EN1215 Lit theory Context Leda and the Swan essay 1 PDF

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With reference to any text studied so far in EN1215, discuss and illustrate the importance of the concept of context. Context, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is, “The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood” ("Context - Definition Of Context In English | Oxford Dictionaries"). Through an analytical lens, context allows a reader to gain a wider understanding of a text. If a reader has knowledge of the context surrounding the creation of a text, including the time period, intended audience, social and political views of the writer and many other influences, the reader may begin to have a more in-depth understanding of the underlying meanings of a text and why it was written in the first place. The importance of this can be seen upon analysing W. B. Yeats’ ‘Leda and the Swan’. Upon first reading, without knowledge of context, ‘Leda and the Swan’ appears confusing, narrated from an outside perspective in a passive voice, seemingly giving as little information as possible, “A sudden blow”, “how can body, laid in that white rush” (Yeats). It can easily be recognised as, and is known for being, a poem about rape, however, without contextual knowledge, the poem is a strange tale depicting, "in the first and most obvious reading, Leda is clearly a victim" (Barnwell, 63) being raped by a swan “her nape caught in his bill” (Yeats). She is shown as powerless against the swan reinforcing the image of her as a victim with “helpless breast” and “terrified vague fingers” (Yeats). This creates a strange and perplexing image for the modern reader, the most obvious reason being forced bestiality is not something which is common in poetry or other mediums, which make the poem appear perverse and immoral. However, if a modern reader has knowledge of Greek mythology and is familiar with the story of Leda and the Swan then they will have a different experience in their first reading of

the text. The fall of troy is an elaborate tale, but in short, Leda “was the wife of king Tyndareus of Sparta.” ("Leda"). Zeus saw her and fell in love, “transformed into a swan” (“Leda”), he impregnated her. On the same night “Leda also lay with her husband” (“Leda”) and as a result became pregnant with two sets of twins, one set from each encounter, “Helen and Clytemnestra” and “Castor and Pollux” (“Leda”) This set in motion the events which eventually led to the fall of Troy. Helen of Troy was said to be beautiful, learning of this, the king of Troy abducted her. As a result “the Greeks besieged the city of Troy”. Agamemnon was told he must sacrifice his daughter to the gods in order for there to be a wind for them to sail. ("Trojan War") Furious over the death of Iphigenia, her daughter “after the war, Clytemnestra, the wife of the Greek leader Agamemnon, had her husband murdered” ("SparkNotes: Yeats’ Poetry: “Leda And The Swan”). If the modern reader is aware of the mythology behind the poem then they would have no trouble understanding that Leda is raped by Zeus in the guise of a swan as “Greek myths of rape where either the aggressor (a god) and/or the victim assume the form of animals” ("Bestiality And Bestial Rape In Greek Myth - Open Research Online") are not all that unusual. By having this knowledge of mythology they would also be able to see and understand the reference to the death of Agamemnon and the sack of Troy, “The broken wall, the burning roof and tower / And Agamemnon dead” (Yeats) and understand that in ‘the swan’s’ moment of climax Leda had the ability to see the future, seeming to “put on his knowledge with his power” (Yeats) and have the same omnipotence as the god Zeus. This allows the reader to understand the poem at a surface level being able to follow the narrative clearly, something which is near impossible without this understanding. It is important to note that readers at the time of publishing in 1924 would have had more awareness of classical mythology than readers today, and as such the poem would have reached a wider audience. Another important layer of context is Yeats’ reason for creating the poem:

“Yeats wrote a note to explain that he “wrote Leda and the Swan because the editor [George Russell, AE] of a political review [The Irishman Statesman] asked me for a poem.”…”I thought ‘Nothing is now possible but some movement, or birth from above, preceded by some violent annunciation.’ My fancy began to play with Leda and the Swan for metaphor and I began this poem; but as I wrote, bird and lady took such possession of the scene that all politics went out of it, and my friend tells me ‘his conservative readers would misunderstand the poem.’” (Jeffares) By understanding Yeats’ intention to make the poem an allegory for the relationship between Britain and Ireland the reader can begin to look closer at the poem and see a deeper meaning in his work. The ‘swan’ raping Leda, functions as a metaphor for this relationship, representing how Britain overpowered and occupied Ireland through force. Through questioning “how can those terrified vague fingers push / the feathered glory from her loosening thighs?” (Yeats), Yeats denotes the arguably ambiguous nature of Leda’s rape and suggests that Leda/Ireland can’t resist Britain/the ‘swan’ leaving them “helpless” (Yeats). Using the rape of a woman for this metaphor works particularly well as countries are often referred to as female, suggesting a sense of vulnerability and ownership. The second and third, final line of the third stanza, “The broken wall, the burning roof and tower / And Agamemnon dead”, could be seen to symbolise the importance of the consequences of the ‘swan’s’ actions, causing destruction, similar to the destruction caused in Ireland by Britain’s actions. The end of the sonnet emphasises this with “the indifferent beak” (Yeats) ‘dropping’ her. Highlighting the lack of concern for the consequences seen by Zeus and Britain, taking what they want and leaving them vulnerable. Looking at the structure of the poem, a Petrarchan sonnet, written in iambic pentameter, traditional of a love poem, it can be seen as highlighting the differing perspectives of the two

parties. Leda and Ireland are victims, helpless in an assault against them by a more powerful force, Zeus and Britain, which sees the encounter as beneficial and ignores the resistance it encounters. Additionally, the use of the swan, traditionally a symbol of majesty and power, emphasised by phrases such as “Great wings” and “feathered glory”, could symbolise how some view the Irish as stunned by Britain much like “the staggering girl” (Yeats). The caesuras disrupt the rhythm and flow of the poem “a sudden blow: the great wings beating still” (Yeats) possibly reflecting inconsistencies and disturbance created by British rule in Ireland. The use of a question to conclude the sonnet, “Did she put on his knowledge with his power / Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?” (Yeats), creates a contrast to the usual feeling of a solution at the end of a sonnet, prompting the reader to question the lack of a resolution in Ireland and the story of Leda. Additionally, ending with the word ‘drop’ creates a sense of unease and a reference to the coming doom following the encounter. To conclude, in reference to Yeats’ ‘Leda and the Swan’ a knowledge of the context surrounding the poem is incredibly important, each piece colours the readers view of the sonnet and allows a deeper understanding to an otherwise confusing narrative.

Bibliography A. Norman Jeffares, “A Commentary on The collected poems of w.b. Yeats”. London, melbourne, toronto: Macmillan, 1968 Barnwell, W. C. “The Rapist in ‘Leda and the Swan.’” South Atlantic Bulletin, vol. 42, no. 1, 1977, pp. 62–68., www.jstor.org/stable/3199055. "Bestiality And Bestial Rape In Greek Myth - Open Research Online". Oro.open.ac.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2017. "Context - Definition Of Context In English | Oxford Dictionaries". Oxford Dictionaries | English. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Mar. 2017. "Leda". Greekmythology.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2017. "Sparknotes: Yeats’S Poetry: “Leda And The Swan”". Sparknotes.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2017.

"Trojan War". Greekmythology.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 3 Mar. 2017. http://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Trojan_War/trojan_war.html Yeats, William. "Leda And The Swan By William Butler Yeats". Online-literature.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 2 Mar. 2017. http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/865/...