Siren Song - Margaret Atwood - Worksheet

This 5-page worksheet helps students understand and analyse Margaret Atwood’s poem Siren Song, with a particular focus on how Atwood challenges representations of these figures.

The worksheet begins with an excerpt from Homer and a brief explanation of the Sirens, before asking students to compare the traditional representation with Atwood’s version in her poem. Critical analysis activities follow, focusing on a range of language techniques alongside questions addressing Atwood’s representation of the Sirens. This includes considerations of the male gaze, agency and whether Atwood’s final stanza undermines the position taken in the rest of the poem. The final page presents a focus question for students, with a selection of thesis statements designed as a starting point for a student extended response on these topics, with some scaffolding and support for students in writing a response.

This worksheet is most suitable for an upper high school age group (Year 10-12), although there is plenty of opportunity to adapt this resource to any relatively able cohort. The file is included in both Word and pdf formats to facilitate this flexibility.