Margaret Atwood is widely known for her hidden ideas within her poems. The "Siren Song- is no exception, and figuratively, is a good example of contemporary women. The structure of the poem is precise in that there are three lines per stanza, three stanzas split by two turning points. Overall there are three sections. The frequent use of the number three illustrates that there are three sirens. Atwood's ingeniousness with structure assists the reader in realizing the idea in which she wanted to implant in the mind. Essentially, the characters of Homer are used to discuss a social dispute, how women manipulate men. .
In the first stanza, Margaret Atwood mentions "the one song everyone would like to learn- (lines 1-2). Its significance is the way the poet applies "learn- and not "listen to- or "hear- which implies that there is something to be learned.
In the mythological story of the Sirens, sailors leap to their deaths as they hear the infamous song. The second stanza highlights the idea that this poem encrypts a message about males. The third line, "even though they see the beached skulls- basically has two meanings. It is used to show how modern men neglect women's past lovers and believe they can change things, even though their predecessors have failed before them. This mindset of males becomes vital in the later parts of the poem. "The beach skulls- is also a synecdoche of the whole beach in which the Sirens rule for they live in seclusion because of their plague. .
The third stanza shows the results of hearing the Sirens' song. "The song nobody knows/ because anyone who has heard it/ is dead, and others can't remember-. This stanza mentions "others can't remember- and it alludes to Odysseus, the lone survivor of the Siren Song. He survived only for the reason that he was roped to the ship he captained. Throughout the first three stanzas we can infer that the song is "irresistible- and attractive, but also deathly and destructive.
