“The photograph was taken
The day after I drowned.”
These lines are from the second section of the poem This is a Photograph of Me by Margaret Atwood. The word ‘drowned’ at the end of these two lines comes as a shock to the readers as until now they thought the poet was speaking to them but the readers now realize that they are listening to a disembodied voice of a spirit or a ghost.
“In that country the animals
have the faces of people.”
These lines are the opening lines of the poem The Animals in That Country by Margaret Atwood. The poet talks about the native country from where the settlers came to colonize Canada. The people there animal-like but pretend to be human. They possess negative and beastly characteristic.
“Ancestress: the burning witch,
her mouth covered by leather
to strangle words.”
These lines are from the poem Spelling by Margaret Atwood. “Ancestress: the burning witch” presents a horrifying image of those women who were burnt alive because they had spoken the truth, or dared to assume that they could do so.
"...This song
is a cry for help: Help me! Only you, only you can, you are unique at last. Alas it is a boring song but it works every time."
The short poem is about how sirens lure their victims in while making them believe they are special. This excerpt expresses the fact that all those who can hear the song are unique. But in the end, they die. Therefore, one of the main topics comes forward: death. However, death can be refuted, as according to this logic, the readers also should die after reading the poem.
