Analysis of Leda and the Swan Essay

The portrayals of the Siren in The Odyssey and “Siren Song” can be compared through point of view, tone, and imagery. In Homer’s poem the Siren is seen as an irresistible desire, a toxic aspiration that manipulated and captivated men to come closer. In “Siren Song” the Siren is portrayed as merely a taunting boredom. She herself tells us that to her it is boring, “But it works every

This poem, clearly alluding to the Siren’s of the tale of Odysseus, is a clear reference to Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, the Sirens creatures whose songs were so enticing, mariners could not resist following the music to the Sirens’ voices only to be killed by the ocean’s ravaging tides.This poem contains no meter and is a free verse poem. Additionally, there is no set rhyme scheme. This poem is a siren speaking to the reader in a normal meter, nothing emphasized. The speaker of the poem is the siren herself talking about the situation and how she is feeling. Her voice is casual and informal and the way that she speaks is referencing the enchanting song of the sirens. The subject of the poem is a song that attracts males and reveals that they are all the same in that they are all attracted to a beautiful women and none can see beyond that.The tone of this poem gives a mysterious and mystifying feel to it. In line 1, “Shall I tell you the secret” alluring to the secret of how the song attracts men. Additionally, there is a satirical feel to the sirens, calling them “bird suit”, “feathery maniacs”, and “squatting on an island.” The main idea of this poem is to describe how women act in order to attract a man. It then shifts to the Siren’s side of the story of them describing how boring it gets since all men react the same way.

In the poem Zeus is shown in a very positive light, as he is one of the key characters in the story. The author continually praises Zeus throughout his poem, making the text not only a story of the creation of the universe but also showing characteristics of a hymn to

In many literary works or in the world around us, ancient mythology is alluded to in order to give a moral lesson. For instance, the story of the sirens from The Odyssey is used to show the dangers of temptation. Sailors pass though the land of the sirens to get to their destination but instead get stopped by the song from the lurking sirens. The unavoidable song often causes sailors to jump to their death. In the painting Ulysses and the Sirens, John William Waterhouse uses the myth of Odysseus and the Sirens to demonstrate the idea that temptation can have serious consequences without the assistance from others, while in her poem “Siren Song” Margaret Atwood uses the same scene to illustrate the claim that deception from a strong source be

Throughout the poem, a young boy's curiosity takes control of a relationship with his father, as it reveals his regretful combative past. The boy asks questions repeatedly from many different aspects including, “why we dropped the bomb on those two towns in Japan” “where is Saipan” “Where is Okinawa” “where is the pacific” (Fairchild 5-16). The questions stand as the absences of order and by all means, progress, no answers mean no progress. As the questions continue the speaker describes the father and says “the palm of his hand slowly tapping the arm of a lawn chair,” (Fairchild 7-8). The slow tapping equivalent the slow buildup of anger and fear. Following, the speaker's description of the father’s face as his son continues mindlessly is “wooden” as his eyes freeze “like rabbits in headlights” (Fairchild 6-7). So small and helpless

The influential feminine strain in the Odyssey also has important effects upon the whole flavor of the poem. Many other early epics are characterized by coldness, morbidity, and brutality, caused by the subjects with which they deal. The virtues, such as courage and martial prowess, which are seen in the Iliad are impressive, but they are undistinguished and limited, for they exist in a world of mas-culine competition and warfare. It is only in the Odyssey, among early Greek works, that such familiar ideas as love, family loyalty, and devotion, and other such important ethical attitudes, are both illustrated and advocated. It is the presence of these unconscious moral lessons that makes the Odyssey so unique in its genre and produces its humanitarian and optimistic outlook.

INTRO: Despite difference of around 400 years between them Greek poet Homer and tragedian playwright Euripides explore many of the same themes in their works the Odyssey and Trojan Women (written by each respectively). Both works are inspired by the events of 12th Century BCE Trojan War that Homer previously explored in the Iliad. The two examine the worth of cunning over brute strength, the dangers of temptation and the role of women in their respective time periods. Despite having extremely similar central ideas, the techniques employed by each are markedly different. These differences arise as the result of changes in socio-historical contexts and format of each work’s presentation, for example the critical shift of the 5th century which saw the rise of sophistry and a certain scepticism in regard to Athenian leadership and the very existence of the gods.

