William Butler Yeats, “When You Are
Old, Easter 1916…” (518-532)
In “Leda and the Swan” by William
Butler Yeats, the setting changes quite a lot for this short of a poem.
Firstly, the setting takes place as being held by a large bird and it goes into
great detail about it. We do not exactly know where this is. However, further
on into the poem, the setting jumps into the future with them set in the City of Troy. We get
a view of the broken walls and the burning roofs and towers of the sacked and
burned city. We also even get told of the man Agamemnon simply being dead.
However, we go back to the original setting in the last few lines of Leda being
raped. Continuing on, this poems theme seems to be of death and beauty.
However, these themes are told as if they are the consequence of the rape of
Leda. For example, “A shudder in the loins engenders there the broken wall, the
burning roof and tower and Argamemnon dead” (525). Argamemnon was murdered by
his wife (who was a daughter of Leda). It could be saying that because Leda was
raped, this resulted in his death and the ruins of Troy. However, this is just my view of what I got from this. Not to mention, with
the rape of Leda, she gave birth to Helen of Troy. Helen’s beauty is what
started the Trojan War in the first place. Therefore, we see themes of death
and beauty in the poem, which he also often uses in other poems as well. To
clarify, the Trojan War was a war that was waged and led by Argamemnon as
revenge for the abduction of Helen (against the Trojans). The author uses this story to tell the
world-changes leading to the modern era. In general, each of Yeat’s poems touches
upon the changing of era in a form of historical gyres, also known as the
historical model of gyres. This is what links the mythological poem to the real
world.
"Leda
and the Swan". The Norton Anthology World Literature, Third Edition, Vol.
D. Martin Puchner. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. Pages 518-532. Fairfield
Medium with the display set in Aperto.
Hey Kaylee, first of all I am glad that you chose this text for your analysis because I have tremendous interest in the source material about the Trojan war and how much of a tragedy it was. I think even the term distaster cannot justify how awful this war really was. I liked what you said for your theme about the literary text as I do believe it has to do with death and beauty. I liked that you were able to prove that by stating that Helen's beauty was the cause of Trojan war, meaning that her beauty brought consequences of death. I personally would'lve liked if you went a lot deeper with your analysis like if you could have explained how Helen's beauty caused the trojan war.
ReplyDeleteKaylee, Great Analysis and Troy is truly an interesting story. I love how you pointed out beauty and death were themes throughout the poem. I also agree that the author uses “this story to tell the world-changes leading to the modern era.” But I would have loved to see you expound on how he did that. I believe it shows that throughout history there has been inconsequential things, such as the beauty of a woman, that has caused wars or rumors of war. Enjoyed your analysis.
ReplyDeleteHi Kaylee!
ReplyDeleteAmazing analysis! I Especially loved your connection where you said "with the rape of Leda, she gave birth to Helen of Troy." It made me think that Helen was a sort of justice that fate had sent to Troy to right the wrongs that her mother had suffered. Poems can be very tricky to decipher and intemperate, but I think you did a very good job!
Hi there, Kaylee! I think that these types of literature are very hard to understand so I admire this clear idea that you have for it. I love the imagery you touched on and I think that you had a very clear idea of what the author was trying to say. Your analysis also had me astounded by having a clearer idea and understanding it better with further context. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Kaylee! I think because of the shifting in setting you mentioned and all the references to mythological events this poem was a bit hard to follow but I think you did a good job of breaking it down. I agree with your conclusion that the mythological references end up tying it to the real world, as these are universal figures that most will know and immediately understand what he means, even if personally I didn't.
ReplyDelete