Whistling conjures storms
-- Speaker (Line 3)

Importance: This is the only line in the first section of the poem that isn’t directly left aligned; instead, it’s indented for effect. This moment acts as foreshadowing for the tempest that arises later in the story. There is no direct reference to whistling later in the poem, although the image can be interpreted as the kind of whistling men have been known to do at women, implying that it’s this attraction in whatever form it takes that conjures the storm.

Women anger the sea gods, / who raise their rage against / “innocent” sailors.
-- Speaker (Lines 11-13)

Importance: Until this point the description has been relatively objective, delivered in a removed storyteller voice. The quotation marks around “innocent” hint at the speaker’s emotional state, and the betrayal and trauma that drives the story. This is also the shortest line in the stanza, creating a blunt sound. It sets up...