Calypso

He hasgone,
he hasforgotten;
he took my lute andmyshell of crystal—
he never looked back—
H. D.

Calypso’s name comes from a Greek verb that means “conceal” or “cover” and the goddess
does hide Odysseus for seven long years, preventing his return to Ithaca. She lets him go
only after being ordered to do so by Hermes, who conveys the wishes of Zeus. Hermes
comes upon the goddess in her palace, along, weaving “with a golden shuttle” and singing.
Weaving and singing occupy both Calypso and Circe; Penelope shares only one of these
two avocations since singing, apparently, is the exclusive gift of muses, goddesses, and
mortal bards.

Literature

Brookes, Sheridan.Calypso, QueenofOgygia. A burlesque in one act. London: T.H. Lacy,
1865.Lacy's acting edition, Vol. 67, 26p. Microopaque. New York: Readex
Microprint, 1968.

Broumas, Olga. "Calypso."Beginningwi hO.New Haven:Yale UP, 1977. 20.

Cumberland, Richard.Calypso.A masque in three acts.Music by Thomas Hanly Butler.
London: Printed for T. Evans, 1779. Microopaque. New York: Readex Microprint,
1953.

Dufault, Peter Kane. “Odysseus’ Song to Calypso.”Erot cPoetry:The L yrics, Ballads,Idyl s
andEpi csof Love—ClassicaltoContemporary. Foreword Stephen Spender.
Random House, 1963. 17.

Erskine, John.”Calypso.”Penelope’s M an: TheHoming I nst nct. Indianapolis: Bobbs-
Merrill, 1927. 167-203. [A novel.]

H.D. "Calypso Speaks."CollectedPoems 1914-1944. Ed. Louis L. Martz. New York: New
Directions, 1983.

Huggins, Peter. “Calypso after the Departure of Odysseus.”ClassicalOutlook(Summer
1995): 130-31.

Hughes, John.Calypsoand Telemachus. An opera. Music by Mr. Galliard. London: Printed
forE. Sanger, 1712. Microopaque. New York: Readex Microprint, 1952.

Kell, Richard. "Calypso."

MacLeish, Archibald. "Calypso's Island."CollectedPoems 1917-1982. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1985.

Merton, Thomas. “Calypso’s Island.”Selected P oemsofThomas M erton. Intro. Mark Van
Doren. NY: New Directions, 1967. 28-29.

Mitchell, Adrian. "Calypso's Song to Ulysses."TheGambit Book of Popular V erse. Ed.
Geoffrey Grigson. Gambit, 1971.

Planche, James Robinson.Telemachus,or The I sland of Calypso. A classical and
mythological extravaganza by J.R. Planche and Charles Dance. London: T.H. Lacy,
[1861?].Lacy's acting edition, Vol. no. 760. Microopaque. New York: Readex
Microprint, 1966. Also in Vol. 1 (of 5) ofTheExtravaganzasof James R obinson
Planche. Ed. T.F. Dillon Croker and Stephen Tucker. London: S. French, 1879.

Williams, Williams Carlos. "Calypsos."TheCol ected PoemsofWil iamCarlos W ll ams.
Vol. 2: 1939-1962. Ed. Christopher MacGowan. New York: New Directions, 1986.

Winslow, Anne Goodwin. “The Beaten Path.”TheHome B ook of M odern Verse. 1925. 2n d
ed. Ed Burton Egbert Stevenson. New York: Holt, 1953. 145-46.

Criticism

Crane, Gregory. Calypso:Backgroundsand Convent onsofthe Odyssey. Frankfurt am
Main: Athenaeum, 1988.