Yeats’ Leda and the Swan is based on the Greek myth where the god Zeus came to Leda, the Queen of Sparta, in the form of a swan and raped her. Leda gave birth to eggs and hatched her children, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. The first stanza of this sonnet starts out with Zeus’ aggressive force, “A sudden blow: the great wings beating still” and Leda’s helplessness, “By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill, He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.” (pg. 1125)
The second stanza in the octave goes into detail about the sexual encounter in this bizarre story. The first line in the sestet signifies the turning point, the climax, in the story. “A shudder in the loins engenders there.” But the story doesn't end there.
First, let me give a little background info regarding the Trojan War. (This is not part of the poem.) The story goes that Helen of Troy, Leda and Zeus’ daughter, was the most beautiful woman in the world. Helen was married to Menelaus, but was abducted by Paris and taken to Troy. This started the Trojan War. You probably know the story of the Trojan Horse, the giant wooden horse filled with Greek warriors. The Trojans thought the horse was a sign of surrender, so they brought it inside the city gates, and began celebrating their victory. Later that night, the Greek warriors emerged from the horse, opened the gates letting the rest of the Greek warriors in, and they proceeded to destroy the Trojan soldiers and burn the City of Troy.
Thus, line 10: “The broken wall, the burning roof and tower.”
Leda’s other daughter, Clytemnestra, was married to Agamemnon. Agamemnon was the leader of the Greek soldiers during the war. While he was away at war, Clytemnestra took another lover and together they plotted to kill Agamemnon when he returned from war.
Line 11: “And Agamemnon dead."
So, one could surmise that the Trojan War and Agamemnon's murder were an indirect result of Leda and Zeus' union.
The last three lines of the sonnet are unclear in their meaning. “Being so caught up, So mastered by the brute blood of the air,” This refers to Zeus' forceful molestation. “Did she put on his knowledge with his power Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?” Did Leda gain any of Zeus' power and knowledge from the affair? Zeus is portrayed as being indifferent when it was finished. But the events that followed were very powerful.
6 comments:
It was very interesting to read your interpretation of this poem because I did not know all of the things that you did. I liked the way that you went into the actual history of the characters to relate to the poem. It made it easier to understand.
Brenda,
Congratulations on completing your 20th post!
Very good discussion of Yeats's poem, with helpful connections and contexts. Although you don't explore this connection, I think Yeats had Leda in mind as a parallel to the Virgin Mary--the human medium through which a divine force changes events in the world. (There are, of course, some significant differences between Mary and Leda!)
Your blog gave me a great deal of help in trying to understand what was going on with this poem. Being unfamiliar, and I must confess a little disinterested in mythology, your discussion added some explaination for the theme of the poem. Thanks!
Nice posting! I liked how you gave us background on what was going on in order to be able to understand and interpret the poem better. It definitely helped me to understand what was happening better. Thanks! Also, I think in the last lines, from my own interpretation, it is wondering if Leda knows the knowledge Zeus knows. Zeus probably already knows the events that will follow because of the rape and knows that the rape must happen. Leda probably does not see that this raping will lead to the end of troy and be the beginning of a new era.
First of all, I really liked the way you added the picture to your blog! I thought you had a great deal of insight into the reading. I felt like by reading your blog, it helped me see further into the story than I was originally able too. The background information was helpful, as always. I have liked the blogs that give a little background, prior to jumping into their opinions and thoughts. Great job incorporating both into your blog!
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