Poetry - Analyzing Allusions

Yet Do I Marvel:

            In this poem, the poet Countee Cullen illustrates a couple of examples of God's actions. As already known, they may vary between rewards and punishments. The first allusion made in this poem is to the Greek God Tantalus - the son of Zeus; the king of Sipyolus. According to Greek mythology, he was punished for sharing the food of the Gods with the mortal humans who favored him. His punishment was being "tantalized", which means to torment or tease someone with the sight or promise of something unobtainable, by exciting their senses or desires.

            The second allusion made in this poem is of Sisyphus, the son of Aeolus, who was the king of Thessaly. According to the mythology, he was conniving and deceptive: he used to way-lay travelers and murder them. His punishment was pressed upon him due to his acts of betraying the secrets of the Gods and  chaining the God of Death, Thanatos. As a result he was forced to roll a block of stone against a steep hill, which inevitably tumbles back down when he reached the top. The whole punishment, like Tantalus' s lasts all eternity.

            At the end of the poem, Cullen illustrates that even though God is not hesitant to enact such horrifying punishments upon his creations, he is marveled at the fact that God actually creates African-American poets and also offer them the opportunities to sing and speak their minds.

On His Blindness:

            In this poem, John Milton infers biblical allusions. The allusion present in this poem runs parable of the talents by Matthew.  Milton reflects the idea that any object of materialistic value would not, could not, and is not needed at all by God. God presents a kingly state, therefore nothing is of value to him other than the value of patience portrayed by those who serve and wait, all in the name of God himself.

Miniver Cheevy:

            In this poem, Edwin Arlington Robinson makes allusions to cultural characteristics. The time period dates back to medieval times, which can be supported by the references made to the kingdoms of Thebes and Camelot. The message of this poem can be derived from the allusions which state that there is a fine line between dreams and reality. The second message is that heavy reflections of oneself may bring about a sense of self-hatred and develop an attitude of negativity.

My Son the Man:

            In this poem, Sharon Olds makes allusions to the famous cultural escape artist Harry Houdini, the stage name of Erich Weiss. He is most famous for his stunt of freeing himself after being chained, sealed in a padlock trunk, and being dropped into deep water. The narrator applies this reference to her growing son who is becoming a young adult. The mother herself represent the hardships and challenges (chains, lock, icy water), while the son represents Houdini, gradually outgrows the barriers. After "escaping" he simply smiles back at his mother as he observes that she is simply being an overprotective mother.

Siren Song:

            In this poem, the poet Margaret Atwood brings about allusions to the Greek mythology Sirens, who were "half women half bird -like" creatures who seduced countless sailors towards themselves with nothing but their beautiful and deceiving voices and looks. The narrator depicts that even though the men see numerous dead skeletons and skulls, they still leap overboard towards the siren. The siren sings how she will tell the men a secret if they come closer, that she is in fact crying for help, which make the men fall into its seduction even more. In the end, the siren says that even though this is a boring song, it still works every time. The message of the poem is that men are feeble creatures that strive for sexual pleasure by whoever they deem attractive.

Journey of the Magi:

            This poem in particular holds true to containing numerous biblical allusions. For example, the vine leaves symbolize the wine of the Eucharist and blood of the Lamb, who spare us from death; hands dicing for silver reflect the gambling over Jesus' garments and Judas's selling out; and the three trees symbolize both the three crosses of Calvary and the Trinity. The message of the poem is that all journeys encounter numerous situations and events; good or bad, they contain all sorts of negative aspects of the flaws and evils of the imperfect human nature.