Sound As An Echo Of Sense In W B Yeats Leda And The Swan
Submitted by TrulyWished on 06/30/2008 05:21 PM
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Sound As An Echo Of Sense In W B Yeats Leda And The Swan
In several cases, sound is an echo of sense in W.B.Yeats' poem "Leda and the Swan". Though the poem is written in iambic pentameter, the poetic feet and meter change to reflect the meaning of the poem, that a woman is being overpowered. "Strange heart beating", "staggering", "sudden blow", and "loosening" are a few examples of words and phrases involved in key rhythmic variations that are in some way mimetic.
As the woman is knocked down, the emphasis is as follows: "a SUDden BLOW: the GREAT WINGS BEATing STILL"
The emphasis on "blow" and "great wings beating" allows the reader to visualize someone being hit or knocked down with the purpose of rape. The hard sounds of b's, t's, and g's emphasize the violence of what is being said. The emphasis also serves to show the power of the attacker, Zeus, in the form of a swan, that the victim, Leda, could not hope to stop him.
The effect of the blows sends Leda staggering, as is seen in "STAGgering GIRL". The reader is able to experience, feel, and visualize the motion of the girl under the impact of the blows. The dominant poetic foot in the line is iambic, the sole exception being the stressed syllable of the second foot followed by the pyrrhic of STAGgering. This brings to mind the motion of walking, which is then disrupted by the blows. This rhythmic variation also emphasizes the power of the swan.
The emphasis of "LOOsening" is placed so that it starts hard and is more relaxed at the end. The word "loosening" implies the muscles are not as tense, that they are more relaxed, which fits the emphasis. There is also the element of shock that s implied in the words. As the shock takes hold, her muscles relax and her panic recedes, which is implied by the emphasis at the beginning of the word.
As Zeus finishes, and lies for a moment, the reader hears his heart beating. "But FEEL the STRANGE HEART BEATing WHERE it LIES" (8) resembles the beating of a strong heart. The...
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