Ulysses and Calypso
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
murmous music’s luring notes as she
Bound
him in coils of such captivity,
But
that 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.
Of
the Poem
Wow!
That is an excellent and powerful poem on many levels. Edward Robeson Taylor
did an amazing job capturing the feeling behind this myth and used wonderful imagery
from Homer’s classic read, the Odyssey. The story and that last line, man! What a read. And
the structure of the poem—believe it or not, this is a widely unacknowledged sonnet form, and Taylor makes great use of it in a significant amount of his works. We will touch on this in another post, but for now, about the poem.
The
poet Homer—whether this is an individual or a collective of individuals is an
entirely different blog post—is said to have written two major epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey.
The
Iliad is about the ten-year siege of the city Troy and the war between the
Trojans and Achaeans (Greeks). This war is well known to have been provoked by
the ‘abduction’ of Helen by Paris, prince of Troy. It is a wonderful classic
and an intense read (totally recommend).
The
Odyssey immediately follows the fall of Troy and is about Ulysses (Odysseus),
the king of Ithaca, and his arduous ten-year journey home. The stories of his
journey and the crazy events told are many, but for the sake of time and to
prevent the temptation of tangents, let us stick with a brief outline that puts
Taylor’s poem into some context.
Because
the Trojan war lasted ten-years, and because it took Ulysses ten-years to get
back home (you can do the math), by the time he arrived it had been long
assumed that Ulysses perished in the war with the Trojans. Because of this,
many suitors desiring kingship competed eagerly for the hand of Ulysses’ wife,
Penelope. Ulysses was quite aware that he needed to get back to his wife and
let her know he is still alive, and still king.
Sailing
on his way back, Ulysses and his exhausted crew land on the island of the sun
god Helios. When Ulysses fell asleep his men, starving as well as exhausted,
fell upon the cattle of the sun god and ate them. Retribution for this act came
as they all took sail again: Zeus sends a thunderbolt down utterly destroying
their ship. Because “they slew the cattle of the Sun / Ulysses’ comrades sank
to death”, while he (Ulysses) won safety on “Calypso’s lovely isle”.
The
goddess Calypso, so beautiful that even the gods swoon over the sight of her,
finds herself irresistibly enamored by Ulysses—so much so that she prevents him
from leaving the celestial paradise of her island:
To
murmous music’s luring notes as she
Bound
him in coils of such captivity
Ulysses
is stuck there for seven years, and may have been hopelessly stuck there for the
rest of his mortal days had Zeus not intervened by sending Hermes to Calypso
demanding our stranded hero’s release. As much as she loved Ulysses, Calypso
was forced to comply.
But
that for Zeus [Ulysses’] soul [would have] been undone
The
God’s decree the enamored nymph obeyed
Calypso
then helps Ulysses “as his raft he made / While brimmed her heart with
desolation’s tears.”
It
is only latently implied in the final line of the poem, but before Calypso
helps Ulysses build a raft to sail away on, she offers our hero immortality and
a life in eternal paradise if only he would choose to stay with her. By the end
of the poem his answer to her is an obvious one.
The
poem concludes with Ulysses’ raft disappearing over the horizon of the “sea’s
Great void”, and with our goddess
mourning and wishing herself to be mortal like Penelope—ultimately wishing
herself dead—than to live eternally without him who she so loved.
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.
Yes! Wonderful subject, excellent write, and enjoyable read. I sometimes wish I could speak with some of these poets of the past and ask what inspired this or that particular topic of the poem, or why they chose the poem’s perspective to be from this or that particular person’s. Notwithstanding, what a great poem.
Now, about this poem being an unacknowledged sonnet form, suffice it to say (in this particular post) that Taylor's poem is a sonnet, and that that widely unacknowledged form is the creative byproduct of brilliant French poets. I will dedicate a thorough post to this fact in days to come.
Meanwhile, I would love to know what you think of Tayor's poem. Have you ever hear of Edward Robeson Taylor? If so, do you have a particular poem of his you really enjoyed? Or, even better, have you ever written a sonnet based on mythology, or recommend one? I would love to read it if you have, or hear your thoughts with regard to this post. I will do my best to respond to each comment.
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