William Butler Yeats, Leda and the swan
When I first read William Butler Yeats’ poem, « Leda and the Swan », I barely understood that it was a poem that discribes an incidence of rape. I figured that there must have been something that I misunderstood, because the mix between rape and phrases hintting towards the presence of a bird did not seem like they should coincide. Never-the-less, I felt the poem’s sinister, violent nature through the language the poet uses. “Staggering”, “helpless”, “terrified”, “mastered”… Despite my ignorance at the time of what the poem discussed, a chill traversed me as I read the words. I knew it discussed something dark and cold. The poem sparked my curiosity; I wanted to know what the poem really meant, whether the words suggesting the presence of a bird, are simply figurative, a metaphor, or if they are truly representative of a literal bird. After a little research, I discovered that the poem is actually based on a myth. “Leda and the Swan” is an ancient Greek myth. Leda, wife of king Tydareus and mother of many noble children, was a very beautiful woman. So much so that she caught the eye of Zeus, the God believed by the Greek to be the God of all other Gods. When Leda refused to couple with Zeus, he turned himself into a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Zeus Zeus, Agamemnon Knowing, Ledas Zeus, Leda Swan, FGH FGH, Zeus Incarnated, Leda Aporia, Zeus Maybe, Swan Elizabethan, Gods Leda, raping leda, leda swan, loosening thighs, terrified vague fingers, dark webs, indifferent beak, brute blood, vague fingers, feathered glory, terrified vague, white rush, webs nape caught, dark webs nape, caressed dark webs, vague fingers push,
Approximate Word count = 1506
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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