“Ulysses and Calypso” by Edward Robeson Taylor
For that they slew the cattle of the Sun
Ulysses' comrades sank to death while he,
Borne on the billows of the friendly sea,
Calypso's lovely isle in safety won;
Where filled with soothing rest his days did run
To murmurous music's luring notes as she
Bound him in coils of such captivity,
That but for Zeus his soul had been undone.
The God's decree the enamored nymph obeyed,
And helped the hero as his raft he made,
While brimmed her heart with desolation's tears.
His glimmering sail she watched till in the sea's
Great void 'twas lost, then moaned because her years
Were not as mortal as Penelope's.
Edward Robeson Taylor was born on September 24, 1838 in Springfield, Illinois. He was the only son of Henry West Taylor and Mary Thaw of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the 28th Mayor of San Francisco serving from July 16th, 1907 to January 7th, 1910. Before his office in mayor, he was a lawyer, physician, and a poet in California. Taylor died in San Francisco, California on July 5, 1923.
The poem is consisted of 14 lines and a single stanza. The rhyme scheme of the first 6 lines in the poem can be interpreted as ABBAAB; from lines 7 and 8 there are no connections in the rhyme scheme of the poem so it is CD. Throughout lines 9 to 14 the rhyme is read as EEFGFG.
“Ulysses and Calypso” is actually about the mythological story of Ulysses’ journey home to his kingdom in Ithaca. He is washed ashore on Calypso’s island after his ship was destroyed by a thunderbolt and becomes the sole survivor of his crew. Ulysses' comrades sank to death while he (line 3) Borne on the billows of the friendly sea (line 4) Calypso's lovely isle in safety won (line 5). When Ulysses is in the island he The voice in this poem belongs to the narrator or the author himself, Edward Robeson Taylor. The story itself and the events of Ulysses being held captive at Calypso’s island are told in this poem.
The symbols shown in the poem are sun, death, sea, zeus, soul, god, nymph, hero, heart, great void, and mortal. The sun is according to the Dictionary of Symbolism, “the absolute cosmic power; it represents knowledge, warmth, glory, and splendor.” Death is internationally associated with pain, sorrow, grief, despair, darkness, and the end of life. The sea is symbolic for being the “known quantities of life”, according to the Dictionary of Symbolism.
Works Cited Sources:
"Edward Robeson Taylor." Wikipedia.org Web. January 26, 2010. April 19, 2010.
"Edward Robeson Taylor." Freebase.com Web. November13, 2008. April 19, 2010.
Hunter, James. "Odysseus." Pantheon.org Web. March 3, 1997. April 19, 2010.
Dictionary of Symbolism. University of Michigan Fantasy and Science Fiction Website. 2001. Web. April 19, 2010.
Taylor, Robeson Edward. "Ulysses and Calypso." BlackCatPoems.com Web. 2007. April 19, 2010.
Hello Carlos,
ReplyDeleteYour essay was well written but go back to the professors site because your essay seems to be to short.As well as you forgot to cite your resource.
1. This is a good start for your essay but it dosent fit all of the assigment.
ReplyDelete2. It looks like you have an understanding of the poetic form.
3. you summarized the poem pretty well. u avoided interpreting
4. you didnt analyze the tone of the poem.
5.you spotted all of the symbols in the poem.
6.i didnt see that you found any motifs or archetypes. (there is one in there though)
7.there is no interpretation.
8.your speeling seems to be on point.
9.you have no works cited.
I guess, you havent finished your essay yet. You shoul explain each symbol, get the tone and also the interpretation. it has to be a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteyou should analyzes sybols a little more by explaining each symbols by connecting every symbols back to the poems without interpreting anything. you forgot to include tones. You should just put the links without putting your sources in MlA Forms.
ReplyDeletei am really interested in reading more of your essay. so far, you are on the right tract. about the symbolism paragraph, i would group some related symbols and make seperate paragraphs about them. for example, you can connect zeus and god, or sea and sun. lastly you should site the "dictionary of symbolism" which i haven't done either :))
ReplyDeleteMaybe it will be better if you say that the poem is unrhyme.
ReplyDeleteI think it will be better if you categorize the symbols in different groups and define each of the group in single paragraphs will be better. This is because if you put all of them in a single paragraph it will be too long and confusing.
I think you need to interpret about this poem.
Your citation is not in the MLA format.
This poem is nice, but i seriosly think that you should make it a little bit longer in your poem analysis, let me begin saying that the description of the poem is very short, and i would also say that you can talk about MANY literary elements, and also, i clearly see that the Tone analyzis of the poem wasn't present, so, just complete what is missing and you'll be ok.
ReplyDeleteGo0d Luck.
This does not yet conform to the assignment. See the above comments by your classmates. Rewrite as Blog Entry 7.
ReplyDeleteMAKE THAT BLOG ENTRY 8!
ReplyDelete