LEDA AND THE SWAN

By William Butler YeatsWritten in 1924

Discussion #1

What is the role of swans in Yeats’ work that we have studied? What is the symbolism associated with them?

PULL OUT YOUR PHONES

Look up “Leda and the Swan” images

KEVIN WILL READ

DOMINANT EFFECT

In “Leda and the Swan,” William Butler Yeats uses Greek allusions to illustrate the motifs of death and destruction through the retelling of the classic myth of Leda and the Swan, demonstrating how art often arises out of disaster.

Michelangelo-16th century

3rd century mosaic

THE MYTH

● CHARACTERS:○ LEDA- a Greek princess○ ZEUS- Greek God of sky/thunder, in form of a swan

■ Synonymous with power in Greek mythology

● Zeus (disguised as a swan) was being chased by an eagle, found refuge in Leda○ Leda was admired by Zeus○ Leda was the wife of Tyndareus (King of Sparta)○ Gave birth to Helen and Castor/Pollux from an egg (children of

Zeus)○ Helen was one of the causes of the Trojan War

THE MYTH IN OTHER FORMS

● During the Renaissance, da Vinci and Michelangelo painted their own interpretations of the classic tale○ Were considered the most graphic art of the time○ Both pieces were considered destroyed as part of the French Royal Family due to a

conservative family member

● Present in more recent poetry and art○ Ruben Dario’s (1892) depiction of the scene being watched over by the god, Pan○ Hilda Doolittle’s (1919) poem from the perspective of Leda, portraying the event as beautiful○ A modern exhibit (2012) in an art gallery in London

■ Police ordered to remove, story still considered explicit● Still comments on ideas of power, greed, sexuality

AGAMEMNON

● Commander of troops during Trojan War● Dies during the war● His death is representative of the death

and destruction that is the overall result of Zeus raping Leda○ Leda’s daughter Helen causes the Trojan War

in which Agamemnon dies

THE IRISH CONNECTION

SWANS IN IRISH MYTHOLOGY● Children of Lir (Lear)

○ Part of Irish Mythological Cycle which is a collection of poems from medieval manuscripts

The story: Bodh was elected King, which made Lir jealous, so he sent his daughter, Aoibh, to marry Lir. They had 4 children together, but she died, which made the kids sad. Another of Bodh’s daughters, Aoife, was sent to marry Lir. She was jealous of the 4 children, so she attempted to murder them by turning them into swans. Aoife was turned into a demon and the swans were chained together on a lake for 300 years.

MORE SWANS

● Swans are shape shifters between human and swan form● Swans mate for life, are symbol for love and fidelity

○ Ironic characterization in “Leda and the Swan”

YEATS IN 1924

● Just won the Nobel Prize for Literature the year before

● Serving in the Irish Senate○ Interest for politics still strong,

reflected in poetry

● Interest in Magic and Mysticism○ Sought to find patterns in life○ Relationship between God and

humans seen in Leda and the Swan

1924 IRELAND

● Post-WWI era○ Yeats has witnessed death and destruction○ Somber mood reflected in other poems of this year

● The Army Mutiny○ After the end of the Irish Civil War in 1923, soldiers protested because

of proposed reductions of army numbers.

DISCUSSION QUESTION #2

What is the purpose of Yeats’ retelling of an old Greek myth? How does this relate to his own life/the 1920s in Ireland?

EXTERNAL STRUCTURE

- Formal rhyme structure- ABAB CDCD EFGEFG

- Third stanza breaks after the rape- Iambic pentameter - Sonnet: 14 lines, strict rhyme scheme

- Ironic because sonnets are often about love, yet this poem is about rape and how it led to death and destruction

A sudden blow: the great wings beating stillAbove the staggering girl, her thighs caressedBy the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers pushThe 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 thereThe broken wall, the burning roof and towerAnd Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up,So mastered by the brute blood of the air,Did she put on his knowledge with his powerBefore the indifferent beak could let her drop?

DISCUSSION QUESTION #3

What effect does the shift of rhyme scheme have in conveying to the audience his view of this mythological event? [between stanzas one/two and three]

INTERNAL STRUCTURE

RHETORICAL QUESTIONSA sudden blow: the great wings beating stillAbove the staggering girl, her thighs caressedBy the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers pushThe 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 thereThe broken wall, the burning roof and towerAnd Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up,So mastered by the brute blood of the air,Did she put on his knowledge with his powerBefore the indifferent beak could let her drop?

★ Present in second and third stanza○ Progress into a questioning tone

★ There are 3 rhetorical questions○ Significant number in bible as it

represents the beginning, middle, and end of something■ Irony in 3 as a symbol of

completeness through the use of rhetorical questions

DESTRUCTION IMAGERYA sudden blow: the great wings beating stillAbove the staggering girl, her thighs caressedBy the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers pushThe 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 thereThe broken wall, the burning roof and towerAnd Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up,So mastered by the brute blood of the air,Did she put on his knowledge with his powerBefore the indifferent beak could let her drop?

★ War-like descriptions○ Alludes to Trojan War○ Irish state

★ Themes of violation★ “Strange heart”

○ Hearts are a symbol for love, closeness, intimacy

○ Contrasted by strange, describing something foreign

CHARACTERIZATION OF ZEUSA sudden blow: the great wings beating stillAbove the staggering girl, her thighs caressedBy the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers pushThe 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 thereThe broken wall, the burning roof and towerAnd Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up,So mastered by the brute blood of the air,Did she put on his knowledge with his powerBefore the indifferent beak could let her drop?

★ In Greek mythology, Zeus is characterized as almighty and powerful○ Continued in Yeats’ interpretation of the myth

★ The idea of knowledge and power being related ★ The word “indifferent”

○ Diction makes Leda seem unimportant, trivial to Zeus

★ Aggressive actions toward Leda portray power and control ○ Even though Zeus is not even in human form,

he still has the power to exercise power over Leda

○ Described as glorious despite vulgar actions

CHARACTERIZATION OF LEDAA sudden blow: the great wings beating stillAbove the staggering girl, her thighs caressedBy the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill,He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.

How can those terrified vague fingers pushThe 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 thereThe broken wall, the burning roof and towerAnd Agamemnon dead. Being so caught up,So mastered by the brute blood of the air,Did she put on his knowledge with his powerBefore the indifferent beak could let her drop?

★ Juxtaposing Zeus, Leda is characterizing as weak, helpless○ Doesn’t have the power to defend herself against

him★ Portrayed as a victim

○ “is not a crime of irrational, impulsive, uncontrollable lust, but is a deliberate, hostile, violent act of degradation and possession on the part of a would-be conqueror, designed to intimidate and inspire fear”- Susan Brownmiller■ The dynamic between Leda and Zeus

portrays this

DISCUSSION QUESTION #4

How does “Leda and the Swan” compare to the other poems that we have studied by Yeats? (With regards to structure and use of literary techniques)

Discussion Question #5

How does Yeats use the destruction and death imagery to show the creation art, and how is it seen in other forms of art? (connect to personal life)

EXIT SLIP

Write a dominant effect statement about the literary techniques used in the poem and how they convey Yeats’ message to the reader.