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Leda and the SwanEugene Tou, Joseph Yang, Beverly Shih, Kaylee Blaschke, Sankalp

Katta

Period 4

SummaryStanza 1: Depicts how the swan knocks down Leda and pins her

down with his body

Stanza 2: Describes Leda’s vulnerability and inability to resist

Stanza 3: Portrays the Swan leaving Leda helpless and dropping

her

Dominant Effect In “Leda and the Swan”, Yeats uses inflammatory diction to

convey a victimizing tone regarding Leda—in contrast with a

grotesquely proud tone toward the swan—creating sympathy

for Leda as a symbol for Ireland’s conquest by Britain.

AllusionMultiple allusions found throughout the poem

● “Leda and the Swan”

○ Leda gets raped by Swan disguised as Zeus

○ Leda gives birth to Helen of Troy (most beautiful woman in the world)

○ Helen is ultimately the cause for the Trojan war (major war in Greek myths)

○ Parallels plot of poem

Allusion● Agamemnon and the Trojan War (Lines 10-11)

○ In line 11 Yeats alludes to Agamemnon, the greatest general in the Trojan

War

○ In line 10, Yeats alludes to the fall of the Trojans, most notably the fall of the

Trojan wall and the aftermath that followed

Allusions● Rape of Leda by Zeus (British conquest of Ireland) results in

Trojan War (deadliest battle in Greek Mythology).

○ British conquest of Ireland results in great amounts in staggering amount of

death

Structure & Punctuation

● Sonnet form

○ Split up—loses flow

○ Rhyme scheme decays

○ Representative of Romanticism destroyed

● Punctuation—question marks

● Turn—shows true message

Imagery● Color Imagery

○ “By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill/ He holds her helpless

breast upon his breast.”

○ “And how can body, laid in that white rush/But feel the strange heart

beating where it lies?”

○ Darkness signifies the severity of Leda’s situation.

○ White-Symbol of purity. Corruption of Leda’s beauty.

■ Irony: Swan portrays Zeus as a good being, but readers criticize

the Swan (Zeus) for his immoral actions.

Diction● Prominent in the beginning

● Sets tone

● Erotic diction (especially in stanzas 1 and 2)

○ “Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed” (Line 2)

○ “He holds her helpless breast upon his breast” (Line 4)

■ Creates an image of Leda’s helplessness

● Powerful diction

○ “A sudden blow: the great wings beating still” (Line 1)

■ Incriminating Britain for conquest of Ireland

● Parallel Swan raping Leda

ToneTone of helplessness throughout the poem.

● “Above the staggering girl” :

○ Establishes Zeus’ dominance over Leda,

attributable to his high status as a Greek God.

● “He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.” :

○ Yeats does not discuss any resistance from Leda,

which implies a tone of submission, perhaps a

result of his masculinity or of his prestige.

She is both physically and emotionally powerless to his

authority.

ToneTone of devastation in the third stanza.

● “The broken wall, the burning roof and tower” :

○ Destructive imagery to convey the metaphorical

violation of Leda’s body.

● “Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?” :

○ Leda’s wellbeing lays in the hands of Zeus who is

“indifferent” towards her. Yeats creates a tone of

suspense as she can “be dropped” at any moment,

causing her ultimate destruction.

Effects● Misogyny

○ Women as symbol of weakness

○ Victimize women

● Patriotism

○ Victimize Ireland

○ Incriminate Britain

1. By victimizing Leda, is Yeats promoting or criticizing

misogyny?

2. How effectively does Yeats use tone to convey his message?

3. How does Yeats use diction to convey his ideas?

4. How closely does the plot of this poem parallel the Britain's

conquest of Ireland?

Discussion Questions

Exit Slip1.) Come up with your own thesis and evaluate how similar is it

to ours.

2.) Any feedback on our presentation?

Works Cited"Leda". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia

Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

Yeats, William Butler. "Leda and the Swan." N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Poets.org. Academy of

American Poets. Web. 08 Nov. 2016.