Leda and the Swan: Difference between revisions
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''In Greek mythology, Zeus appears to [[w:Leda (mythology)|Leda]] in the form of a swan and [[w:Leda and the Swan|rapes her]]. She gives birth to [[w:Helen of Troy|Helen]] and [[w:Clytemnestra|Clytemnestra]]. This act marks the beginning of Greek civilization for Yeats.'' | ''In Greek mythology, Zeus appears to [[w:Leda (mythology)|Leda]] in the form of a swan and [[w:Leda and the Swan|rapes her]]. She gives birth to [[w:Helen of Troy|Helen]] and [[w:Clytemnestra|Clytemnestra]]. This act marks the beginning of Greek civilization for Yeats.'' | ||
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| style="text-align:right;" | —'''[[w:W. B. Yeats|W. B. Yeats]]''' (1923) | | style="text-align:right;" | —'''[[w:W. B. Yeats|W. B. Yeats]]''' (1923) | ||
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== Introduction and Context == | == Introduction and Context == | ||
Written in 1923 and first published in ''The Dial'' before appearing in ''The Tower'' (1928), “Leda and the Swan” is one of Yeats’ most compressed and disturbing meditations on history, violence, and divine encounter. The poem reimagines the Greek myth of Zeus, who takes the form of a swan to rape Leda, the mortal mother of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. This violent act, Yeats suggests, inaugurates a new epoch of civilization—the classical age of Greece—while foreshadowing its eventual destruction in the Trojan War. | Written in 1923 and first published in ''The Dial'' before appearing in ''The Tower'' (1928), “Leda and the Swan” is one of Yeats’ most compressed and disturbing meditations on history, violence, and divine encounter. The poem reimagines the Greek myth of Zeus, who takes the form of a swan to rape Leda, the mortal mother of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. This violent act, Yeats suggests, inaugurates a new epoch of civilization—the classical age of Greece—while foreshadowing its eventual destruction in the Trojan War. | ||