Subscribe

Subscribe to our Newsletter and get informed about new publication regulary and special discounts for subscribers!

ILSHS > ILSHS Volume 27 > Yeats’ “Leda and the Swan”: A Myth of Violence
Yeats’ “Leda and the Swan”: A Myth of Violence
< Back to Volume

Yeats’ “Leda and the Swan”: A Myth of Violence

Full Text PDF

Abstract:

W. B. Yeats‟ "Leda and the Swan", first published in the Dial in 1924, is an example of Irish poetry drawing on Classical Greek and Latin texts to create a commentary on the political atmosphere in Ireland. The poem is based on the story of Leda, who was raped by Zeus in the form of a swan and later gave birth to Helen of Troy. In Yeats‟s poem, Leda represents Ireland, forcefully violated by a foreign power — Great Britain. The present study reviews mythological as well as political aspects of Yeats‟ “Leda and the Swan” and investigates the act of violence in the poem.

Info:

Periodical:
International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences (Volume 27)
Pages:
170-176
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18052/www.scipress.com/ILSHS.27.170
Citation:
R. Babaee and W. R. Wan Yahya, "Yeats’ “Leda and the Swan”: A Myth of Violence", International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, Vol. 27, pp. 170-176, 2014
Online since:
May 2014
Authors:
Ruzbeh Babaee, Wan Roselezam Wan Yahya
Keywords:
Annunciation Poetry, History, Myth, Politics, Rape, Violence
Export:
RIS, BibTeX, Text
Distribution:
Open Access

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References:

Allison, J. (1996). Passion and Cunning. " Yeat, s Political Identities: Selected Essays. Ann Arbor, MI: Univ. of Michigan, N. pag. Print.

Allt, P., Russell K. ed. (1968). The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W. B. Yeats. New York: Macmillan Company.

Cullingford, E. (1994). Pornography and canonicity: The case of Yeats's Leda and the Swan,. Heinzelman S. S., Wiseman Z. B. (eds). Representing Women: Law, Literature, and Feminism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 165-188.

Cullingford E. (1996). Gender and History in Yeats's s Love Poetry. Syracuse, NY: Syrac use UP.

Neigh, J. (2006), Reading from the drop: Poetics of identification and Yeats's Leda and the Swan,. Journal of Modern Literature, 29(4): 145-160.

Paglia, C. (2006). Break, Blow, Burn. Random House.

Ross, D. (2009). William Butler Yeats. A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. Facts on File. Inc.

Russell, K. (1966). The Variorum Edition of the Plays of W. B. Yeats. New York: Macmillan Company.

Spitzer, L. (1954). On Yeats's s Poem "Leda and the Swan",. Modern Philology 51(4): 271. Print.

Trowbridge, H. (1953). "Leda and the Swan": A Longinian Analysis,. Modern Philology 51: 118. Print.

Yeats, W. B. (1981). A Vision. London: Macmillan.

Yeats, W. B. (2000). Leda and the Swan., The Norton Anthology of English Literature. ( Received 10 April 2014; accepted 03 May 2014 ).

Show More Hide
Cited By:

[1] S. Tao, A. Peng, X. Chen, "“Being So Caught up”: Exploring Religious Projection and Ethical Appeal in Leda and the Swan", Religions, Vol. 12, p. 107, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12020107