Formalist poets

Yeats’s poem ‘’Leda and the Swan’’ and Dorothy Hewitt’s ‘’Grave Fairytale’’ have content that is both mythological and violently sexual. In Yeats’ poem the speaker retells a story from Greek mythology. It is that of the rape of Leda by Zeus. In Hewitt’s poem, the speaker creates a new version of Rapunzel’s fairytale. This essay will discuss the relationship between mythology/ folklore, violence and sex through the analysis of both poems. In Yeats’ poem, the speaker resents the rape scene, painting a vivid and terrifying picture of its aggressive violence. The father of Gods Zeus takes the form of a swan in order to seduce and to rape Leda, the beautiful woman that he desired. It is worth noting that a swan usually symbolises beauty, grace, elegance and peacefulness. In Yeats’ poem it is completely the opposite. This would imply the reason Zeus chose this bird for his disguise: to lure Leda close so that he may rape her. Yeats wants to communicate the violence of a sexual act. He draws a sexual picture without directly presenting the meaning of the poem. In the first stanza, we are directly exposed to the rape through the use of obscene and figurative language. Yeats begins his poem with an instance of ferocity and brutality that might have immediately brought an ultimate horror to the readers. The poem starts suddenly with violence that is ‘’a sudden blow’’ .”The absurdity of the rapist (Zeus) is transformed into the violent image of `great' wings `beating.' The bird no…

During the Poem “Song of Myself” Walt Whitman examines the complex idea of belonging in society by using sly commentary and symbols alike, while writing with a seemingly egotistical style. This piece was one of the twelve poems from the original collection of “Leaves of Grass” published in 1855, which was shortly before the Civil War started. This was a time of despair for Whitman because he was living in a fractured union. During this piece Whitman used many evocative situations to capture the…

What makes you ‘you’? Perhaps the answer to the question varies from group to group; Perhaps, we are a collection of our physical, mental, and spiritual components, all unique and different. The Birthmark is a short story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1843. The audience is introduced to a brilliant scientist, Aylmer, whose life revolved around his experiments and quest for scientific perfection. While controversial, Aylmer abandons his laboratory to marry Georgiana, a beautiful woman that…

excitement about being in the company of daffodils at the end. When I read the first few lines of “Daffodils” by William Wordsworth, I was immediately interested in finding out why he was feeling lonely and what was happening around him. While reading this poem I enjoyed how he described everything that was going on around him, I could imagine how he was enjoying nature and how nature comforted him. William Wordsworth’s poem “Daffodils” demonstrates that romanticism and the loneliness of a human…

The Romantic period was one of important periods, Romantic poems have amazing view for the nature and landscape, we also can use term Romanticism to describe particular period, Romantic or Romanticism start in late 1700s to 1820s , the France revolution and the great Napoleonic wars help to forming the Romantic, the most famous and important poets of Romanticism are Percy Bysshe Shelley( the young poet), Thomas DE Quincey and William Wordsworth , according to Ross, he sees that the Romantic…

“Dover Beach”: In his “Dover Beach,” Matthew Arnold employs images related to the ocean to establish a theme relating to the cyclical nature of human life. Specifically, he refers to the continuation of misery throughout an individual’s life. This allusion to cycles is supported throughout the poem through the use of tidal imagery. For example, he refers to the French coast and how “the light gleams and is gone” (3-4) This is significant as light often works as a symbol of hope. Therefore, this…

A renowned idea using surprising symbols. It is debated as to whether Donne is a metaphysical poet or not, one view being from T.S Eliot that it is difficult to find any ‘precise use of metaphor simile or other conceit’ in order to identify Donne with the other metaphysical ‘poets as a group’. I however disagree with T.S Eliot and this poem ‘The flea’ contains a metaphysical conceit right through the poem. Using the surprising symbol of a Flea something so ‘little’ to represent something that in…

Dove’s familiar campaign promotes healthy image standards, but ironically the corporation also owns Axe, which is one company that imposes such ideals. From day one, children are bombarded with ads, pictures, and expectations. While there have been movements to improve self-image in adolescents, companies are merely capitalizing on the trend to sell their products without regards for their impacts. Our society defines people by appearance, and individuals cannot escape those superficialities…

From the beginning of time, inequality has been a necessity in the differentiation of one person from another. Whether in the Indian Hindu Caste System thousands of years ago or the segregation of blacks and whites in America 50 years ago; inequality has always separated classes. Langston Hughes, an African American poet front the Harlem Renaissance writes mostly about racial inequality in the poem “Let America Be America Again.” This work is about how all immigrants who come to America in…

The theme of "O Captain! My Captain!" is that sacrifices have to be made in order to be successful and gain greatness. Elegy: somber toned poem, lament for the dead This poem is an Elegy in honor of Abraham Lincoln. Walt Whitman wrote this poem a little after Lincoln's assassination. This poem is a big metaphor because it is about a captain -Abraham Lincoln- and his crew -Lincoln's followers- obtaining their sought out prize-winning the civil war- but after getting what they want the captain…