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Leda and the Swan

            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.


Essays Related to Leda and the Swan

1. Leda And The Swan

... . Leda and the Swan states two main charaters and doesn't refer to the main event whatsoever. Leda and the swan refer to two characters and leaves the reader wondering what was the relationship that emerged and took place. Because the title doesn't mention the rape, it brings out that a situation existed, but doesn't put emphisis on the fact that the horrific act was invloved. The significance that the poem, even though it descibes the rape, more analyzes the relationship between Leda and the Swan In the first ... stanza of the poem, Yeats immediately brings the reader to the moment ... ...

  • Word Count: 1080
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Leda and the Swan by W.B. Yeats

In the poem, "Leda and the Swan", written by W.B. Yeats, the speaker takes a tale from Greek mythology and puts a unique spin on it. In Greek mythology, Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta, was either raped by Zeus or seduced Zeus to sleep with her. There is no set story on whether Leda was raped or was a temptress. The author plays with these two conflicting perspectives in the poem by ... lines 1, 2, and 3 forces the reader to take frequent pauses. The "sudden blow" and the "great wings beating" in line 1 take these forced pauses and twists them into the rhythm of the swan's thrusts....

  • Word Count: 878
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Castor And Pollux

... were never known to be apart and every adventure they embarked upon was done together. In Greek mythology, Castor and Pollux were the offspring of Leda and the Swan, as Zeus had disguised himself. Leda gave birth to an egg from which sprang the twins. Various stories state that the twins had different fathers; Pollux was the offspring of Zeus, or Jupiter, and Castor was the child of Leda's mortal husband, King Tyndareus of ... Sparta. Therefore, Castor is mortal and Pollux is immortal. Some say that ... ...

  • Word Count: 838
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Leonardo da Vinci: Humanist and Renaissance Man

... , he made a career in engineering as well and developed a plan to further expand the distribution of the citizen's living quarter's throughout the province to prevent rapid spread of disease and for maximum survival. Characteristics of Humanism such as the rediscovery of classical civilization and self-actualization describe the lifestyle of Leonardo. He expresses mythological characters in his art such as Leda and the Swan, which portrays the seduction of a woman by a disguised Zeus ... . The ideal life was to fully participate in abundant and varied relationships, and he ... ...

  • Word Count: 566
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. The Life And Times Of Gianni Versace

... la Ville de Paris' over to Versace. By November 14th, the premiere of the ballet "Lametamorphose des dieux- is in Brussels, which did all the costume design. The next two years of Versace life were a world wind of ballets and being the head costume designer for them. Mid January, Richard Strauss's "Salome,"" March 31st Bejarts's "Leda and the Swan- both at the Scala. On April of 87', Franco Maria Ricci published ... , the book, "Versace Teatro."" By September Versace's huge contribution to the theater was awarded with the "Maschera DÌArgento- prize. After receiving the award he traveled...

  • Word Count: 1320
  • Approx Pages: 5
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6. Poetic Foundations of William Butler Yeats

... a subtle tonal shift from images of decay into symbols of gentrification. This is seen through the word 'loosed', and although it has connotations of unleashing a destructive force, it also describes the creation of a future. 'Leda and the Swan' presents the collision between creation and destruction through the rape and divine conception of Leda. The second stanza of the poem continues to use synecdoche of 'fingers, thighs, body, white rush' to prohibit ... the reader from grasping an entire vision. This technique is used to manifest an impression of the loss of control ...

  • Word Count: 1013
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Pollux

... Greek mythology their mother was Leda. Pollux was the result of the famous Leda and the Swan affair, when Zeus (the Roman Jupiter) disguised as a swan seduced Leda. Pollux is immortal, like his father. Castor on the other hand was mortal. Though some authors say Zeus was his father too, others site Tyndareus, who had relations with Leda the same night. And rather than twins, Leda bore quadruplets. Pollux and Helen, the famous Helen of Troy were ... fathered by Zeus; while Castor and Clytemnestra were the ... ...

  • Word Count: 549
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

8. W.B. Yeats

... can affect the power to come. The idea of the ordinary and seemingly insignificant is reinforced with imagery of the every day, such as in the passage, "Quiet the dog, tether the pony/To a distant post." The ideas expressed in "Long Legged Fly" can be linked to "Leda and the Swan" (1924) where the mythical raping of a young girl, Leda, by Zeus in Swan form has huge repercussions on the future. The forced conception of Leda by the swan is a turning ... point and will have lasting consequences on the future and ... ...

  • Word Count: 823
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Pompeii

... a black-ground enlived by animals, vases, musical instruments and others, we can see the three-dimensional effects, enhanced, for example by the woman on the balcony on the left. Apollo, Bachus and Venus appear in the main picture, in the upper zone above them is Leda with her swan, and small personifications of muses stand alone in the sides. The decoration stands out because of the blackground. From personal experience, I can say that after ... a black-ground enlived by animals, vases, musical instruments and others, we can see the three-dimensional effects, enhanced, for example by t...

  • Word Count: 7352
  • Approx Pages: 29
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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