Preview

Leda and the Swan

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
271 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Leda and the Swan
Depictions of Leda and the Swan Leda felt a sudden blow, with the “great wings” of the swan still beating above her. (Yeats) Leda and the Swan is a story in art from Greek mythology. The story of Leda being raped and seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan has been retold in many ways. However, there are many similarities to this story. Peter Paul Ruben displayed a different idea in his painting from the idea in the poem written by William Butler Yeats.
In “Leda and the Swan” there are many similarities portrayed, although the executions differ. In each presentation there is a swan with great wings. Leda is nakedly present and the swan is atop her committing rape. Each work displays a provocative opinion of an explicit crime that is taking place.
William Butler Yeats’ poem combines words indicating powerful action that indicates a struggle. Yeats explains the position of the swan’s bill grips Leda’s neck. Her “terrified vague fingers” work in efforts to resist the swan. This rape foreshadows the future events of the burning tower and the death of Agamemnon.
The painting by Peter Paul Ruben shows the swan’s bill in Leda’s mouth. The placement of the bill would appear to muffle Leda during the rape. Her body is limp and unresisting, which may suggest that the act was consensual. In Ruben’s painting there is an absence of the future events.
I think “Leda and the Swan” is a creation of vulgarity. It announces an idea of bestiality. I believe that the painting and the poem are just as degrading as modern day

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Artemisia Gentileshi

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Artemisia Gentileshi, 1593-1654, was no ordinary girl for her times. Her father was a celebrated painter named Orazio Gentileshi, from whom she inherited her amazing talent for the arts. Most of Artemisia’s work was inspired by the endeavor of virtuous, martyrs, heroic and strong females from the mythology, classical literature and the bible. Being a victim herself of rape, her fondness of female dominance is remarkably present generally in her work.…

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    poetry

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages

    This Victorian poem is about the narrator (a fallen woman), the Lord and Kate. It is a ballad which tells the story from the narrator’s perspective about being shunned by society after her ‘experiences’ with the lord. The poem’s female speaker recalls her contentment in her humble surroundings until the local ‘Lord of the Manor’ took her to be his lover. He discarded her when she became pregnant and his affections turned to another village girl, Kate, whom he then married. Although the speaker’s community condemned the speaker as a ‘fallen’ woman, she reflects that her love for the lord was more faithful than Kate’s. She is proud of the son she bore him and is sure that the man is unhappy that he and Kate remain childless. Some readers think that she feels more betrayed by her cousin than the lord. This poem is a dramatic monologue written in the Victorian era.…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Leda And The Swan Analysis

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Man’s supposed dominion over animals is far from absolute. In 2013, John Bradford, who had been the elephant manager at Dickerson Park Zoo for 25 years, was killed by one of the female elephants he had raised since 1990 while guiding her to a barnyard stall [1]. In the light of stories like this, one must question the extent of our control over animals and our own place as living creatures on this planet. Dominion is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, “supreme authority,” or, “absolute ownership [2].” It seems that the use of this term in Genesis [3] to describe man’s relationship with animals is either outdated or inappropriate. The true relationship between human and non-human animals is one much more complex and undefined, hinging…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    King Horn Gender Roles

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages

    It is a classic example of medieval romance literature, following the typical features of a medieval romance story, a few including exile leading to return, a beautiful endangered lady in need of saving, and a monstrous or magical challenger. The difference, however, is that it could be argued that King Horn, while following the rules of these very typical tropes, is not the typical hegemonic male; he does not perform gender roles that would have been expected of him. As Michael Hays points out in his adaptation (1999, iii) King Horn is not written in the style of traditional medieval romances, since commonly they are written centred around action instead of emotion, while King Horn develops the relationship between Horn and Rymenheilde in an unusually detailed description. In the story, it is said that he is “a bold lad, tall, fair and strong”. (Hays, p.7) This description suggests that even the enemies of the story, the Saracens, consider him to be too attractive to be outright murdered. We also see his love interest, Rymenheilde, forgoing traditional gendered expectations. She is a strong character, and perhaps could even be considered an unusual portrayal of a woman for the time in which it was written, although it has been suggested that the reason for her being so headstrong was due to her being overcome by passion for…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Zeus And Leda Essay

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the poem, there is one line that suggests Leda acquired the knowledge that Zeus holds, “Did she put on his knowledge with his power” (Yeats, 92). The knowledge that Leda now holds could be seen as a gift. Some think that…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    prostitute: a bridge in the background hints at her likely fate of suicide, while the ensnared white calf represents the helplessness and endangered purity of the woman in the flesh market of the city. Rossetti did not often paint morality scenes that specifically addressed issues of prostitution, chastity, and sexual ethics. The limited instances in which Rossetti painted in this manner, however, imply that it may be helpful to instead turn our attention to the artist’s more subtle engagement with the Victorian dichotomous model of female sexuality. …

