Yeats's Leda and the Swan and Van Duyn's Leda In Greek mythology, Leda, a Spartan queen, was so beautiful that Zeus, ruler of the gods, he decided he had to have it. Since immortals usually did not present themselves to humanity in their divine forms, Zeus transformed himself into a great swan and in that form raped the defenseless girl (Carey 58-59). Both William Butler Yeats and Mona Van Duyn base their poems "Leda and the Swan" and "Leda" respectively on this story of a "mystical marriage". Yeats's focus on the sexual act itself, along with his allusions to Leda's offspring, manifest a grave and terrifying tone. While elevating Leda to a status similar to that of Mary, mother of Jesus, Van Duyn portrays Leda as a universal mother. By making both figures, Leda and Zeus, ordinary, he puts a "surprising twist" (Greiner 337) on the original myth, emphasized by his witty tone. Furthermore, while Yeats suggests that Leda gained something from her encounter with Zeus, Van Duyn claims that she gained nothing, portraying women in general as objects primarily of male satisfaction. Yeats begins his poem by focusing on the mere depiction of rape. scene. such as “beaten, dark, helpless” and “terrified” provide this violent act of intrusion with negative connotations. The victim, Leda, is powerless against the power of the attacker, Zeus, and is terrified by his actions. Recalling the original Greek myth, Yeats clearly shows Leda's resistance at every step ("staggering girl", "helpless breast", "vague and terrified fingers pushing"). Zeus' relationship with Leda parallels human interaction in general with Satan or God. In Christianity, the prevailing religion in Yeats' time, pious men attempt to ward off... the medium of paper... violence and underlying religious reason. Overall, Yeats instills fear in the reader, while Van Duyn elicits an occasional laugh; however, both poems are equally effective, one for its religious message and the other for its attack on men. Works Cited Barnhart, Clarence L. and Robert K. The World Book Dictionary. Chicago: Doubleday, 1985. Carey, Gary. Cliffs Notes on Mythology. Lincoln: C. K. Hillegass, 1973. Greiner, Donald J. "American Poets Since World War II." Dictionary of literary biographies. Detroit: Doubleday, 1980. Heaney, Seamus. The compensation of poetry. New York: Noonday, 1995. Magill, Frank N. Critical Survey of Poetry. Engelwood Cliffs: Salem Press, 1982. vol. 7 "Torah: the five books of Moses". Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1985.