A reference to something from literature, history, or other familiar cultural areas is an allusion. "Song" alludes to the mythological mermaid singing that lures sailors to crash their ships. What does this allusion signify in "Song"?
The allusion signify the the situation that women have no good for men because they are not faithful. The singing mermaid is like a beautiful woman who attracts the man but will later on betray and make men sad as if crashing sailors' ships. John Donne used this allusion to show how hard it is to find a beautiful woman who will be faithful and stay true to him. He exaggerated his realization that women are bad, unfaithful and unreliable. He described woman's nature negatively and sarcastically because he had experienced the difficulty of finding a true and faithful woman. The allusion of song shows the hopelessness of Donne who once believed the possibility to find true lover who would always loyal to him.
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