Siren Song Margaret Atwood This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible.  the songs that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons                          5 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                                   10 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                     15 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.                                           20 Come closer. This song  is a cry for help: Help me! Only you, only you can, you are unique at last. Alas                                                      25 it is a boring song but it works every time. Questions 1.) What is the significance of the phrase "beached skulls"       in line 6? 2.) Explain the last stanza of the poem.

Analysis The speaker in this poem is a member of a group of Sirens who in Greek mythology were birds with women�s heads who had beautiful voices. With these voices, they would lure sailors to the island where no man ever left alive. The interpretation of the audience can vary from person to person. In the beginning of the poem, the audience seems to be an unsuspecting prey. However, the end of the poem could lead the reader to believe that the Siren is actually speaking to herself. The occasion is for the Siren to entice someone to fall into her trap. Although she may state that she despises the job of singing, she nevertheless continues to lure sailors to their deaths.  This poem is interesting because the Siren gives a warning in the beginning. She fully states that this song makes men go crazy enough to jump out of their boats towards the �beached skulls� (6). The phrase� beached skulls� is a synecdoche because the implied meaning is a dangerous beach. This phrase is particularly effective in the poem because the reader is able to visualize the dangerous island on which the Sirens reside. She then proceeds to state that this song has never been recorded because the listeners have either died or forgotten the song. The portion of third stanza that states �others can�t remember� (9) could be alluding to Odysseus who listened to the song of the Sirens but was roped to the boat in order to survive their deadly song.  Although she gives a warning, the Siren begins to toy with the prey by cunningly asking if they want to know a secret. In the next few stanzas, the Siren begins to sing of her feelings towards her eternal task. She states that she despises singing within the trio of Sirens of this tiresome song. She despises the island where she must constantly look pleasant and pleasurable. She asks the prey to come closer so they can hear the rest of her secret, which is a cry for help. The Siren begs the prey to �help her,� which is ironic because the prey is the one who truly needs help. The prey is stepping into a deadly trap. Then, in the last stanza, she states, �Alas it is a boring song but it works every time.�  The last stanza truly questions the validity of her requests for help. The last sentence could be directed towards the prey or to herself; the audience is not known. Regardless of the subject, the prey is doomed either way. The Siren was playing the prey for a fool throughout the whole poem. She was only telling the prey falsehoods in order to tempt the prey into her trap. The begging and the secret telling were only lures in order for her to catch the prey. She admits that the trap is a bit clich�, but she has achieved her goal and that is the most important part.

poem taken from Perrine's Sound and Sense: 10th Edition (2002).