, as the first four lines
demonstrate.
........1......................2...............3...............4
Come, WOR..|..thy
GREEK!..|..U
LYS..|..ses,
COME,
.......1.....................2.....................3
Pos SESS..|..those
SHORES..|..with
ME!
.........1..................2...................3.................4
The WINDS..|..and
SEAS..|..are
TROUB..|..le
SOME,
.......1.................2...............3
And HERE..|..we
MAY..|..be
FREE!
Themes
Quest for Fame and Honor
.......In
Daniel's poem, Ulysses' desire for fame and honor—twin prizes of great
adventurers—is so strong that he is able to withstand the lure of the siren's
song.
Temptation
.......Temptation
is ever present in life to entice people away from their tasks and goals.
For example, temptation may appear in the form of a drug that, like the
siren, promises pleasure and happiness but actually leads only to ruin.
Figures
of Speech
Alliteration
The winds and seas
are troublesome (line 3)
Whereto
tends
all your toil (line 34)
The world
we see by warlike
wights (line 55)
Metaphor
Then pleasure, likewise,
seems the shore
Whereto tends all your toil
(lines 33-34)
Comparison of pleasure
to a shore
That doth Opinion only cause,
That's out of Custom bred,
Which makes us many other
laws
Than ever Nature did. (lines
49-52)
Comparison of Custom
to a lawmaker
Paradox
Then pleasure, likewise,
seems the shore
Whereto tends all your toil,
Which you forego to make
it more (lines 33-35)
The siren says Ulysses
foregoes pleasure to increase pleasure
Personification
manliness would
scorn to wear (line 27)
Manliness, a quality,
becomes a person who scorns
 Study
Questions and Essay Topics
1...Write
an essay that explains who Ulysses (Greek: Odysseus) was. Be sure to include
references to The Iliad and The
Odyssey.
2...Give
several examples of modern sirens, such as illegal drugs, that lure people
to ruination.
3...Write
a poem or an essay about your own encounter with sirens (temptation).
4...List
additional examples of alliteration besides those mentioned above.
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