Explore the The Doom of Sirens of this artwork.
Outside of his inner circle of friends, family, and wealthy patrons, Rossetti was often more well known for his poetry and pieces of literature than his paintings or drawings.  Yet this libretto is still largely unknown. It is an ornate delivery of one of Rossetti's obsessions: the femme fatale and his "lifelong exploration of the complex social and cultural significance of the (female) figure" and it was only published after his death by his brother William.  Rossetti has written and drawn or painted several other works with subject matter concerning the myth of the Siren. A poem "Death's Songsters" (1870) and a prose piece "The Orchard Pit" (1869) as well as his drawing Boatmen and Siren (1853) and his oil painting A Sea-Spell (1877).In his libretto, Ligeia is one of the three sisters of sirens, the other two being Thelxiope, Thelxione, living on a remote island titled "Siren's Rock" . With her song of love, Ligeia claims the life of a king and queen, whose son is miraculously rescued by the hermit. The very same hermit who previously issued the couple a warning to stay clear of the island. Before she dies the queen curses Ligeia to the same fate of her victims, that she may love and die for it. Years and years later, that same rescued prince returns to the island to enact the doom of the sirens. Ligeia eventually meets her fate.With in The Doom of Sirens, and within Ligeia Siren as well, there are core themes for Rossetti. One of the themes is the juxtaposition of the pagan/Christian dichotomy, the clash of a pagan mythical being and a Christian prince, and the triumph of the prince in the end . Also present, and more important for Rossetti, is the survival of love even when death is eminent or even after death has occurred.
siren libretto Boatmen and Siren A Sea-Spell femme fatale