Blog 8

“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.