Circe[FK1]
I’m fond [FK2] , nereids and nymphs[FK3] , unlike some, of the pig,
Of the tusker[FK4] , the snout, the boar and the swine.
One way or another, all pigs have been mine –
Under my thumb, the bristling[FK5] , saltry[FK6] skin of their backs,
In my nostrils here, their yobby[FK7] , porky colognes[FK8] .
I’m familiar with hogs[FK9] and runts[FK10] , their percussion of oinks[FK11]
At dusk, at the creaky gate of the sty[FK12] ,
Tasting the sweaty, spicy air, the moon
[FK13] Like a lemon popped in the mouth of the sky.
But I want to begin with a recipe from abroad.
which uses the cheek – and the tongue in cheek
at that. [FK14] Lay two pig’s cheeks, with the tongue,
in a dish, and strew it well over with salt
and cloves[FK15] . Remember the skills of the tongue –
to lick, to lap[FK16] , to loosen, [FK17] lubricate, to lie
in the soft pouch of the face[FK18] – and how each pig’s face
was uniquely itself, as many handsome as plain,
the cowardly face, the brave, the comical[FK19] , noble,
sly or wise, the cruel, the kind, but all of them,
nymphs, with those piggy eyes. Season with mace[FK20] .
Well-cleaned pig’s ears should be blanched[FK21] , singed[FK22] , tossed
in a pot, boiled, kept hot, scraped[FK23] , served, garnished[FK24]
with thyme[FK25] . Look at that simmering[FK26] lug[FK27] , at that ear,
did it listen, ever, to you, to your prayers and rhymes,
to the chimes of your voices, singing and clear? Mash
the potatoes, nymph, open the beer. Now to the brains,
to the trotters[FK28] , shoulders, chops, to the sweetmeats[FK29] slipped
from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls.[FK30]
When the heart of a pig has hardened, dice it small.
Dice it small. [FK31] I, too once knelt on this shining shore
watching the tall shops sail from the burning sun
like myths; slipped off my dress to wade,[FK32] [FK33]
breast-deep, in the sea, waving and calling;
as three black ships sighed in the shallow waves.
Of course, I was younger then. And hoping for men. Now,
let us baste that sizzling pig on the spit[FK34] once again.
The Odyssey
On the third day Odyssey stayed in the island of Aeaea, he sent out twenty-two of his comrades to prospect the area. They found the Circe’s place, where they are served with poisonous wine and luxurious food. Eurylochus came back and told how Circe has transformed the others into swine. On the journey to the Circe’s home to save the others, Hermes gave Odyssey a “Moli” to be eaten and directed how to win over the Circe.
When the Circe served the poisonous wine, it didn’t affect Odyssey. After Circe making an oath, Odyssey agreed to sleep with the sorceress. The Circe pampered Odyssey and his comrades for a year, until Odyssey finally realized he needs to go home and the food they had been eating made them feel reluctant to leave the island.
Circe agreed to help Odyssey home by one condition; he has to travel to the Underworld.
Symbol: Pig, cannibalistic idea. Cooking as a mean of punishment. Fond, showing fetish and sexual desire.
Theme: revengeful, evil, sadistic.Caniballistic. Women attraction
Organization: Circe point of view. Differences of PIGS type, the way of cooking, different parts of pigs, flashback of men
Progression:
Big Three: Speaker, Audience, Situation
Speaker: Circe
Audience:
Situation: sadistic plan
Atmosphere: sadistic
Diction
Figurative Language
Imagery
Tone
Analysis of the Poem.
Circe is a mythological creature from the story of Odyssey. Circe is the daughter of Helius, a god of sun and Pereis. She is a fair sorceress, who lives in the island of Aeaea and has the ability to transform human into animals. She has a habit of transforming men into boars.
This poem is written in the perspective of Circe, where she describes the methodology of cooking a boar, how to cook and which parts to cook, in reference of a man. Showing a feminine skill which is cooking, Circe proposed canibalistic and vengeful thoughts throughout the poem. In addition of feminine skill, Circe represent power which a woman may have to hold men.
"One way or another, all pigs have been mine - / Under my thumb", this sentence shows that a woman could have the power to weaken and confine men. The statement "one way or another" seems to imply that Circe does not only own these men by turning them into pigs, but also through sexual means. The idea of "cooking the pigs" also represent feminine power over men. In addition Circe also seemed to know the differences between "tusker" and "snout", or "hogs" and "runts", showing her adept knowledge of different men's personalities and traits.
The canibal people in the South Sea Island reffered human flesh as "long pig", which express the caniballistic theme in this poem. The sadistic tone of Circe seems to show vengeful thoughts, in demonstrating cooking skill of the boar, such as "strew", "season", "blanched", "singed", "scraped", "dice" and "served". Almost to the end of the poem, there was a flashback which Circe said, "i was younger then. And hoping for men". Describing herself kneeling on the shore, watching three black ships went away, there seems to have a tone of sadness and sorrow. Perhaps there where men which had left her heart broken; this may be the cause of the sorrow and vengeful thinking.
