Because you have tagged this with "Suzanne Vega" I assume
that you are asking about her song "Calypso."
This song is
one that is told from the point of view of Calypso as she lets Odysseus leave her
island. In that sense, it is very different from Homer's poem because Calypso is the
main character.
The facts of the song fit well with what
happens in Homer's epic. Calypso found Odysseus when he was drowning and she has held
him for years, but now she is letting him go. He will be sailing away and she will be
helping him sail away. In all of these facts, the song is true to the
story.
The major difference is that Calypso seems more
willing to let Odysseus go in this song. She says that she will not ask him to return
and she implies that she was willing to let him go. In Homer's telling, she had to be
ordered to let him go and, even then, she offerred him immortality if he would stay with
her.
This makes sense given that the song is from her point
of view. She is trying to make herself look better as she tells the story. She is
trying to make herself look strong, magnanimous, and not desperate for his
company.
So the major difference is that this song is from
Calypso's point of view and therefore tries to show her in the best possible
light.
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