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Encountering Violence: Yeats, “Leda and the Swan”

Introduction

Literature is an important aspect of the social wellbeing of a given society because of the important role that it plays in informing the audience about the various issues and concerns related to a particular population in a given context. Authors use creative literary works not only to inform the reader but also to document the various themes and events that define a given age. In this regard, it is worth acknowledging that a significant percentage of the classical literature in use today reflects that various events that occurred in the past. These events often tend to have far reaching implications not only on the characters but on the entire society. In addition, they provide vital lessons to the audience and show how certain events undermine and /or enhance the holistic wellbeing of humanity.

Appreciation of this provides guidance to the audience with regard to how they are expected to handle different situations. Most importantly, conventional themes always underscore the role of the divine power in the lives of the populations. The author of Leda and the Swan succeeds in presenting to the audience theme of violence and the implications of the same to the entire society. Notably, the consequences of the inherent violence have adverse effects and various lessons can be learnt from the same. This paper reviews the theme of violence, how it is explored by the writer, its implications on the characters and the entire society and finally the modern lessons that can be derived from the same.

The poem presents a vivid description of a rape ordeal that leaves Leda pregnant. The first stanza introduces the reader to the theme of violence as s/he informed about the aggressive descent of the bird and the subsequent attack to the victim. The author describes the swan’s assault as a “sudden blow”. In this regard, this is used to refer to the aggressive sexual act that is immediate and finds Leda unprepared. In his review, Scott posits that by use of an incomplete sentence, the author effectively emphasizes the intrinsic violence as well as the explosive nature of the activity that found Leda unawares (2). The author further reveals to the audience that he swan continued to hang in the air while its wings were beating.

The word still in this regard has two different meanings. In the first instance, it shows that the swan continues beatings its wings while in the second instance; it implies that the swan continues to hover above the girl. According to Hargrave, this is also an indication that the swan has overpowered the girl as she is unable to take any practical steps to protect herself from the power of the bird (239). The “beating of the wings” is an indication that the swan had already staged a fight and therefore it would require the girl significant efforts to overcome the same.

Scott also point out that the author used the swan as a form of disguise (4). In this respect, it is argued that the swan is naturally not a violent bird and it hardly causes any harm to humanity. This can be used to explain why the girl remained unsuspecting as the swan approached. She could have contended that the bird was harmless and therefore there was no need of taking practical steps to arm her self. In addition, the bird is a representation of the divine power. Usually, this is considered a form of protection to humanity and therefore, it was unlikely for the same to harm the girl.

The second line provides an explicit description and how she struggles under the power of the bird. This can be considered both a physical and psychological struggle. The author cites that he swan completely covers Leda with its body while she falters under him. The, he has “her thighs caressed” using his dark and webbed feet. Although the author presents some degree of sensuousness in his employment of the term caressed, it is indicated that his feeling is undermined by the bird’s “dark webs”. The third line further exemplifies the pain and fright that the girl experiences in as her nape gets caught in the bill of the swan. This implies that the girl is helpless as she is overpowered by the might of the bird. In the fourth line, the author ascertains that the girl is helpless and implies a crushing movement as the bird “holds her helpless breast against his breast”. Neigh explains that there was some degree of force and physical struggle as the bird pinned down the girl and subsequently raped her (146).

In the second stanza, the author provides a distinct description of the rape through rhetoric questions. The author contends that the divine nature of the bird gave it some form of power that could not be overcome by Leda. He shows that the fingers of the girl are “terrified” and”vague” because of the powerlessness that she experiences amidst the characteristic “feathered glory”. This makes it difficult to push the assailant from her “loosening thighs”. Further Neigh indicates that she looses her identity and turns in a mere “body” that is laid in the “white rush” of the bird (147). Basically, this gives a clear description of a divine nature of the bird and the power that characterizes this status. It shows that the girl could not deliver herself from this problem under any circumstance. It also highlights the resignation of the girl that is exemplified through her “loosening thighs’. Notably, this is contributed to by the overwhelming fear that she experiences during this time.

The section that follows this underscores the implications of the rape to the entire society. According to Scott, “The broken wall, the burning roof and tower, And Agamemnon dead.” implies the fall of Troy as well as the end of Trojan War (5). This predicts that this rape will culminate in the birth of Helen who would play a significant role in the collapse of the Greek civilization and lead to modernity. In his review, studies cites that the “burning roof”, “tower” and Broken” wall also have sexual implications. In this regard, the burning roof is used to refer to the vagina, the broken wall to the breaking of virginity during rape and the tower refers to the phallus. Fire in this context represents the sexual passion as well as the union between the higher power and humanity.

In the last stanza, the author ends the poem by posing a rhetoric question to the audience. Also, by using past tense in this stanza, the author succeeds in placing the rape activity as well as their relative implications in their historical context. The author wonders whether the girl while being ravaged savagely by the “brute blood of the air” was aware of the consequences of the same. In particular, she wonders whether Leda understood that this divine union was symbolic of societal change and dynamism to modernity. In his review, Neigh indicates that by it the author defining the swan as “brute blood of air”, he showed that the swan was physical and had the characteristic of an animal as well as those of the divine nature (152). The last stanza of the poem also portrays the bird as being indifferent to the experience of the victim. This is manifested when he lets Leda drop from his “indifferent beak”.

Conclusion

At this juncture, it can be contended that the poem is a reflection of the violence that is related to rape. The author uses mainly physical terms to describe the incident and underscores the activity of the bird versus that passivity of the girl. The bird has strength and it dominates the activity as opposed to the girl who feels helpless and overpowered. From a historical point of view, this implies the dawn of a new era as well as civilization. This is characterized by various transformations that have fear reaching implications on the historical population. It shows that the beginning of any new era in history is often characterized by violence and incomprehensible beginnings.

Further more, it is indicated that the brutality that is manifested in this rape suggests that violence tends to culminate in more violence in future. It is in this consideration that this paper concludes by indicating that Yeats succeeds in exploring the theme of violence as well as its implications on the characters and the society at large.

Works Cited

Holstad, Scott. Leda and the Swan: Modern Irish Literature. Retrieved, 20th March, 2010, from: http://www-scf.usc.edu/~erdemoz/Write/leda.html

Janet, Neigh. Understanding “Leda and the Swan”. Journal of Modern Literature, 264 (2002): 144-60.

Nancy, Hargrave. Violence in “Leda and the Swan”, Arizona Quarterly, 37 (1993): 236-46.