Alternative Structure in The Penelopiad
What do the various poetic and musical forms Margaret Atwood uses to tell the maids’ story bring to the telling? Why do you think she chose to write The Penelopiad in this way?
Though the maids' songs are used as a humorous aspect of The Penelopiad's telling, they show the lack of seriousness their deaths had in the original story. The maids finally have a chance to explain their own perspective towards their death and involvement with the suitors. In an ironic form, however, Atwood expresses this telling through song and poetic structure. Atwood stays true to the attention the maids were given in The Odyssey, but incorporates her own mission of telling the story through a feminist lens by actually allowing the maids to give their own take on the situation at hand. In doing so, a feminist lens is used through a character besides Penelope, who has her own biases towards Odysseus and his actions. Atwood includes the poetic and musical form to ironically show the lack of representation the maids had in the original, now using a humorous tone to mock Homer's ignorance.
While the various poetic and musical forms found in The Penelopiad contribute not only an alternative point of view, but an implied commentary on Homer's dismissal of the maids' deaths, they also give a unique structure to the story. Straying from the continuous description of adventure that The Odyssey adhered to, this work of Atwood's breaks the rather serious analysis of Penelope's character and urges the reader to engage with the text. I believe one of the primary purposes for the poetic and musical forms Atwood uses is to play with form and use creativity to make a more unique work. In doing so, Atwood demonstrates the differences in writing style that have occurred as the years progress.
Though the maids' songs are used as a humorous aspect of The Penelopiad's telling, they show the lack of seriousness their deaths had in the original story. The maids finally have a chance to explain their own perspective towards their death and involvement with the suitors. In an ironic form, however, Atwood expresses this telling through song and poetic structure. Atwood stays true to the attention the maids were given in The Odyssey, but incorporates her own mission of telling the story through a feminist lens by actually allowing the maids to give their own take on the situation at hand. In doing so, a feminist lens is used through a character besides Penelope, who has her own biases towards Odysseus and his actions. Atwood includes the poetic and musical form to ironically show the lack of representation the maids had in the original, now using a humorous tone to mock Homer's ignorance.
While the various poetic and musical forms found in The Penelopiad contribute not only an alternative point of view, but an implied commentary on Homer's dismissal of the maids' deaths, they also give a unique structure to the story. Straying from the continuous description of adventure that The Odyssey adhered to, this work of Atwood's breaks the rather serious analysis of Penelope's character and urges the reader to engage with the text. I believe one of the primary purposes for the poetic and musical forms Atwood uses is to play with form and use creativity to make a more unique work. In doing so, Atwood demonstrates the differences in writing style that have occurred as the years progress.
Wow, I really enjoyed your blogpost! I especially liked your comment about how Atwood breaks the rather serious analysis of Penelope's character and urges the reader to engage with the text. I also appreciated your mention that the Maid's songs are implemented as a humorous aspect, and they show the lack of seriousness their deaths had in the story. I agree with your point that Atwood included these poetic devices as a way of allowing the Maids to give their own take on the situation and share their own story, to emphasize the greater issue of the lack of acknowledgement of women as a whole in the novel and life. Overall, I think you made several significant points here, specifically addressing the different style between Atwood's lens and the original Odyssey and I agree that the time period also has an effect on the chosen writing styles.
ReplyDeleteHannah this is a phenomenal blogpost! I answered the same prompt in my blog and never even touched on the humor and irony of the songs adding to Atwood's message of the maids' lack of representation. I also agree with your point that the songs help to breakup and add some depth to the overall structure of the work. I appreciate your addition that this mix-it-up structure forces the audience to pay more attention and stay connected to the text. Lastly, I really like how you compare the Penelopiad with the original Odyssey to further argue why Atwood had the maids singing. Thank you for writing this Hannah!!!
ReplyDeleteHannah,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up many good points in this post. I completely agree with you when you say that Atwood's use of the feminist lens highlights the lack of attention and seriousness given to the dozen maids in Homer's original story. I also agree that Atwood did not solely write from a feminist lens, but added depth to The Odyssey in order to fill in the holes left in the plot due to the weak reasoning for the maids' involvement and death. Good work, I enjoyed reading your thoughts after finishing The Penelopiad.