Leda and the Swan - Essay Example

Leda and the Swan Introduction Leda and the Swan is an idea which comes to us from Greek mythologywhere Zeus took the shape of a swan to mate with Leda. This image and the associated story was not given much attention before the renaissance but during the renaissance it was picked up by many different artists including famous masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. The story is also the subject of a poem by William Butler Yeats under the title, Leda and the Swan which was first published in 1924 and if the different presentations of the same theme are examined, it can be seen that there are intertextual relationships which combine psychological influences and a changing vision of the story (Beyst, 2002). Intertextual Analysis 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). While the words of the poet are malleable enough to fit our own conceptions and ideas in a general sense, the works of the artists are not malleable since they are physical representations we can see. It is the vision of the artists and not the vision created by the words of a poet which becomes important in an intertextual examination. The image of Zeus Additionally, there is a rather sudden departure from the traditional image of Zeus as a powerful and mighty god into a rather gentle creature as a swan. Across the centuries, artists have struggled with this point because the largest swans are still smaller than man and only birds like ostriches could stand taller than humans and only flying creatures like an albatross would have wingspans that could embrace a grown person. Moreover, a swan is not associated with violence (sexual or otherwise) as much as other birds might be therefore both writers and painters have to create the image of a mighty and powerful beast worthy to be the representation of a god (Beyst, 2002). The representation of the swan in the painting by Michelangelo is reconciled with the image of Zeus by Beyst (2002) when he suggests that: “The long neck then stays for the stem of the penis, the head for its glans, the winged trunk for the scrotum. And such life-sized organ cannot fail to head straightforward towards its goal: also in the real world the stretched out neck of a swan reaches to the genitals of a woman standing. Although the beak of a real swan, as opposed to that of reckless goose, happens to rather modestly bend downwards (Beyst, 2002, Pg. 1).” On the other hand, the poem needs no such reconciliation since the great wings, the sudden blow and the staggering girl all serve to inform the reader that the swan is a magnificent creature with great strength, beauty and the ability to hold a grown woman by the nape of her neck. Through the eye of the mind, the reader can make the swan as large and imposing as imagination will allow them while knowing that that swan has the abilities, the powers and the knowledge of a Greek God. Some of which might have even been transferred to Leda during their sexual union. The elements of Intertextuality The elements that define intertextuality include reflexivity, alteration, explicitness, adoption scale, structural qualities and comprehension (Chandler, 2003). By examining the poem in an intertextual relationship to the two paintings we can come to final conclusion about the addition to the meaning of the poem for a reader. In the first instance, reflexivity is clearly present to a great extent but the alteration of the medium from visual art to poetry adds a significant twist and changes how the presentation of the events can be made. For example, Michelangelo shows us Leda’s fingers on her left hand twisted and contorted which could be a representation of fear or sexual excitement. At the same time, Yeats describes the fingers as terrified and vague which means that there is a possible connection between the two works. In terms of alteration, while both the works describe the same story, it is very likely that Yeats drew his inspiration from the images created by the old masters while the old masters drew their inspiration from other sources. However, the sources are not mentioned by either since the story would be commonly known to those who are interested in the topic. It is an assumed recognition that Leda was the wife of the king of Sparta and that she mated with Zeus and from that union, Helen was born. Of course, the comprehension of these events and the story described within would perhaps not be a natural phenomenon because it connects with a very specific event in Greek mythology and Greek legends concerning Zeus. It is unlikely to expect that the layman would be able to appreciate either the poem or the paintings with regard to how they connect with the greater elements of art and literature without getting a background for the events. This also connects with the idea of the scale of adoption taken in both the poem and the artwork because the connection with a very important story of Greek mythology gives the origins of a very important character i.e. Helen. There are several themes which are connected and represented here i.e. the union of a male god and a human female, the birth of beauty from violence, the betrayal of a husband and of course, the setting of fate in motion through the influence and acts of a God. However, none of the themes are taken to completion in the visual representation of Leda and the Swan while the words given in the poem refer to the death of Agamemnon. In this case, the poem exceeds the works of the masters since it is closer to being whole by using a foreshadowing technique which describes the burnt roof and tower, the destruction of a city which are going to be caused in an indirect manner by Helen herself. At the same time, the blame for these events can also be given to the swan that set them in motion and also controlled several other aspects of the events which are yet to come in the story presented. The events following the mating of Leda and the Swan also give an unboundedness to the entire saga because the larger structure which covers both the paintings and the poem is stretched over thousands of years and contains hundreds of minor and major characters. Not only has that been the source of the foundations for an entire culture, a philosophy and natural science in the ancient world, it has also inspired and moved people living in the modern world. Even Hollywood has not remained immune from that unboundedness since films like Troy connect directly to the character of Helen who is going to be born out of the union of Leda and the Swan. It can be safely concluded that it is the concept of unboundedness which is most relevant to the poem by Yates, the artwork of Michelangelo and da Vinci as well as other works connected and influence by the same theme because they all support and link to each other to create an overall motif which has been present in art for centuries and can be expected to remain so for centuries more. Works Cited Beyst, S. 2002, ‘Yeat’s Leda and the Swan: An Image’s coming of Age’, D-sites.net, [Online] Available at: http://d-sites.net/english/yeats.htm Chandler, D. 2003, ‘Semiotics for Beginners’, aber.ac.uk, [Online] Available at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/sem09.html Read More