Leda and the Swan
A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,
He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.
How can those terrified vague fingers push
The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
And how can body, laid in that white rush,
But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?
A shudder in the loins engenders there
The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
And Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up,
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
Summary of Leda and the Swan
- Popularity of “Leda and the Swan”: “Leda and The Swan” by William Butler Yeats, the Irish poet, is an interesting piece. Yeats composed this poem in 1923. It, however, first appeared in the month of June in 1924 in a magazine, The Dial. Later, Yeats included it in his collection that appeared in the same year under the title of, The Cat and the Moon and Certain Poems. The popularity of the poem, however, lies in its mythical relations of the Irish national struggle.
- “Leda and the Swan” As a Representative of Sex and Violence: The poet opens the poem with the swan beating his wings on the girl. It is the Greek god, Zeus, who has taken the form of a swan and attacked the girl to sexually rape her. This violent grab continues with his wings beating the girl and feet grabbing her. He puts his beak on her neck and overpowers her. In this assault, Zeus is trying to rape the girl. Yeats rhetorically questions whether Leda has enough power in her fingers to prevent parting of her thighs and preventing her ruin. In another rhetorical question, his response is that she cannot as the blur of “the white rush” of the feather of swan may not let her feel the heartbeat of his body. However, when the swan shudders, it is clear that the swan has succeeded in raping her and impregnating her with, Helen. The poet, then, alludes to the great Agamemnon and the fall of try. The poem, then, questions whether Leda has the realization of the importance of this moment or whether she was aware of the power that Zeus had had before her fall.
- Major Themes in “Leda and the Swan”: Rape, violence, sex desire and free will are four major themes of the poem. Although this is a historical even that Yeats has put into his poem, the significance of rape and its consequences become clear by the end of the poem when Yeats refer to Agamemnon. This rape through violence and the “shudder” makes things clear that sexual desire is uncontrollable even if it is linked to gods. However, the question of free will looms large in the background that if Helen was destined to meet that fate in causing downfall of Troy, she must have taken some foreknowledge from Zeus.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used In Leda and the Swan
literary devices help the writers to convey their thoughts impressively. Yeats has also used some literary devices in this poem whose analysis is as follows.
- Allusion: It means to refer to some event, phenomenon or belief or idea of some historical importance such as Swan here refers to Zeus and Agamemnon to King Agamemnon.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ and /a/ in “By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill” the sound of /o/ and /a/ in “And how can body, laid in that white rush” and the sound of /o/ in “and Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up.”
- Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration in the shape of initial consonant sounds of the neighbouring words such as the sound of /h/ in “he holds” and the sound of /b/ in “brute blood.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /s/ and /l/ in “He holds her helpless breast upon his breast” and the sound of /b/ and /r/ in “the broken wall, the burning roof and tower.”
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Yeats has used imagery in this poem such as “By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill”, “So mastered by the brute blood of the air” and “Before the indifferent beak could let her drop.”
- Personification: The poem shows the use of personifications of body as if it has emotions and life of its own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows the use of symbols of thighs, feathers, and heart to show the act of rape.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Leda And The Swan
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of classical references to form heavy diction with serious and tragic tone.
- Free Verse: The poem is a sonnet having ABABCDCD EFGEFG rhyme scheme.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This sonnet has its two parts: octave and sestet.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Leda and The Swan” are appropriate to quote when talking about the feminine empowerment.
So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
Did she put on his knowledge with his power
Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