In The Iliad, Homer plays with the ideas that Zeus, the god and leader of all, ultimately may not be in charge. Countless times during the text, Zeus bends to the wills of prophecies, mortals, and even other gods. As the story develops, Zeus becomes less in charge and more of a puppet for mortals and gods who have contrivances for and against him. Through prophecy, Achilles, and Hera, this essay will glimpse at the idea of Zeus simply being a puppet on strings in the hands of war.

Homer’s epic, The Iliad, highlights the influence and jurisdiction that beauty provides. The prizes and glory a man accumulates from war measure his power, while beauty measures a woman’s power. Since conquering a woman is the ultimate prize to a man, her beauty represents ultimate power. Though the beauty of mortal women has the power to turn men against each other, mortal women have no influence over this power and are instead objectified by men. Immortal women, however, have authority over their beauty and are able to control men with their power. Helen, on the other hand, though mortal, has the beauty of a goddess. Yet, Helen is bound by her fate to Paris, making her power obsolete. By presenting Helen’s hopeless power and supplying the reader with insight on her suffering through her thoughts, Helen is portrayed as a tragic hero.

Yeats uses rhetorical questions to let the reader enter into Leda 's consciousness. Her fingers are "terrified" but "vague", physically they are blurred because they are buried in the feathers of the swan, and emotionally, "vague" may perhaps indicate she does not know what to do or that she does not take any definite action.

The characters in Greek Mythology have multiple interpretations. Among these characters include the dangerous, yet gorgeous Sirens, bird-women who sit on a cliff singing bewitching songs that captivate the minds of innocent travelers and entice them to their deaths. In Homer’s The Odyssey and Margaret Atwood’s “Siren Song,” both poets provide different representations of the Sirens. Homer portrays the Sirens as irresistible in order to establish men as heroes, whereas Atwood depicts them as unsightly and pathetic so she can prove men are foolish and arrogant using imagery, diction, and point of view.

The role of women in Greek literature has demoralized them and showing them in a maligned light. The women are portrayed as frail, cruel, insensitive, or as seductresses. These characteristics have been integrated into today’s society and [have] built the standards and defined the moral outlook of women. However, in Greek mythology, powerful and strong women are not as well celebrated, such as Athena. Homer’s The Odyssey construes the positive and negative role of women through the epic poem. The women in the poem are depicted through the contrasting actions of Penelope and the maids, in addition with the opposite personalities between the goddess Athena and the nymph Calypso.

The stories that as a whole make up the body of ancient Greek mythology have treatedthe complex subject of women in various ways. Although women are generally considered to beweak and subordinate to their husbands, there exist some examples of strong, even heroic womenin certain myths. Such “extraordinary” women include Deianeira, Phaedra, Medea, Penelope,and Clytemnestra, among others. This discussion of women will focus on the latter two,comparing and contrasting them and addressing the ways in which the former is often considereda “good” wife and the latter a “bad” wife. The comparison of Penelope and Clytemnestra willultimately show that, in certain ways, the line between “good” and “bad” wife is rather blurryand the distinction between husband-killing monster and devoted, faithful wife is not as clear-cutas one might expect.The major works in which Penelope and Clytemnestra appear are Homer’s Odyssey andAeschylus’ Oresteia, particularly the Agamemnon. One of the first things to notice about theseworks is that they were both written by men, for men. Given the ancient Greek context, this is arather obvious observation, but it deserves to be pointed out because it should be expected thatmen would have a biased view of women. Hesiod’s Theogony and Works and Days describe thecreation of Pandora, the first of “the race of women”, as a gift and punishment from the gods.While she is made to “look like a goddess immortal, / having the lovely, desirable shape of a

A common belief within today’s society is, “everything happens for a reason.” Zeus is the reason for the fate Leda ended up with. Zeus caused a continuous cycle all starting with him raping Leda and ending in her being a world-historical figure. Leda happened to be innocent but her rape caused one event which led to another. All these events happened to be the cause of Leda’s fate within Greek Mythology. In the poem Leda And The Swan by William Yeats, it was Leda’s fate to have a sexual encounter with Zeus because it led to her daughters being important in Greek mythology, and becoming a world-historical figure.

Dale Carnegie once said “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The ability to transform something appalling to alluring is a true indication of appreciation for life, but can at times result in consequences. In Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, Prospero commands one of his spirits, Ariel, to summon a tempest as an act of revenge for being deposed as the rightful Duke of Milan by Antonio and Alonso. Although the tempest causes isolation between characters, Ferdinand, Miranda and Ariel are blessed by the tempest; receiving opportunities achieve a better life.