Kalypso is a sea nymph from Greek mythology, her story being told in Homer's 'Odyssey'. Kalypso imprisons the Greek hero Odysseus on her island in order to make him her immortal husband. Kalypso keeps Odysseus hostage for seven years. Odysseus, however, wants to return home to his beloved wife Penelope. He negotiates with the gods for his freedom, and they persuade Kalypso to allow his escape. Kalypso attempts suicide, but she is unable to do so because she is immortal.
The song:
This may well be a song from Odysseus's point of view. However, I think it's much more likely that the myth is being employed as a device to communicate something from or about the present: there is something in the story of Odysseus and Kalypso that echoes a present relationship. The line 'Are there no heroes or gods any more?', for instance, points to a real distance between the ancient myth and the present, and suggests significant and important differences between the two. What exactly this present situation is, however, is difficult to determine.
The myth:
Kalypso is a sea nymph from Greek mythology, her story being told in Homer's 'Odyssey'. Kalypso imprisons the Greek hero Odysseus on her island in order to make him her immortal husband. Kalypso keeps Odysseus hostage for seven years. Odysseus, however, wants to return home to his beloved wife Penelope. He negotiates with the gods for his freedom, and they persuade Kalypso to allow his escape. Kalypso attempts suicide, but she is unable to do so because she is immortal.
The song:
This may well be a song from Odysseus's point of view. However, I think it's much more likely that the myth is being employed as a device to communicate something from or about the present: there is something in the story of Odysseus and Kalypso that echoes a present relationship. The line 'Are there no heroes or gods any more?', for instance, points to a real distance between the ancient myth and the present, and suggests significant and important differences between the two. What exactly this present situation is, however, is difficult to determine.