Ambiguity and The Undermining of The Feminine in "Leda and The Swan" Jasmine Melwing College

The message of “Leda and the Swan” is often interpreted in drastically different ways due to the ambiguity of the text. Much of this ambiguity can be attributed to intentional contradiction by the author, William Butler Yeats. This contradiction emphasizes the nature of sexism, for sexism is often portrayed as a misdirected view of the victim. Several of the following critics offer differing interpretations of the poem, portraying the ambiguous nature of the text and therefore the larger theme of sexism in the poem’s various supplications of a forced sexual encounter. Johnsen summarizes the poem as such, “Textual/Sexual politics never had a better example than ‘Leda and the Swan’ a sonnet depicting rape as a welcome sign of a better future” (Johnsen 80). Johnsen interprets the poem’s ambiguity as an indication that Leda welcomes the rape as a positive instance. Along similar lines, Mckenna states, “The final form of the poem. . . reaffirms the tragic consequences of Leda’s rape but also affirms her potential for self- awareness” (Mckenna 425). Like Johnsen, Mckenna agrees that Leda is better from the experience, but Mckenna also argues that the consequences of the rape (the destruction of Troy), are what is tragic. Barnwell...