    • 1369 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Flyaway, by Lucy Christopher, the main character Isla keeps having memories about the swans, this may lead to a theme and it already had led to a conflict.…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The poems, "The Wild Swans at Coole" and "The Great Scarf of Birds," unconsciously play off one another. Yeats and Updike paint similar pictures about similar topics. Although these poems consist of similar subjects, the authors' diction and details are at completely different ends of the poetry spectrum.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The image of the nude is timeless, fundamental and universal. It has the ability to incite intense interest, yearning and even repulsion in the viewer. We often find that images of the nude reflect upon society’s attitudes towards beauty and gender issues. These issues are strongly highlighted in Jenny Saville’s nakedly confrontational ‘Propped’, which encompasses of a heavy-handed naked woman sitting on a stool. Her artwork forces the viewer to think of the female nude as not only an object, but also as a subject. Botticelli’s ‘Birth of Venus’ also addresses the issues of beauty and gender. In the artwork, Venus appears to be emerging from the sea, standing in a shell. Symbolising female desirability, the Early Renaissance painting is in accordance…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Emotional Contrast of Two Female Images While searching through online galleries for images that pleased my eye, I happened upon two images that I could not ignore. As luck, or fate, would have it, both paintings depicted the simple image of a woman, yet became my favorites for opposite reasons. The image of Penelope, a painstakingly well-crafted likeness, contained a haunting emotion that I found myself returning to day after day, simply because it pleased my eye. The other image of a Girl By a Window seemed to be painted by an amateur. Its crudely painted background images that were nearly unrecognizable combined with a whimsical representation of a woman that drew my attention in disbelief that anyone could think this painting…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The language of the second stanza poses more difficult problems for the reader. Leda’s ‘vague fingers’ (5) and ‘loosening thighs’ (6) suggest that, although she is hurt and helpless, there is a brief moment of mutual sexual pleasure. Cullingford argues that ‘male representations of rape as pleasurable for women are extremely dangerous’ but I would say that the implication is equally as dangerous for men and women alike. For men, it could be said that Leda’s reaction justifies Jove imposing himself on her. For women, it could be said that it is acceptable for men to impose themselves because of that brief moment of sexual gratification.…

    • 1406 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his “Venus at a Mirror” Paul Rubens presents the nude beauty of the goddess of Love, Venus. The artist portrays the goddess of love from a back view, seated in the center of his composition. An adolescent cupid is presented in the left foreground, holding a mirror with the reflection of Venus’ face on its surface, while a dark-skinned, exotic handmaid fills the upper right of the painting fondling the golden hair of the Venus. The three figures form a lunette that emphasizes the mirror that frames Venus face like a portrait. The viewer follows this lunette once his attention has been caught by the nude female body and then the eyes move from the handmaid to the female body again and the adolescent cupid; this lunette underlines the mirror…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Easter Rising and Yeats

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Yeats derives his poetic strength from the fusion of his life experiences and his perspective of the world. The tension in the poetry is deeply rooted in the troubled political context of his time and the personal disappointment he suffered throughout his life. He transformed these things into exquisite poetry. As T.S Eliot describe he was able to articulate the human condition and express the timeless truths which are valued by human beings universally. Yeats particularly demonstrates how a poet can reflect the various concerns of his age while maintaining a distinctive voice hence transcending the limitations of time. Yeats expresses this through the two poems "Easter 1916" and "Leda and the Swan".…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are many ways that both "Aunty Misery" and "The Crane Maiden" are alike and different. This essay will be comparing and contrasting the stories. They have common and different things about both these two stories. This essay will be showing how these stories are alike and different.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Yeats Essay

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In “The Wild Swans at Coole,” Yeats uses oxymoronic metaphors of the season “autumn beauty,” to represent the depressive state he was feeling. While “autumn,” has connotations of decay, Yeats views the season as “beautiful,” to emphasise the self-pity he is experiencing. Sexual tension and frustration is also conveyed through metaphors; “woodland paths are dry,” refers to the bleak and dry season of autumn but also to Yeats’ lack of sexual action as a result of chasing after Maud for such a long time. This sexual desire is emphasised through symbolism of the “swans,” as when these creatures’ wings open, they bare a remarkable resemblance to the male genitalia. Visual imagery of the “October twilight,” furthers the emphasis on Yeats’ depression and sadness as October in Ireland sees the arrival of grey skies which depicts Yeats’ conscience to his aging self. The grey skies that come in October metaphorically represent grey hair that Yeats’ is/will shortly grow as a result of his aging. As “twilight,” is the point between day and night, Yeats’ sees his youth disappearing with the day. Yeats is reminded later in the poem of his inevitable aging by the swan’s wings as they create a “bell-beat of their wings,” above his head. The use…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays