Leda and the Swan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leda and the Swan - Essay Example The basic story of the events as per Greek mythology describes the events which led to the conception of Helen and other children, the event mentioned in the story are violent perhaps because beauty is often born from past violence. Leda was married to the king of Sparta i.e. Tyndareus and Zeus took the form of a giant swan to mate with Leda on the same night as she had sex with her husband (Beyst, 2002). Intertextual analysis can show us quite clearly that the artists who covered this particular theme gave their own focus to the images regardless of the media being sculpture, painting or as per Yeats, poetry. Essentially, the poem and other artistic mediums which are based on this motif are presenting a loving couple which is entwined with each other. Sensibilities in art often prevent a complete visual description of a sexual act therefore there are certain aspects which are not shown. For example, Michelangelo’s Leda has her privates covered with the tail feathers of the swan while da Vinci’s Leda seems to be more or less hugging a giant swan rather than engaging in any sexual act (Beyst, 2002). On the other hand, the images presented by Yeats quite clearly describe the sexual act and if a person who is familiar with the background story reads this poem, s/he can clearly know where the point of climax comes within the poem along with the orgasm of the characters. In fact, Yeats words have a certain power which can not be felt in paintings because of a difference in medium. For example, it is rather difficult to empathise with Leda if one simply views the painting but upon reading the poem a person can place themselves in Leda’s position and experience what she felt (Beyst, 2002).