Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Line 23
I could hold you prisoner.
- And just like that, Circe turns the sweet idea of holding Odysseus into a threat.
- By saying, "I could hold you prisoner," she reminds him that she has the power to imprison him. She reminds him that she could keep him forever if she wanted, but the fact that he is not imprisoned means that she doesn't want to keep him forever.
- She seems to be telling him she doesn't want him. Do you believe her?