leda and the swan by william butler yeats

Clearly the feelings between the mates are not mutual. The description towards swans “sudden blow: the great wings still dark webs shudder in the loins” raping a young woman is terrifying and horrible however the writer manages to awakes reader’s senses because of passionate description of physical contact. Yeats’s craftily used evocative words that indicate the poem’s theme of violence, Leda’s response, violence and sensuality. Swan was obviously used as a figurative word that represents Zeus’s violence, brutality and power. Zeus’s as a divine used his power of transformation in a wrong way. The swan in this sonnet abused its power of divine intervention. It shows his selfish desire to fulfil his passion. The violent attack of the swan reveals Zeus’s indifference and unconcern attitude for Leda. Does it occur to Leda that what’s happening is a divine intervention? In the last two lines, Leda seems to recognize the power that overtook her. The writer in the second stanza conveys confusion and wonder to Leda. Zeus as the king of gods congruently symbolizes swan in terms of divinity and mystery though. However, Zeus used swan in myth as a disguise to easily get Leda. Contemporary world considers swan as a loving and tender extraordinary creature. Swan is naturally perceived as birds of beauty, grace and peace. The representation of swan in the Sonnet is somehow ironic. What happened with Zeus’s and Leda became an inspiration for the change of history. The image of rape in this sonnet is artful. However the writer described the physical interaction in a sophisticated way through skilful use of rhythm and flowery descriptive words. The poem is a bizarre description of violent act of rape. The poem will bring the readers to a sensual and aesthetic experience because the writer used descriptive and adjective words to indicate Leda’s helplessness and vulnerability (staggering, caressed, helpless, terrified, loosening, drop).

The writer in this poetry represented Leda and the Swan as a symbol of beginning. The single act of Zeus towards Leda that results into the conception of Helen produced a remarkable change in history (Leda 2008). Helen who would later trigger the eventful destruction of Troy paved the way of the beginning of the modern era. The divine swan’s encounter with Leda resulted into the birth of Helen of Troy who was considered the most beautiful woman in Greece. Leda in Greek mythology is the queen of Sparta was being approached and seduced by Zeus in a form of a swan.

The writer approached the myth though full of allusions and symbolisms. In this sonnet, Yeats retells the story of Zeus seducing Leda in a form of a swan.

In order to fully understand this sonnet, it is significant to review Greek mythology and author’s personal idealism. Yeats, who is the writer of the “Leda and the Swan” seems to assume that the readers already have reasonable background knowledge on Greek mythology.

Leda and the swan by william butler yeats