Essay Questions

How is “Leda and the Swan” a perfect demonstration the paradox being an example of what people who hate poetry mean when they complain about poetry while also being an example of the greatness of verse?

“Leda and the Swan” is widely regarded as a masterpiece, one of Yeats’ greatest accomplishments and signature work of verse that helps define his canon. The word choices are at a level easily understood and demonstrates no great experimental leaps in form or structure. Even the narrative itself is relatively easy to follow: some creature with feathery wings—a swan, according to the title—attacks a defenseless woman and violates her. And yet, in reality, the poem will remain a complete mystery to anyone not familiar with the Greek mythology and history. Except for the title, the poem gives no indication that the bird in question is a swan and then there is the crucial, but pesky little fact that the swan isn’t even really a swan, but the Greek god Zeus taking on the form of a swan. The poem is actually a retelling of the Greek myth that tells how Helen of Troy was conceived, but Helen is not mentioned either. The only name actually given in the body of the poem, in fact, is another famous figure from Greek historical myth, Agamemnon and his appearance comes without any context useful for someone not really familiar with his tale. In other words, “Leda and the Swan” is a poem that is not really about what happens, but this is impossible to know unless you come to already aware of what it is about. Which is one exactly one of the reason that people who say they don’t read poetry give for hating it. Coincidentally, the exact same flaws that people who dislike poetry might find in Yeats’ verse are essential elements of its greatness for those who love poetry.

What is the double layer of irony associated with the swan and how does this reflect upon the poem's ironic tone?

The actions of Zeus in his form as swan runs in direct opposition to the symbolic idealization of the swan. A woman described as having a “neck like a swan” is considered graceful and elegant. Boats that people paddle across shallow waters are constructed in the shape of a swan because they are viewed as representations of beauty and contribute to construction of the serenity offered by such a park. This image of the swan thus makes the violent assault of the bird against the woman in the title ironic and surprising. And yet, that image of the swan is not entirely accurate and owes more to poets than to nature. Swans are, in fact, considered to be highly aggressive birds when they feel threatened, though the aggression is primarily a showy display intended to use their long wingspan to frighten rather than injure. The irony of Zeus taking the form of a swan to commit rape against Leda creates a dual level of irony contributes to the poem’s pervasive thematic sense of irony. It is ironic that the instigation of the next cycle of civilization requires the uncivilized act of rape. It is ironic that the daughter of Zeus conceived in sin—the future of Helen of Troy—will be the figure at the center of bringing the era dominated by Greek myths to a close. And, of course, it goes without saying that the most powerful of all the gods in the Greek vanguard needed to disguise himself as swan to have his way Leda, a common mortal female.

What is unusual about the poetic form that Yeats uses to tell this story?

“Leda and the Swan” is an example of—albeit an idiosyncratic one—a Petrarchan sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet established the convention of the first half proposing a question is resolved in the last half. Over time, the sonnet became the preferred poetic form for writing romantic verse. Shakespeare’s most famous works outside his plays, for instance, are the 154 sonnets famously directing profoundly romantic verse to two different mysterious figures. In addition to the ironic components described above, arguably the single most ironic element of this poem is Yeats’ decision to use the sonnet form to describe a symbolically explicit violent rape absent any context or connotation capable of creating romantic ambiguity. While previous versions of the encounter often included ambiguity on the issue of whether the encounter was actually a forcible rape on the part of Zeus or just consensual rough sex desires by both participants, Yeats leaves open no room for interpretation. Situating the unequivocal defilement of Leda by Zeus within most clearly romantic poetic structure also seem unambiguously ironic enough to have been intended to shut the door on the question of whether the encounter was one of mutual consent or not. The violation of Leda by Zeus is a thematic necessity and the ironic distance between form and content must be considered within that context.