Summary

“The Lotos-eaters” opens with lines of dialogue from the famous Greek hero, Odysseus, commanding his crew to continue rowing towards the shore – “‘Courage!’ he said, and pointed toward the land, / ‘This mounting wave will roll us shoreward soon’” (1-2). The third-person speaker gives an initial impression of the mysterious island on which Odysseus and his crew land. He describes the dreamy and languid quality that seems to imbue the lush natural imagery of the island, how, for example, “All round the coast the languid air did swoon, / Breathing like one that hath a weary dream” (5-6). This intensely descriptive natural imagery continues into the second stanza, with the speaker exclaiming over how the island is “A land of streams!” which only further contributes to its “Rolling” and “slumbrous” quality (10, 13).

Against this languorous imagery, the speaker introduces the lotos-eaters: “round about the keel with faces...