William Butler Yeats, Leda and the swan
When I first read William Butler Yeats' poem, « Leda and the Swan », I barely understood that it was a poem that discribes an incidence of rape. I figured that there must have been something that I misunderstood, because the mix between rape and phrases hintting towards the presence of a bird did not seem like they should coincide. Never-the-less, I felt the poem's sinister, violent nature through the language the poet uses. "Staggering", "helpless", "terrified", "mastered"... Despite my ignorance at the time of what the poem discussed, a chill traversed me as I read the words. I knew it discussed something dark and cold. The poem sparked my curiosity; I wanted to know what the poem really meant, whether the words suggesting the presence of a bird, are simply figurative, a metaphor, or if they are truly representative of a literal bird. After a little research, I discovered that the poem is actually based on a myth. "Leda and the Swan" is an ancient Greek myth. Leda, wife of king Tydareus and mother of many noble children, was a very beautiful woman. So much so that she caught the eye of Zeus, the God believed by the Greek to be the God of all other Gods. When Leda refused to couple with Zeus, he turned himself into
The former suggests that Leda is repugnant of her situation, where as the later glorifies him and could be suggesting that she is relenting to the experience she is undergoing. I believe that Yeats hints at this with the epithets that he uses to describe Zeus. There is a third rhetorical question in the last stanza: "Did she put on his knowledge with his power before the indifferent beak could let her drop?" This question asks the reader whether or not he or she believe that Leda being raped by a God, having an intimate connection with a God, lead her to a possibly greater understanding of the world. Once again this calls aporia to mind. "Leda and the Swan", is an Elizabethan sonnet, despite it's somewhat unusual layout. a swan to in order to enable himself to mate with her, regardless of her refusal. Besides, the poet is retelling a myth in which theses generally are not specified. It permits the readers to be creative, to use their imagination. The poem is discussing this event, Leda being raped by a swan. In the first tercet, there is yet another alliteration; the consonance "b", which is seen through "broken", "burning", "being", 'brute", "blood" and "beak". Not once throughout the entire poem is Leda's or Zeus' names pronounced. This alsosccomadoated the needed secrecy, due to him having a wife; the goddess Nemesis. This is unusual, but still does not change its classification. Yeats is not discussing a literal white rush, besides what would that be? He is talking about the swan, whiteness, briefly raping Leda.
Common topics in this essay:
Zeus Zeus,
Agamemnon Knowing,
Leda's Zeus',
Leda Swan,
FGH FGH,
Zeus Incarnated,
Leda Aporia,
Zeus Maybe,
Swan Elizabethan,
Gods Leda,
raping leda,
loosening thighs,
leda swan,
terrified vague fingers,
indifferent beak,
dark webs,
vague fingers,
terrified vague,
white rush,
feathered glory,
holds helpless,
webs nape caught,
dark webs nape,
caressed dark webs,
vague fingers push,
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