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Chávez Campos Diana Priscila Emiliano Gutiérrez Popoca Inglés Prefacultativo 17th January !"1#
Critical Commentary “Circe/Mud Poems” by Margaret Atwood is a series of poems written in free verse1, which are a contemporary take on the myth of dysseus and Circe in the Odyssey seen Odyssey seen from her point of view! Circe was a witch"goddess, daughter of the #un, who $ived on an is$and! %er house was surrounded by beasts that she had tamed with her trickery and, inside it, there were caged pigs who had former$y been men! &n the poem, Circe addresses 'and (uestions' dysseus through the use of descriptions and changes in the time tenses) p$aying the ro$e of a harsh speaker that bitter$y rete$$s her own myth! *he diction used in the first part of the poem is straightforward, a$most b$unt) and it is a$so main$y composed of descriptions and statements! *he use of words such as “stupid” and “the usua$” denote certain bitterness toward dysseus! Circe even accuses him of being a $iar+ “pretending to be 'what A survivor” -$ine .! &t is to be remarked that a$though dysseus is known for his wit, which not uncommon$y inc$uded $ying, Circe gives it a negative connotation, for in $ines 0"00, she states+ “your mind, you say, / is $ike your hands, hands, vacant+ vacant+ / vacant vacant is not innocent innocent”! ”! *hus, *hus, through through a descri descripti ption on of his state state and actions, dysseus is b$amed for his decisions! 2ecisions and actions that, unti$ then, had been 3ustified and produced by his fate+ the destiny dictated by the gods! As for the second part of the poem, the diction is no $onger b$unt! Metaphors and simi$es simi$es are used to describe describe the goddess4 goddess4 temp$es, temp$es, where “tongues of the dark / speak $ike
1 For the purpose of this commentary, however, only the stanzas included in the Appendix will be taken in consideration.
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bones un$ocking” -5, 6! *here is a$so a change in the tenses+ the initia$ descriptions are main$y to$d in the past tense, especia$$y those of dysseus4 arriva$, portraying his character on a physica$ $eve$, whereas the present tense used from $ine 15 onwards conveys a more abstract $eve$+ his common actions are described and (uestioned, such as the ki$$ing and the $ying! &n addition to this, there is a change of tone between the two parts of the poem! &n the first one, as it has been said, the statements are the main component and they serve the function of either reaffirming Circe4s innocence or dec$aring dysseus4 fau$ts! *he poem itse$f starts with Circe4s statement+ “& made no choice / & decided nothing” -1, 0! *his serves as a 3ustification to Circe4s actions that are genera$$y viewed as vi$$ainous in the Odyssey, such as turning dysseus4 crew into pigs and keeping him $ocked down in her house for a $ong time! &ronica$$y, she sti$$ accuses dysseus of his $ack of se$f" determination in the second part of the poem+ “*here must be more for you to do / than permit yourse$f to be shoved / by the wind from coast / to coast” -1"7+ she is innocent because she did not decide anything, but he is gui$ty of $etting himse$f be shoved by his destiny! &t is in the second part as we$$ where Circe4s speech changes to an imperative tone, for she coa8es dysseus to ponder about his actions! *his stan9a is a$so accompanied by metaphors that $ead to the fina$ (uestion+ the future! A future that, according to Circe, dysseus wi$$ not be$ieve in+ “ask who keeps the wind / ask what is sacred” -11, 10! As these stan9as go on, there is another change in the tone now that Circe is (uestioning the hero4s actions+ “2on4t you get tired of wanting / to $ive forever” -1:, 1.! *his is another e8amp$e of the centra$ theme+ fate, to which the diction and tone throughout the poem are re$ated! Circe constant$y refers to decisions and p$ans, such as her first statements, the 3ourney dysseus “p$anned” and the rhetorica$ (uestions she asks!
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*here is even a tone of reproach towards dysseus4 ki$$ings, despite the fact that ki$$ing was a common action for ;reek heroes! %owever, her main reproach -if may we ca$$ it that is directed to dysseus $etting himse$f “be shoved by the wind”, a$ways going forwards+ “2on4t you get tired of saying nward” -15! r, as it was previous$y said, his $ack of se$f"determination! &n conc$usion, “Circe/Mud Poems” is the rete$$ing of a myth 'the encounter of dysseus and Circe in the Odyssey ' that has Circe as the speaker and whose tone and diction are bitter due to the (uestions she asks, which due to their rhetoric nature, have no answer and therefore $ead to a fee$ing of tiredness!
$ppen%i& 'Circe()u% Poems* +y )argaret $t,oo%
& made no choice & decided nothing
ne day you simp$y appeared in your stupid boat, your ki$$er=s hands, your dis3ointed body, 3agged
Chávez as a shipwreck,
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skinny"ribbed, b$ue"eyed, scorched, thirsty, the usua$, pretending to be" what a survivor
*hose who say they want nothing want everything! &t was not this greed
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that offended me, it was the $ies!
?everthe$ess & gave you the food you demanded for the 3ourney you said you p$anned) but you p$anned no 3ourney and we both knew it!
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@ou=ve forgotten that, you made the right decision! *he trees bend in the wind, you eat, you rest you think of nothing, your mind, you say,
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is $ike your hands, vacant+
vacant is not innocent!
*here must be more for you to do than permit yourse$f to be shoved by the wind from coast to coast to coast, boot on the boat prow to ho$d the wooden body
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Chávez under, sou$ in contro$
Ask at my temp$es where the moon snakes, tongues of the dark #peak $ike bones un$ocking, $eaves fa$$ing of a future you won=t be$ieve in
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ask who keeps the wind ask what is sacred
2on=t you get tired of ki$$ing those whose deaths have been predicted and are therefore dead a$ready
2on=t you get tired of wanting to $ive forever
2on=t you get tired of saying nward
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