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  • Essay / The sudden blow of an annunciation from above

    William B. Yeats was an Irish poet and is recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century literature. At the time of his poem “Leda and the Swan,” Ireland was struggling to establish its identity. The poem originated when AE Russell approached Yeats to write a political poem for his radical new monthly publication The Irish State (Cullingford, 1994). In an effort to stir up the situation and spark an Irish revolution, Yates reportedly declared that, as he felt the individualist movement was exhausted, a "birth from above, preceded by a violent announcement" (Johnsen, 1991, 80) would be a good idea. the only means by which Ireland could reform itself. This notion of birth from above led Yeats to use the myth of Leda and the Swan as a metaphor for overcoming oppression. In Greek myth, Zeus' act of rape of Leda acts as the catalyst that leads to the demise of Troy, the death of Agamemnon, and the subsequent strengthening of Greece (Austin, 2010). Through the poem, Yeats attempts to use the violent oppression of the Irish by the English as a stimulus to overcome the harsh laws facing the Free State in order to establish a greater Ireland. Like most works of art, the process of getting to the final product is a long process in which the artist is constantly refining their work, trying to make their work as concise and symbolic as possible. Although Yeats's intention of "Leda and the Swan" does not change across the three versions, the revisions he makes further clarify what he is aiming for: a political revolution. Throughout the three revisions, Yeats focuses on restructuring and expanding the octet, because apart from the rephrasing of one line, the sestet remains the same. The middle of the paper is filled with violent actions and discouraging, unanswered questions. Thanks to the septet, he manages to release these pressures, like the moment of the swan's ejaculation represented by “a quivering in the loins” (9). This is the turn of the sonnet and describes the consequences of the violent oppression that Leda faced. It is not necessary for Yeats to change but a few syntactic elements, because these lines are able to accurately release the tension built in the byte and symbolize how violent oppression should lead to the destruction of a piece of malice in order to strengthen the whole. The Greek myth of Leda and the Swan provides an excellent metaphor for Yeats. Through revisions to his poem, he is able to transform the poem from one of wonder at the arrival of a divine spirit and a sex diary to a strong call for political reform, even for the most conservative readers..