Leda And The Swan Analysis English Literature Essay

In Leda and the Swan, Yeats ingeminates a Grecian mythology narrative, whereby, God Zeus, in signifier of a swan, rapes Leda, a immature beautiful adult female. Leda all of a sudden feels a might blow of great wings that sends her to the land. Still terrified, Leda tries to liberate herself, nevertheless, the swan holds her firmly to the land. The swan eventually opens her small legs and after a session of cuddling, he rapes her. Unfortunately, Leda conceives and the talker posits that she would bear Helen of Troy, the generation of Trojan War.

As aforementioned, Swan in this verse form is Zeus, a God in camouflage and this is the supernatural portion of the verse form. On the other portion, Leda is a immature beautiful adult female and this represents the human side of the verse form. The dark after Zeus had raped Leda, she had sex with her hubby ensuing to deposition of two eggs in her womb. These two eggs hatched giving rise to Helen, and Castor. Because of these events, it is difficult to state the kid belonging to Zeus the God and Tyndareus, Leda ‘s mortal hubby. There is a mix up between supernatural and human and this gave rise to half-immortal existences.

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By composing this verse form, whereby a God has a sexual brush with a human being, William Butler marries supernatural to the natural. As I write, there is integrity between supernatural and human and Butler brings this brotherhood by allowing Zeus, a God, colza Leda a human being. Butler besides unites the two by allowing a God to beget human existences. The fact that a God fathered human existences, it is a clear deduction of how supernatural associates with human in this verse form.

Harmonizing to Greek mythology, Zeus admired Leda, a girl to Thestius and a married woman to Tyndareus. From Grecian mythology, Helen was born from the egg that Zeus deposited in Leda. This explained why she was the prettiest adult female in the universe by so. The fabulous portion of it is that, Theseus kidnapped Helen while she was a child and because she was excessively immature to be married, he sent her to Aethra his female parent life in Aphidnane. However, Dioscuri, her brother, delivered her and took Aethra surety thenceforth. Due to Helen ‘s beauty, both great and little suers across Greece were interested in her even before she was nubile. This prompted Tyndareus, her human male parent, or instead her female parent ‘s husband, to cite all the suers and do them take an curse to protect Helen even if they do non acquire a opportunity to get married her.

To ease his programs, Tyndareus consulted Odysseus to give a edict to all suers to take the curse. This would intend that these suers had to, “ back up the matrimony rights of the successful campaigner ” ( Hunter Para. 4 ) . After intense audiences and disapprovals, Tyndareus chose Menelaus as the suited suer of Helen. The two married, brought forth a girl, Hermione, and lived merrily thenceforth but merely for 10 old ages.

After ten old ages of matrimony, Helen either was kidnapped by boy of Priam, the male monarch of Troy. The boy was known as Paris. This angered Menelaus who summoned all suers under the curse to assist in delivering Helen. Grecian leaders came up with the largest ground forces of all time in the history of Greece. Agamemnon was the main commanding officer of this ground forces and they attacked Troy ensuing to what is famously known as the Trojan War. Yeats brings out this issue clearly in his verse form when he says, “ A frisson in the pubess engenders there/ The broken wall, the combustion roof and tower/ And Agamemnon dead ” ( Yeats line 9-11 ) . This is the fabulous portion of it.

On the other side, there is a clear indicant that Yeats marries history to this mythology. Leda is involved in activities of Gods that sojourn the Earth from clip to clip. However, she lives in a universe ruled by male monarchs and authoritiess non divinities. Line 10, where the talker negotiations of burnt walls, gives penetration to the historical portion of this verse form. “ The Burning of Troy set the phase for the future rise of the Roman Empire and, much later, the rise of modern Europe ” ( Hunter Para. 6 ) .

Apart from conveying out the Grecian mythology in this verse form, Yeats besides hints something about history. The power that Agamemnon had during the Trojan War resonates good with the nature of Roman Empire. Roma Empire was a really strong imperium and given the clip that Yeats wrote this verse form, that is 1928, he may be talking about the historical events that happened in the Roman Empire. It is true that the issue of Zeus infusing Leda and the subsequent birth of Helen is strictly fabulous.

Greeks believe that Trojan War took topographic point at around 14 BC and this is strictly historical. Furthermore, the innuendo that Roman Empire and modern Europe rose from this war, gives a historical feeling. Therefore, even though Yeats does non come out clearly to divide what is fabulous from what is historical, these derivations are clear indexs that history blends with mythology good in this verse form.

Leda and the Swan, is a fabulous Greek narrative where Zeus, a God, masking as a swan attacks Leda, a immature beautiful adult female and rapes her. Even though Leda attempts to defy the swan, he has strong wings that keep her pegged to the land as he caresses her cervix utilizing his cervix. Still terrified, the swan opens Leda ‘s small legs and rapes her. Yeats goes in front to depict the events of the Trojan War, which resulted from this colza. Here Agamemnon, the commanding officer of Grecian ground forces that attacked Troy, dies and the walls of Troy come down. The greatest inquiry remains whether Leda knew she was holding sexual intercourse with a deity.

Yeats brings together the supernatural and human. Zeus represents the supernatural while Leda represents the human. Yeats uses sexual relationship to unify the two. Zeus, a God, rapes Leda a human being therefore unifying supernatural to human. On the other side, Yeats unites history with mythology. The issue of Zeus ravishing Leda is a Grecian mythology. From this colza, Helen was born and she was the cause of the Trojan War. Yeats points this war in his verse form when he talks of Agamemnon and the autumn of Trojan walls. This fabulous portion of this verse form fits good in history given the chance that the Trojan War gave manner to the rise of Roman Empire. This verse form does non indicate out clearly the relationship between myth and history ; nevertheless, subsequent analyses draw clear relationship between the two.

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