Knowing that these pigs she slaughtered was once men, there are words of irony used throughout the poem. such as "hogs and runts". These two words are contradicting each other although both referred to as pigs. Hogs are wild animals of the pig family, however it could also refered to as a greedy person, while runts are small pigs, which usually are the small and weak. Referring to man, this says that there are strong greedy men and small weak men.
"Under my thumb, the bristling, sultry skin", the word sultry could mean hot and humid, however it could also means to suggest a strong sexual nature. There are words which intend to show Circe's fetish on pigs. For example to the reference of pigs' tongue, which circe said to remember the skills, "to lick, to lap, to loosen, to lubricate, to lie". These words are words that could have two meaning, however lap, lubricate, and lie here seems to be used in sexual intention.
Each part of the pigs that are being cooked is also a reference to attitude of men. The tongue of the pig, which seems to be used in sexual intention represent how men are deviant, in addition "to lie" seems to stress the idea that men are liars. There's also description of the pig's face, showing many kinds of expressions it has, such as "cowardly face, the brave, the comical, noble, sly or wise, the cruel, the kind". This seems to say that men have many faces, in support of the idea that men are liars. "those piggy eyes. Season with mace," mace also means an irritant chemical used in aerosol. Usually used to spray on an attackers' eyes in dangerous situations. The idea of spicing up the eyes of the pigs with "mace" either to say that men are dangerous or perhaps, men like to see inappropriate things. "Well-cleaned pig's ears should be blanched, singed," this refers that the ears of the pigs, or men, should be cleaned. Perhaps to say that they have heard inappropriate things, and blanched also means to turns pale by fear. These pigs should be scared of the Circe and the nymphs.
Circe then showed a very obvious comparison between men and the pigs. "to the sweetmeats slipped/from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls." This refers to the nether reigon of men, and how Circe sadistically slit this organ opened.
Another form of vengeance is also shown by Circe, by repeating the phrase: "dice it small", in reference to a hardened pig's heart. This shows how heartbroken Circe is and how she wants to slice the hearts of the pigs into its smallest pieces.
Throughout the poem Circe, onomatopoeic words can be found to attract the audience's attention, such as "oinks". Carol Ann Duffy also had done a great job in putting irony and twisting the meaning of words. Imagery of deviancy can be shown as the different parts of the pigs are being cooked in different way. There's also short soliloquy of flashbacks, showing how personal this poem is in the perspective of circe.
[FK1]Overall: Seeing all men as pigs, with a strong cannibalistic overtone.
(The cannibals of the SOUTH SEA ISLANDS referred to human flesh as “long pig” – specific reference)
[FK2]Have an affection
[FK3]Creates mystical aura.
Nymphs: a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other location.
Nereid: a Sea Nymphs, daughter of Nereus.
[FK4]A wild boar with well-developed tusks
[FK5]Short, stiff, spiky
[FK6]?? Sultry: hot and humid. (women behavior: displaying or suggesting a strongly sexual nature)
[FK7]a rude, noisy and aggressive youth
[FK8]fleshy or flat, resembling to pork.
“SMELL”
[FK9]a greedy person, a domesticated pig, castrated male reared for slaughtered. A feral pig. Wild animal of the pig family.
[FK10]A small pig. Smallest. Weak.
[FK11]Slightly onomatopoeic
“information of a word from a sound associated with what is named”
[FK12]Pigsty. A cage
[FK13]? ?
[FK14]Cook the friggin PIGS
[FK15]Dried flower bud of a tropical tree, (aromatic spice)
[FK16]Wrap, enfold someone or something.
[FK17]? ?
[FK18]a mouth
[FK19]amusing, in a ludicrous or absurd way
[FK20]spice up with “an irritant chemical used in an aerosol to disable attckers
”
[FK21]make white, pale by extracting colour. (turns to fear by fear. (vegetable. freezing, further cooking by immersing briefly in boiling water)
[FK22]burn
[FK23]drag, pull hard or sharp implement accross to remove dirt. Damage.
[FK24]Decorate or embellish
[FK25]Mint-plant. Small leaves are used as a culinary herb. (medicinal oil)
[FK26]Food below boiling points. CALM. supressed anger.
[FK27]Person’s ear. A loutish man. lugworm
[FK28]Pig’s foot/ human foot (humour)
[FK29]An iten of confectionery of sweet food
[FK30]Testosterone
[FK31]Break the man’s heart
[FK32]
[FK33]To go, to walk. To attack, intervene, penetrate
[FK34]Hiss boiling sound,
I’m fond [FK2] , nereids and nymphs[FK3] , unlike some, of the pig,
Of the tusker[FK4] , the snout, the boar and the swine.
