Leda

After reading Yeats' "Leda and the Swan" and H.D.'s "Leda", I was struck by how different the two were. Yeats' poem disturbed me. "Leda and the Swawn" portrayed the story as a rape, while "Leda" made the story into a beautiful thing.
Yeats' "Leda and the Swan" centered around what was done to Leda and how Zeus victimized her. This story of Leda is harsh and painful. Yeats focused on how "helpless" Leda was and how little Zeus cared. I was bothered by the images of rape in the poem. It's short, but it's clear. Yeats' poem leaves no room for doubt: Leda was raped by the swan. The swan trapped her with "her nape caught in his bill" and continued although her "terrified" fingers pushed him away. Then, Yeats goes on to mention the aftermath of this rape- "the broken wall, the burning roof and tower, and Agamemnon dead." This poem made me sad. This side of Leda's story almost breaks my heart because she's been made so helpless. Zeus is a cruel predator in "Leda and the Swan". I cannot even begin to fathom how awful it is to be raped, but I think that this poem touches on most of the aspects of rape. There is violence, a victim, a predator who is "indifferent" about the victim, fear, and then the pain that continues long after the rape. Maybe, I'm one of the conservative readers that was going to misunderstand the poem, but I cannot help but be disturbed by "Leda and the Swan".
H.D.'s "Leda" is representative of her imagist background, and chooses beautiful imagery. It is in stark contrast to Yeat's poem. In "Leda", all the harshness is gone. It is replaced with warmth and color. H.D. focuses on the beauty of the swan and the scene while making Leda nothing but a flower. This poem still takes away Leda's consent because she is a flower, not a person, and how would a flower consent? H.D. says the flower "rests beneath" the swan, which implies consent. Either way, H.D. has turned "Leda" into a pretty picture as opposed to Yeats' disturbing rape. There is no turmoil in H.D.'s poem. The poem is all softness and beauty. It is an amalgamation of colors: "red", "coral", "deep purple", "richer gold". The color choices seem royal to me, especially the red, purple, and gold. The story told through H.D.'s poem is lovely. It is like a seduction rather than an assault.
I like the imagery in H.D.'s "Leda" more than the imagery in Yeats' "Leda and the Swan". H.D.'s poem is blissful and warm. However, I like Yeats' poem more because I think he shows a more realistic view of the story. Yeats focuses just as much on Leda as he does on Zeus' actions as the swan. He gives Leda a role in her own story. She has actions and emotions despite the swan's indifference to them. Yeats reminds the reader of what is to come of Leda's rape, while H.D. allows one to linger in a happy picture. I do not mind being disturbed or upset by Yeats' poem because it seems more honest than H.D.'s image of the story. It is my emotional response to Yeats' poem that makes it stick in my thoughts. Even with the harshness, Yeats' poem is captivating.