English Honors Papers
Document Type
Honors Paper
Advisor
John Gordon
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
My paper explores the idea that Leda has been used throughout recent history as a vehicle through which artists and poets talk non-explicitly about sex. After presenting her undetermined mythical origins in chapter one, I explore different identities assumed by Leda during the half century prior to Yeats. In chapter two, I focus on Leda as universal woman, explicit character, and one who looks. In chapter three, I move to Leda's larger roles as liminal figure and portrait, and discuss the changing role of exterior versus interior perspective. Chapter four is a detailed study on Yeats' sonnet that develops into chapter five, an account of post-Yeats works that internalize enigmatic Leda's nuanced experience and continue speaking today.
Recommended Citation
Pistrang, Molly, "Liminal Leda: A Conversation about Art, Poetry, and Vague Translations of Sex" (2013). English Honors Papers. 12.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/enghp/12
Included in
Classical Literature and Philology Commons, History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons
The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.