One way or another, all pigs have been mine –
Under my thumb, the bristling[FK5] , saltry[FK6] skin of their backs,
In my nostrils here, their yobby[FK7] , porky colognes[FK8] .
I’m familiar with hogs[FK9] and runts[FK10] , their percussion of oinks[FK11]
At dusk, at the creaky gate of the sty[FK12] ,
Tasting the sweaty, spicy air, the moon
[FK13] Like a lemon popped in the mouth of the sky.
But I want to begin with a recipe from abroad.
which uses the cheek – and the tongue in cheek
at that. [FK14] Lay two pig’s cheeks, with the tongue,
in a dish, and strew it well over with salt
and cloves[FK15] . Remember the skills of the tongue –
to lick, to lap[FK16] , to loosen, [FK17] lubricate, to lie
in the soft pouch of the face[FK18] – and how each pig’s face
was uniquely itself, as many handsome as plain,
the cowardly face, the brave, the comical[FK19] , noble,
sly or wise, the cruel, the kind, but all of them,
nymphs, with those piggy eyes. Season with mace[FK20] .
Well-cleaned pig’s ears should be blanched[FK21] , singed[FK22] , tossed
in a pot, boiled, kept hot, scraped[FK23] , served, garnished[FK24]
with thyme[FK25] . Look at that simmering[FK26] lug[FK27] , at that ear,
did it listen, ever, to you, to your prayers and rhymes,
to the chimes of your voices, singing and clear? Mash
the potatoes, nymph, open the beer. Now to the brains,
to the trotters[FK28] , shoulders, chops, to the sweetmeats[FK29] slipped
from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls.[FK30]
When the heart of a pig has hardened, dice it small.
Dice it small. [FK31] I, too once knelt on this shining shore
watching the tall shops sail from the burning sun
like myths; slipped off my dress to wade,[FK32] [FK33]
breast-deep, in the sea, waving and calling;
as three black ships sighed in the shallow waves.
Of course, I was younger then. And hoping for men. Now,
let us baste that sizzling pig on the spit[FK34] once again.
The Odyssey
On the third day Odyssey stayed in the island of Aeaea, he sent out twenty-two of his comrades to prospect the area. They found the Circe’s place, where they are served with poisonous wine and luxurious food. Eurylochus came back and told how Circe has transformed the others into swine. On the journey to the Circe’s home to save the others, Hermes gave Odyssey a “Moli” to be eaten and directed how to win over the Circe.
When the Circe served the poisonous wine, it didn’t affect Odyssey. After Circe making an oath, Odyssey agreed to sleep with the sorceress. The Circe pampered Odyssey and his comrades for a year, until Odyssey finally realized he needs to go home and the food they had been eating made them feel reluctant to leave the island.
Circe agreed to help Odyssey home by one condition; he has to travel to the Underworld.
Symbol: Pig, cannibalistic idea. Cooking as a mean of punishment. Fond, showing fetish and sexual desire.
Theme: revengeful, evil, sadistic.Caniballistic. Women attraction
Organization: Circe point of view. Differences of PIGS type, the way of cooking, different parts of pigs, flashback of men
Progression:
Big Three: Speaker, Audience, Situation
Speaker: Circe
Audience:
Situation: sadistic plan
Atmosphere: sadistic
Diction
Figurative Language
Imagery
Tone
Analysis of the Poem.
Circe is a mythological creature from the story of Odyssey. Circe is the daughter of Helius, a god of sun and Pereis. She is a fair sorceress, who lives in the island of Aeaea and has the ability to transform human into animals. She has a habit of transforming men into boars.
This poem is written in the perspective of Circe, where she describes the methodology of cooking a boar, how to cook and which parts to cook, in reference of a man. Showing a feminine skill which is cooking, Circe proposed canibalistic and vengeful thoughts throughout the poem. In addition of feminine skill, Circe represent power which a woman may have to hold men.
"One way or another, all pigs have been mine - / Under my thumb", this sentence shows that a woman could have the power to weaken and confine men. The statement "one way or another" seems to imply that Circe does not only own these men by turning them into pigs, but also through sexual means. The idea of "cooking the pigs" also represent feminine power over men. In addition Circe also seemed to know the differences between "tusker" and "snout", or "hogs" and "runts", showing her adept knowledge of different men's personalities and traits.
The canibal people in the South Sea Island reffered human flesh as "long pig", which express the caniballistic theme in this poem. The sadistic tone of Circe seems to show vengeful thoughts, in demonstrating cooking skill of the boar, such as "strew", "season", "blanched", "singed", "scraped", "dice" and "served". Almost to the end of the poem, there was a flashback which Circe said, "i was younger then. And hoping for men". Describing herself kneeling on the shore, watching three black ships went away, there seems to have a tone of sadness and sorrow. Perhaps there where men which had left her heart broken; this may be the cause of the sorrow and vengeful thinking.
Knowing that these pigs she slaughtered was once men, there are words of irony used throughout the poem. such as "hogs and runts". These two words are contradicting each other although both referred to as pigs. Hogs are wild animals of the pig family, however it could also refered to as a greedy person, while runts are small pigs, which usually are the small and weak. Referring to man, this says that there are strong greedy men and small weak men.
"Under my thumb, the bristling, sultry skin", the word sultry could mean hot and humid, however it could also means to suggest a strong sexual nature. There are words which intend to show Circe's fetish on pigs. For example to the reference of pigs' tongue, which circe said to remember the skills, "to lick, to lap, to loosen, to lubricate, to lie". These words are words that could have two meaning, however lap, lubricate, and lie here seems to be used in sexual intention.
Each part of the pigs that are being cooked is also a reference to attitude of men. The tongue of the pig, which seems to be used in sexual intention represent how men are deviant, in addition "to lie" seems to stress the idea that men are liars. There's also description of the pig's face, showing many kinds of expressions it has, such as "cowardly face, the brave, the comical, noble, sly or wise, the cruel, the kind". This seems to say that men have many faces, in support of the idea that men are liars. "those piggy eyes. Season with mace," mace also means an irritant chemical used in aerosol. Usually used to spray on an attackers' eyes in dangerous situations. The idea of spicing up the eyes of the pigs with "mace" either to say that men are dangerous or perhaps, men like to see inappropriate things. "Well-cleaned pig's ears should be blanched, singed," this refers that the ears of the pigs, or men, should be cleaned. Perhaps to say that they have heard inappropriate things, and blanched also means to turns pale by fear. These pigs should be scared of the Circe and the nymphs.
Circe then showed a very obvious comparison between men and the pigs. "to the sweetmeats slipped/from the slit, bulging, vulnerable bag of the balls." This refers to the nether reigon of men, and how Circe sadistically slit this organ opened.
Another form of vengeance is also shown by Circe, by repeating the phrase: "dice it small", in reference to a hardened pig's heart. This shows how heartbroken Circe is and how she wants to slice the hearts of the pigs into its smallest pieces.
Throughout the poem Circe, onomatopoeic words can be found to attract the audience's attention, such as "oinks". Carol Ann Duffy also had done a great job in putting irony and twisting the meaning of words. Imagery of deviancy can be shown as the different parts of the pigs are being cooked in different way. There's also short soliloquy of flashbacks, showing how personal this poem is in the perspective of circe.
[FK1]Overall: Seeing all men as pigs, with a strong cannibalistic overtone.
(The cannibals of the SOUTH SEA ISLANDS referred to human flesh as “long pig” – specific reference)
[FK2]Have an affection
[FK3]Creates mystical aura.
Nymphs: a beautiful maiden inhabiting rivers, woods, or other location.
Nereid: a Sea Nymphs, daughter of Nereus.
[FK4]A wild boar with well-developed tusks
[FK5]Short, stiff, spiky
[FK6]?? Sultry: hot and humid. (women behavior: displaying or suggesting a strongly sexual nature)
[FK7]a rude, noisy and aggressive youth
[FK8]fleshy or flat, resembling to pork.
“SMELL”
[FK9]a greedy person, a domesticated pig, castrated male reared for slaughtered. A feral pig. Wild animal of the pig family.
[FK10]A small pig. Smallest. Weak.
[FK11]Slightly onomatopoeic
“information of a word from a sound associated with what is named”
[FK12]Pigsty. A cage
[FK13]? ?
[FK14]Cook the friggin PIGS
[FK15]Dried flower bud of a tropical tree, (aromatic spice)
[FK16]Wrap, enfold someone or something.
[FK17]? ?
[FK18]a mouth
[FK19]amusing, in a ludicrous or absurd way
[FK20]spice up with “an irritant chemical used in an aerosol to disable attckers
”
[FK21]make white, pale by extracting colour. (turns to fear by fear. (vegetable. freezing, further cooking by immersing briefly in boiling water)
[FK22]burn
[FK23]drag, pull hard or sharp implement accross to remove dirt. Damage.
[FK24]Decorate or embellish
[FK25]Mint-plant. Small leaves are used as a culinary herb. (medicinal oil)
[FK26]Food below boiling points. CALM. supressed anger.
[FK27]Person’s ear. A loutish man. lugworm
[FK28]Pig’s foot/ human foot (humour)
[FK29]An iten of confectionery of sweet food
[FK30]Testosterone
[FK31]Break the man’s heart
[FK32]
[FK33]To go, to walk. To attack, intervene, penetrate
[FK34]Hiss boiling sound,