1) Sirena is a mermaid who falls in love with a human man named Philocetes after saving him from a snake bite. 2) As Philocetes grows older, Sirena remains immortal and searches for a way to make Philocetes immortal as well to stay together. 3) Unable to find a way to stop Philocetes' aging, Sirena is forced to say goodbye to him as he leaves on a ship, having to accept that their love cannot last due to their differing mortalities.

1. Sirena
Written by Donna Jo Napoli
Literary concepts from plotline
PowerPoint made by Claire

2. EXPOSITION
• Love of a human men will make a mermaid live
forever. Just like gods. That’s every mermaids wish.
• One day, a ship from Troy came. Mermaids broke their
promise to Oenone, a nymph to satisfied their own
ambitions. Except for one mermaid.
• That mermaid is called Sirena. She swam away to hide
from her own power and the truth of what she is like.
• She one day found a man left on the shore, bitten by a
snake and cursed by the queen of gods, Hera.

3. RISING ACTION
• Sirena helped him in silent even though she knew she
will be cursed too if she helped him.
• The man wanted to know her so he invited her to light
a fire with stones. Sirena agreed and had a great
time, also exchanging names.
• One day, an angry bear came to the shore.
Threatening to hurt her, she sang and the bear left
them in peace.
• Philocetes heard her sing. Sirena and Philocetes
began to know each other better. They fell in love. She
became immortal.

4. CLIMAX
• She was then told one day by Philocetes that
he was building a ship and wanted to sail away
with Sirena as he began to grow old.
• But the “Hateful Hera” disagreed as she
caused angry waves and wrecked their boats
as revenge for Sirena helping Philocetes. Once
again they are back to the island of Lemnos.

5. FALLING ACTION
• Days passed countlessly and Sirena became to notice
the changes in Philocetes. His black hair now gray and
the strong shoulder now weak.
• She wants to make him immortal. So she takes off to
find ways for that to happen.
• Sirena went to find Mother Dora, a nymph
goddess, but she won’t help because she know her
queen, Hera will curse her too.
• So she left to go back to Lemnos as she noticed a ship
coming to her island. She thought about them taking
Philocetes and leaving her.

6. RESOLUTION
• Sirena told Philocetes to go back to the
humans because she wants what's better for
him.
• He gives her his beloved arrows, giving her his
honor. Then leaves with the ship back to the
humans.

7. THEME
• Love come with consequences
Sirenas price to pay is watching her lover grow
old while she stay forever young.
• Ambition obscure everything else
Determined mermaids who seek immortality are
blinded to notice what it meant for human men
to achieve their goal.

8. CONFLICT
• Person v. Self: Sirena struggle against herself about
letting Philocetes go back to the humans or not.
• Person v. Supernatural: The cursed Philocete by
Hera was bitten by a snake and was saved by
Sirena. Therefore, cursed by Hera, making life
difficult for both of them on the island of Lemnos.
• Person v. Fate: Sirena fight her actions from her half
fish self. Her mother is the pet fish her father’s wife
owned. Making her half god, blessed with beauty
and voice, half fish, careless and selfish.