The paradox of silence in the sirens' song

Abstract

The Odyssey is an epic poem that recounts Odysseus' voyage to the Trojan War and back home. Tragedy appears in the story at more than one point. In this essay I seek to think about the moment when Odysseus finds himself in front of the sirens, as this scene opens a paradox around the experience of silence: can silence be heard? I will address from four notes how the experience of silence becomes tragic, insofar as it makes its representation impossible. In such a context, I seek to strain Ulysses' passage through the island and his triumph over the sirens in order to open up other horizons of listening.