Analysis of Ulysses and the Siren
Samuel Daniel 1562 (Taunton) – 1619
Siren. COME, worthy Greek! Ulysses, come,
Possess these shores with me:
The winds and seas are troublesome,
And here we may be free.
Here may we sit and view their toil
That travail in the deep,
And joy the day in mirth the while,
And spend the night in sleep.
Ulysses. Fair Nymph, if fame or honour were
To be attain'd with ease,
Then would I come and rest me there,
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.
Siren. Ulysses, O be not deceived
With that unreal name;
This honour is a thing conceived,
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.
Ulysses. Delicious Nymph, suppose there were
No honour nor report,
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 yields annoy.
Siren. Then pleasure likewise seems the shore
Whereto tends all your toil,
Which you forgo 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.
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.
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 wights
Receives more hurt than good.
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 changed for war.
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.
Scheme | ABABCDED FGHGXXCX IJIJKEKC FLHLMNMN OCOECPBP JGJGQRQR XXXXXXGX FKFKSXSO BXBHTUTU |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011010101 011111 01011100 011111 11110111 101001 01010101 010101 0101111110 110111 11110111 011111 11110111 110111 11011 011111 1001011101 11011 1110101 011101 01010101 1010101 0111101101 011111 01001010110 11101 111111 010101 11110101 1111101 011111 11101 101101101 11111 11011111 010101 11111 1101001 01110100 111101 01011010101 110101 01110001 111101 01011101 11001 11010111 111111 1011010101 1111101 11110101 110101 110111001 1011011 0111111 011111 01011011110 110101 0111011010 111111 1101101 011101 11110101 111111 1011010111 111111 0111111 011101 11111101 110111 11010101 1011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 2,336 |
Words | 422 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 72 |
Letters per line (avg) | 24 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 192 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 47 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 30, 2023
- 2:07 min read
- 153 Views
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"Ulysses and the Siren" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/34164/ulysses-and-the-siren>.
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