William Butler Yeats" "Leda and the Swan" is a sonnet, based on the Shakespearian rhyming scheme - iambic pentameter. The fourteen lines are schemed ABABCDCDEFGEFG. Yeats" sonnet is mostly a well-constructed allusion to several events in Greek mythology, like Zeus" coming to the Greek land, the attack of from the Trojan horse and death of Agamemnon during the destruction of the Trojan empire. Yeats" tone is based on a mixture of different vivid words in order to describe the might of Gods and the weakness of humans. Yeats" also draws on of images to allude upon the Trojan War. His clever use of different literary devices makes the poem simple to comprehend and gives a deeper understanding on some events in Greek mythology.
Yeats uses allusion in several cases. At first he refers to Zeus, by mentioning his "great wings" and his ability to hold Leda "helpless". Then when Zeus disguised as a huge swan has ended his sexual act with Yeats mentions that that was the point at which deadly problems were created for the Trojans, like their being attacked by Odysseus from the broken wall in the Trojan Horse; death of their king Agamemnon in the tower on the burning roof of Troy. Yeats specifies the allusions to Troy, because the rape of Leda by Zeus produced Clytemnestra - Agamemnon's wife and Helen of Troy.
William Butler Yeats sonnet is filled with many descriptive words, which clearly show the difference between Gods and Humans, besides their setting up the tone for the play. When referring to Zeus Yeats uses words like "beating", "burning", "mastered" and "staggering". All of these set up a very aggressive tone. But on the other hand words used for Leda are totally different - "helpless", "vague", "loosening", thus set up a very sorrowful and feeble tone. The mixture of aggressiveness and sorrowness creates a mysterious tone that flows through the poem.
Yeats uses physical imagery to describe the weakness of Leda.
