1 A sudden blow: the great wings beating still
2 Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed
3 By the dark webs , her nape caught in his bill,
4 He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.
5 How can those terrified vague fingers push
6 The feathered glory from her loosening thighs?
7 And how can body, laid in that white rush,
8 But feel the strange heart beating where it lies?
9 A shudder in the loins engenders there
10 The broken wall, the burning roof and tower
Being so caught up,
12 So mastered by the brute blood of the air,
13 Did she put on his knowledge with his power
14 Before the indifferent beak could let her drop?
General Analysis:
Analysis: Leda as Harbinger of War
Contexts and Connections:
Contexts: Art and Sculpture of Leda and the Swan
Contemporary Connections: Leda; by Aldous Huxley (1920)
See also: